January 6, Salamanca

Today we had to find the Plaza Mayor all by ourselves and meet the rest of the group there. At first we were really nervous about it. At least we had a map, so we knew we couldn’t get too lost. Street signs aren’t on a separate post like they are in the U.S. They are actually on the side of the building on the corner. We started walking and we saw the boys from our group that live one street over. We decided to follow them.

            Once we got to the Plaza Mayor, the director took us around the city. We saw “La Casa de Las Conchas,” which was a house built for a king and queen. On the outside of the building there are a ton of clam shells carved on the side. Inside the building there is an open square with a well, and on the top of the building there are gargoyles.

            After that we went to a park behind one of Salamanca’s cathedrals. This park was tucked away in a spot that you would only find if you knew Salamanca very well. In the small park there is a well. Chained to the well are hundred of locks. Lovers come to the well and write their name on a lock on connect it to the well. Then they throw the key to the lock down the well. This symbolizes eternal love.

            Afterwards we went to the University. The university buildings are extremely old. Made out of plaster is this huge façade of the university. It’s the size of a building and is very detailed. The famous legend with this façade is that students need to find the frog or else they will fail in their studies. The frog was pretty small and pretty hard to find but lucky I found it.

            Then we went to a different cathedral in Salamanca. The Catedral Nueva is interesting because it is an extremely old building with a surprise. Part of the cathedral needed to be restored. The artist ended up carving an astronaut into the molding, along with a few other animals doing silly things. This is so funny because you don’t expect to see an astronaut on a building that was built during the 1700’s.

            We went back to our host families after all the site seeing. During lunch we had a special cake for the day of the three kings. It was kind of like a giant donut with cream separating the two layers. Hidden inside the cake are two little gifts. If you find one of the gifts you get to wear the little crown that comes with the cake.

            At 11pm we met up with the rest of the group to go out. All the places we went to were pretty empty because people in Spain usually don’t start going out until midnight or 1am.

-Steph