Salamanca Meets Peggy Sue…

World Heritage Site; the City of Salamanca has a horde of archeological, historical & cultural sites. The Peggy Sue restaurant is not one of them, but as a lifelong Buddy Holly fan, a photo was irresistible! We did not eat there, but wanting a change from Menu del Dia, we chose a Persian restaurant, and were not disappointed. However,there are new styles of eating, apart from the traditional. We tried JarraMania, opposite our hotel entrance, where you write your order on a list, from a selection of countless Montaditos. We tried two each and a Jarra of Tinto Verano, for € 3.00 . Inexpensive and a third of what you would pay on the adjacent Plaza Mayor. That’s not to say we didn’t succumb to the charms of that wonderful square, especially as our hotel room balcony overlooked it.Still, I am getting ahead of myself.We arrived here, yesterday, after a 25 KM walk from San Pedro de Rozados, across Castillian meadows mainly, until we reached the city outskirts, where we came across a huge cross and a notice board commemorating the battle of Arapiles, July 22nd, 1812,where Wellington inflicted a defeat on the French forces. The cross is not linked to the battle, it pays tribute to all Pelegrinos.

Having found our hotel , despite the baffled reception we received; Sercotes Las Torres obviously does not get many pilgrims. We were eventually given the room I had booked, overlooking the Plaza Mayor. Mac thought it was a great deal and this was confirmed by the super breakfast we enjoyed, this morning ( included ) . There are so many beautiful buildings, it is beyond the purpose and capacity of this Blog, to do them justice. So just a few illustrative samples to follow:-

When you walk this stage of the Camino. You get tantalising glimpses of the city from as far away as Morille, on a hill,1160 metres high.

Pressing further on, ” Looking Back Over My Shoulder” ( MOR Classic song ), a long and winding road…….

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And in the far distance, the snow-topped peaks of the Bejar Mountain Range.

We have enjoyed two days’ sunshine, though we set off in a temperature of  3 degrees, yesterday. Salamanca looks it’s best in the sunlight and especially at twilight , where a pinkish glow appears. In case, you find the romanticism of this passage a little too twee….and you’d be right . Here is a photo that exemplifies the practical side of a sunny interlude, for a Pelegrino.

Whilst strolling through the city, today, we came upon lots of film props and settings, for a film of Romeo and Juliet, being made by an American company…English play, American filmmakers in Salamanca. Still, they made some memorable ” Spaghetti Westerns” in Spain , too. Shakespeare, for American TV? Flogging a dead horse?

Tomorrow, on to another surrealistic setting,El  Cubo de la Tierra del Vino; unfortunately, the Philoxera Plague of the nineteenth century, wiped out most of the vineyards.Hope they have sourced some wine elsewhere, if not locally. Now, some shots of a ” Turigrino”.

Hope we get to meet some more Pelegrinos tomorrow, old and new. From the most earnest , who walk every step with God, to those who walk every step and curse…

Utreia!