Just Putting Around: Salamanca & Segovia: "I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow and each road leads you where you want to go."

Salamanca is absolutely stunning! I loved walking around the city seeing the cathedral right across from our hotel…

The Nuevo Catedral and Viejo Catedral…

We even found the Underground bar, guess the one in Hermosa is a chain.

Come to find out that Salamanca is the Nashville of Spain, I say that due to the amount of bachelor and bachelorette parties we saw.

We enjoyed some cañas and tapas at Lilicook, recommended by Carlos, which turned out to be an excellent choice.

We then head to Plaza Mayor to meet up with Carlos. What a cool plaza!

He walks us around the city, showing us his favorite spots. We go by the Nuevo Cathedral again, this time paying close attention to the intricate details on the outside of the cathedral. Ray had seen a postcard with an astronaut on it and so he was determined to find it. Turned out to be a little harder than we had originally thought so its a good thing Carlos knew where he was and right next to it was a gargoyle eating ice cream. You definitely wouldn't expect to find these carvings on such an old building right? These two littles guys were added in 1992 by the craftman in charge of doing some of the restoration. Apparently the astronaut symbolizes the 20th century and the gargoyle represents the students.

We then walk through a really spectacular garden with a huge artichoke…

to the Roman bridge.

Although it was hot, I convinced the team to walk across with me, despite Carlos saying there was absolutely nothing on the other side.

Pepe had to get a pic with the Bull, looks like he is missing something.

Earlier, Ray and I had walked into a Jamon store to gaze at the various ham legs and chorizo. While in there, it was impossible not to notice the fantastic pastry smell, permeating the whole place. We saw what the workers were making, but couldn't figure out quite what it was. We figured we’d ask Carlos when we saw him. So of course, when we end up passing the store again, we have to try a hornazo. Its a Spanish meat pie, traditionally eaten in Salamanca.

Carlos then walked us to the main gate at the University of Salamanca. He explained to us the tradition of the frog, saying that students who attend the university must find the frog on the outside of the building before being able to graduate. Since this was where Carlos went, we of course had to check out the amphibian. Although he won't admit it, Ray cheated and had seen where the frog was located while looking at a postcard earlier that day. I looked and looked. Its probably a good thing that I didn't go there, since I needed some assistance in order to find it. And yes, I have a picture of the frog, but I don't want to spoil the fun for those of you who have yet to find it.

Back to Plaza Mayor for some tintos de verano. I must admit this might be my favorite drink of the entire trip. Its red wine, with fizzy lemonade. Refreshing, bubbly, and absolutely delicious. I guess theres another type, but I prefer the one con limón.

For dinner, we were at a place called Tapas 2.0. We all laughed at the English translated menu…

None of us chose the Kobe Bryant Burger!

We settled for some more salmorejo, sashimi steak and steak tartar. Somehow, I have never tried this tartar business, at least that I can remember. Again, I branched out and tried something new and was pleasantly surprised. Carlos mentioned this was his favorite and I agree it was quite good. At the end of the night, we walked back over to Plaza Mayor to see it all lit up at night. I can't even begin to explain how beautiful it was, surrounded by golden buildings showing off in the moonlight. I totally understand why Carlos says this is his favorite place in Salamanca.

Pepe wanted a pic too

Somehow the places I come to love, I also find a heart.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end and we have to leave Salamanca. We say our goodbyes to our new friend and hit the road to Segovia, en route to Madrid, our last destination. Along the way, we cross a bike race and catch the tail end of it… I tried to get a picture, but it looks like my camera decided to focus on our bug ridden windshield, rather than the blur of bikes. You can somewhat see their helmets in the middle of the picture.

Quite ironic that today also is Father’s Day and my dad absolutely loves bike races from the Tour de France to La Vuelta a España. This must be fate!

Segovia, segovia, segovia! Before I begin with our time there, I must catch you all up on a back story that has been going on since our last trip.

This book was used during our last trip, all throughout Ireland, Scotland, England, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy and Spain. As you can imagine, I spent a lot of time staring at the cover, at this stunning fortress. But yet, I had no idea what it was or even where it was located. During one of our drives, I scanned the front pages for an answer and turned up with nothing. “Maybe its listed in the back?” I think. So I flip to the back, still nothing about the cover photo. I check the front pages again to make sure I didn't miss it. Still nothing. I check any pages that I would expect to have some sort of information about the cover page on it. No answer. At this point, I am determined to find out what and where this is located, which proved to be a challenging task to say the least, since I didn't even know what country it stood in. I attempted to guess, maybe Germany or Austria, maybe Scotland, perhaps France. Finally, I’m forced to look through every page for any hint of this fortress. At one point, I come across an alcazar in Toledo. “Looks similar. This has to be it,” I think to myself. And so for the rest of our trip and the next 8 months, I consider the elusive fortress to be Toledo’s Alcazar. Never thought to investigate any further since I was under the impression that i had already found it. About one week into this current trip, my whole world changed. Sounds drastic, but seriously, it did. Ray somehow discovered that this mysterious fortress wasn't in Toledo as we had thought. On the next page (of the book), was the Alcazar in Segovia. With only a description to go on (no picture), we learn the answer we had sought after for so long. Call it chance or call it fate, but at the moment we made this discovery, it just so happened that we had made plans to make a stop in Salamanca before heading to Madrid. And where does Segovia sit in comparison? Oh just a hop, skip and a jump between the two. I looked at Ray when he informed me of this and said, “Well, looks like we’re going to Segovia!” (end of side story).

So here we are, walking into the epitome of our European travels. Not sure how it happened, but this alcazar had become the most pivotal point of our trip. We pass right through an amazing Roman aqueduct. It was pretty cool but it wasn't the main event.

And a local car show…

Still I have one thing on my mind and that is seeing the Alcazar. We walk and walk, following the signs. Somehow we find ourselves all alone walking the streets, but yet we keep seeing signs pointing us toward Al. And then…

We catch a glimpse. I am absolutely elated. My step speed increases, despite the intense heat and uneven cobblestone ground. Until we are finally admist the shadows of this incredible structure. Pepe wanted the first picture.