Yesterday, we visited Salamanca. It was a nice city with really old things, but I liked Segovia better. Segovia had the aqua duct which was really cool and the Alcazar which was beautiful. In Salamanca we visited 3 churches and the university there. The catholic churches freak me out because their sculptures are so graphic and all the people in them look so distressed. I would much rather see sculptures of happy people. I don’t see why you would be distressed and sad if you’re in a church anyways. One of the churches we visited was the second oldest church in Spain, I think. They reface their churches every so often to keep all the carvings in tact, and one time, a guy thought the church was getting outdated and didn’t fit in with the times. So, logically he carved an astronaut into the design. Now the one side of the church includes carvings of angels, saints, Jesus, and, oh yeah, an astronaut. That was the best part haha.
Anyways, despite all the creepy churches, they had a wonderful Plaza Mayor in Salamanca. It is the biggest and most beautiful one I have seen yet, but I heard the best is in Madrid. I also learned that Valladolid is home to the first Plaza Mayor in Spain, and it is my favorite one I have seen. I think it is smart to have Plaza Mayors in every town. I think it is good for the economy because they have outdoor cafes and all these shops outlining the Plaza, and everyone comes out to be part of the shopping and eating and social life. Also, when an event wants to come to your city, they have a place to set up and entertain the people. Another smart thing they do with the Plazas is have the parking deck underneath it. People drive their cars underground to park there. They do not have any ugly parking garages in Spain, only underground ones that don’t make the city look ugly.
Salamanca also was a great place to shop for souvenirs and they had the best chocolate ice cream there that I’ve had so far in the trip. They also had slushies, which I haven’t seen anywhere else in Spain. I got shirts for my mom, dad, and Kevin and necklace charms for me and my sisters. I was really excited about the charms. They are little keys that say “amor” on one side and “paz” on the other. We all know what amor means, but paz means peace. They also had a lot of leather goods. I got my uncle a wallet.
This was also the last day before the Italians left. All the Americans love the Italians. They are still in high school and so full of energy and hilarious. This morning, they had to catch their flight and leave us around 6 am, so we decided it would be a great idea to stay up all night until they had to leave. It was hard to do, but the Italians are so funny and lively that they kept us all entertained the whole night. Now I don’t know why I stayed up though because I am so tired, but I did have a lot of fun.
Well, right now I’m eating these cookies with nutella on them because I told my house mother that I like chocolate. They are soooo good! When I get home I definitely have to buy some. I eat them for breakfast, after lunch, and with dinner. Oh, and I also decided that I want my first meal when I get back to be Mexican, because they have nothing spicy here. Hasta Luego.
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