Salamanca & Valladolid Homestay: Jan. 20 by Ellie S. & Megan R.

Today we visited the beautiful city of Salamanca.  We began our escapade by scaling the hills to merendar (to snack) at Café Las Torres in the Plaza Mayor.  Afterward we entered the unbelievably special cathedrals.  There were two cathedrals, the "Old" Cathedral (12th-14th centuries) of Romanesque design and the "New" Cathedral (16th-18th centuries) of Gothic design.  The students who have taken either AP European History or AP Art History gave us lessons on a few of the most important aspects of architecture and design.  It was also very fun trying to find the astronaut hidden in the facade.  We then scaled a billion stairs to reach the top of the tower of the cathedral.  I swear that I could see Nashville from there.  The scenery was unbelievably gorgeous. 

Afterward we embarked on the activity we do in each new city, the scavenger hunt.  We divided into teams of five, each with one of our AP Spanish Literature students (Ellie & Molly).  Our adventures included exploring Salamanca, finding local landmarks and, for the AP Lit students, the sites where events from one of their works took place. 

A site many people were very excited to see was la rana (frog) on the facade of the University of Salamanca. In the University's lore, if a student visits the university, but is

unable to find the frog, they will fail their courses.  Luckily for us, with the use of our Spanish to ask locals for directions, as well as helpfully seeing a magnet with a photo of the frog's location in a shop window, we were able to find the frog, which was being worn by a skull as a hat.  Hopefully, this bodes well for the rest of our school year!

After the scavenger hunt, we all reunited for a lovely lunch at an Italian restaurant called A'Tarantella.  Though we have all been enjoying Spanish food throughout our stay, it was a refreshing change of pace, and we appreciated having food a bit more similar to what we eat in the United States.  This meal was also phone free so that we could appreciate each other's company for the last few days of the trip. 

After lunch, we had an hour and a half of free time before we returned to our home stays.  We used this time to go out for gelato as a group, as well as buying gifts for our family members and souvenirs for ourselves.  We all bought matching University of Salamanca sweatshirts, which was a fun group bonding moment.  The sweatshirts will certainly help us remember our time in Spain.

Tomorrow, we attend school for one last day, and spend our last night at our home stays. Our time in Spain is quickly coming to a close, but with this, we are more sure than ever to savor every moment!