Salamanca, Spain!

Friday, March 27 I woke up, packed, got ready and made my way to the Ciampino airport. This means buying a bus ticket and riding the bus all by myself. I got there safely and got on my flight, no problems! Rachael was in Madrid waiting for me a long with her boyfriend, Javi, his sister, Elaina and their mom. They bought me some lunch and then Elaina drove us back the 2 ½ ish hours to Salamanca. Rachael had arranged for a bunch of friends to go out with us for tapas. I tried some interesting ones like pork kebabs, calamari with spicy mayonnaise and even some spread on bread that had been made with pig’s blood. I was exhausted from traveling all day so we called it an early night. Saturday, March 28 Rachael and slept in and then went downstairs to grab a Neopolitana (like a chocolate pastry) from a little bakery and at them while we watched Spanish Saturday morning cartoons. Rachael gave me a tour of the town of Salamanca. It is such a beautiful city! The cathedral was gorgeous and there was a wedding going on inside. We got to eavesdrop for a minute. The Plaza Mayor was so much fun to walk around in. For lunch we went to the grocery store and bought stuff to make salad and meat and vegetables that Javi grilled for us. It was really nice to hang out with Rachael and get to know Javi. Early evening we went to a neat little place with lots of stories where we had some coffee. One of Javi’s friends called and invited us for a typical Spanish meal at their house. We decided to go and I am so glad. I loved meeting all of Javi’s friends and the meal was typical of a place in Spain called Grenada. We spent a lot of time at the dinner table talking and playing games. For some reason they all had card tricks to share. Rachael and I tricked them with our game of snaps! From here we went out to a few fun pubs with Javi’s friends and then made our way back home. Sunday, March 29 Javi and Rachael were so sweet to ride on the train to Madrid with me and made sure I made it to the airport safely and on time. I loved Spain! (Italy is still my favorite, but Spain is close 2nd.)