3 days in Salamanca, 3 days traveling!

Well again I have been slacking. It's been a busy past month of travels. It barely even felt like I was living nor studying in Salamanca anymore. Here begins my recap of the last month...

After arriving back from Rome on Sunday I had 3 days of classes and recouperating in Salamanca. That Wednesday I left for Madrid where I met my friend and fellow coworker chocolate lover, Ashleigh. Although I was a little groggy from a late night out on Tuesday I found my second wind as I got off the metro in Puerta del Sol and saw her waiting for me there. This was my first reunion with a fellow UVMer since January and I was so pleased to see a friendly familiar, face here in my new home. We had a lovely evening in Madrid, where Sam (Mom's cousin) and her fiancee took us to a cute and delicious Thai restaurant for dinner. This was the beginning of a very nostalgic weekend between food and friends.

Ashleigh and I strolled along some hip streets and stopped for coffee and to chat before we headed to the airport. We scheduled an early flight (6am) which had brought me to Madrid the eve before, and in addition to finding the cheapest flight possible we agreed to stay at the airport for the night rather than spending on a hostel. Around 12:30, the cafe was closing so we meandered off to find the bus stop for the all night shuttle to the hotel. We passed a few lovely, lit up fountains along the way before finding the landmark fountain we were searching for. After about a 20 minute wait the bus arrived. We arrived at the airport around 1 am. Here comes the surprise. It was packed with budget travelers like ourselves ready to settle in for the night for early flights. We couldn't even find a corner or wall spot and had to settle in by a pole. Unlike the other experienced airport bums, we lacked blow up water loungers and sleeping bags, and therefore had to make do with using our jackets to warm our bums on the cold floor. Fortunately I was so exhausted I managed to sleep for most of the early morning and around 5 we were able to get our tickets and move through security. The flight was nearly empty so we caught up on some more sleep sprawled out across a row of seats each.

Still exhausted when we finally landed in Valencia, we stopped by the hostel to drop off our luggage (couldn't check in for another hour) and wandered off in search of some breakfast. We wandered pretty well and found our new breakfast spot for the next two days - toast with oil and tomatoe and a coffe for only 2 euros! After breakfast we were able to check into our room where we proceeded to take a 5 hour siesta! Most of our Thursday had passed but we were now well rested for the rest of our trip. That night we met up with my friend Chantal from Germany whom I had studied with in Costa Rica almost 3 years prior. Reunion number 2! We strolled around for a while enjoying the warm Valencian coastal scene until spotting a cute outside seating area where we decided to grab dinner. We split a couple rounds of Sangria and I enjoyed ordering a custom salad with lots of fresh veggies. Dinner and good conversation was a great way to end our first night in Valencia.

Sangria & Salad Dinner Outside w/ Heat Lamps

Beach!

Friday we decided to venture to the beach! After about an hour of searching for the right bus stop though we were finally on route and it looked like the weather was not on our side. When hopped off the bus, excited to see the infinite ocean awaiting our arrival, the grey clouds had completely filled the sky and it had begun to drizzle on us. We made the most of it and walked along the beach searching for shells - although mostly found washed up cement. When the wind and drizzly rain finally got to be a bit much we amused ourselves by playing with the old excercise equiptment while waiting again for the bus.

One of the many parts of the market I enjoyed - cheese!

Earlier that morning though we had managed to take a shopping spree at the famous market. It was much bigger and more diverse than the market here in Salamanca, and I was in heaven! There we bought most of our food for the next few days. After our rainy adventure to the beach it was about 3pm and everything was closed for siesta so we headed back to the hostel to make lunch. We enjoyed cooking a delicous meal of grilled mushrooms, potatoes and asparagus, with cheese (pesto, herb, and semi-curado) and bread. With our bellys full and the goal of a relaxing weekend on the mind, we took another nap. Later we met up with Chantal again and got churros and chocolate before checking out the Iglesia in the center.

View of the church

Churro Stand!

Saturday was our last day in Valencia. We visited the Museum of Art and finally saw some sunshine as we were walking to the metro to head to the airport. I got my last churro (as I forgot to mention Churro stands were everywhere in Valencia) which I guess distracted me from our mapping. We ended up walking 20 minutes past the metro stop which led to lots of stress and anxiety 40 minutes later when we backtracked and realized we were cutting it pretty short to make it to our plane. After counting minutes and seconds for the many metro stops, running up escalators, cutting Ryanair check in lines, running to security, more running to the gate, we finally made it - on time! With the stress of missing our plane behind us, we relaxed and settled in for a quick journey back to Salamanca. After another weekend of travelling I was happy to be home again in Salamanca, although my next trip was planned 4 days later so I didn't have too much time to relax.