While in Salamanca we stayed at the Hotel Las Torres, which is located on the Plaza Mayor, which just happens to be the largest plaza mayor in Spain. The whole area was built around 1100, so we stayed in a hotel that was about 900 years old! Don't worry. It had plumbing, electricity, and everything.
Our hotel overlooked this plaza. The three windows you can see just above the girl in the black pants were the windows to the restaurant where we ate dinner and breakfast everyday. The picture of the entrance you see in the first picture was in a street that came in from the north. The construction crane you see was just outside the door.
Another view of the Plaza.
The bell tower with the bells
and flags of the region, the city, and the European Union.
A look back up the street from our hotel. We were to make many runs up that street while there. The school where we taught was up this way. You turned right and went down hill at about the second block which you can barely see up the hill.
Later in the day, you can see folks walking down the street. Lots of folks walking in the streets in the area in the Historic Center, which is where the Plaza Mayor is located. Very few cars are allowed and they must move very slowly.
One of the entry gates into the Plaza Mayor.
Right down that street takes you to the Center for International Studies. I made this trip about three times a day (sometimes more) and it kept my fitness program going. Each round trip was about 12 blocks.
Here we are in Dallas airport waiting to catch the flight down to Miami and eventually on to Spain. Good ole Subway sandwiches.
Now, we see some folks who are a bit more tired. After the flight from Miami, we are in the train station in Madrid waiting to catch the train to Salamanca. Jet lag and general exhaustion is beginning to take over.
Checking the e-mail already.