The roman aqueduct in Salamanca…
Some holiday lights in a neighborhood in Madrid…while there sooo many streets in the city were sparkling with different holiday lights.
Nochevieja Universitario is this evening in Salamanca. Around 30,000 students from all over Spain come to celebrate this “mock” new years eve. The clock rings 12 times at midnight and everyone eats 12 jelly beans for good luck in the upcoming year, traditionally it’s grapes but jellybeans will do :)
It is also all my dear American friends last night in Salamanca before they go back to the states so we will be living it up all night long!!!
While in Madrid we visited the Santa María la Real de La Almudena the prestine catholic church situated across from the Palace. The church highlight Madrid’s modernity, it started being built in 1879 but was not fully consecrated until 1993. Influences of art deco are seen in the spectacular ceiling. The paintings look almost tribal or ethnic to me but their detail and colorfulness was like no other cathedral I have seen.
One of the great symbols of Salamanca is a frog sitting atop a skull. There is a “folklorico” that if you find the frog in the carvings outside the oldest university building you will get stupendous grades for the rest of your time at university or find true love. Anyways throughout the city of Salamanca there are video surveillance cameras…very weird. But this is one of my favorite graffiti works around the city saying “where is the camera” where the camera replaces the frog icon.
Last weekend I was fortunate enough to get to meet one of my good friends from DU in Madrid. She’s studying abroad in Maastricht, Netherlands but came to visit me in Espana for the weekend…the following pics will showcase the few pics I was able to take there :(
But I do love Madrid…quite a different place from Salamanca. Bustling city with hoards of people but it was a beautiful weekend 60 degree sunny days with lots of walking and metro-ridding.
This picture is of the botanic gardens in madrid situated right next to the grand Retiro Park and the world-famous El Prado art museum….quite lovely on a fall day.
