KAT'S VISIT TO SALAMANCA!

Kat and I on the terrace at the top of the cathedral!

So here I am at the start of another week of mi Vida Erasmus, where is the time going? I've been in Salamanca 9 weeks exactly to today-, and there are only 6 weeks until I go home for Christmas! This last weekend has been great as Kat's been visiting from Bordeaux!!! She didn't arrive until 10pm on Friday, so I had all day Friday to get on with Uni work and actually start being a student, as it just seems that I'm on an extended holiday really! I had a very productive day, and then in the evening I went for a walk around the centre with Florian, and then went to meet Kat at the bus station! I've been looking forward to her visit for weeks, so it was really great to finally see her! We had a good old natter whilst we walked back to my place, and then in the evening we made a snacky dinner at midnight! Yes, we actually ate our dinner at midnight! This is the crazy eating-hour of the Spaniards! After a few hours chatting we finally went to sleep in the early hours- poor Kat was so tired from her travelling bless!!!

Saturday morning we actually woke up quite early and raring to get going and out of the house! We walked into the centre and I showed Kat the old quarter such as the Plaza de Anaya where my faculty is, and the cathedral.... And then we went to find the famous Salamancan frog! Kat was never going to find it, so I just pointed it out on the wall! as the weather was so nice, we then decided to climb the medieval towers of the cathedral, and the view at the top was amazing. It was possible to see all of the surrounding area, and out across the river to the edges of Salamanca! After all that climbing we the decided to go and have a well deserved tapas break and a sit down! In the afternoon we just wandered around the streets, and then for dinner we went to Montaditos at the train station and had mini bocadillos and some cañas! Then for dessert afterwards we bought chocolate and churrros from a trailer outside the train station! They were sooo cheap, and DELICIOUS!!!! - much better than the churros you can buy in cafes! Then in the evening we just chilled out and watched the film 'The Sweetest thing'.

Kat outside the languages faculty

A photo of the cathedral tower from one of the surrounding narrow streets! Oh how spanish :)

The Salamancan frog!

The view from the top of the cathedral facing towards Salamanca centre

Kat by the Churreria!

Me and the yummy yummy churros!

 

Where did that stereotype come from that Spain is always hot- I mean like ALL year around? Because it's definitely not true! This weekend in Sala has been really sunny thank god ( because I wouldn't have wanted Kat to have seen it in the rain!!) however it's been pretty cold too! We had the longeeeeeeeest lie in ever on Sunday, and then we had planned to cook a tortilla but we then couldn't be bothered- we're far too lazy! I wasn't sure what we could do for the day as Saturday we climbed the cathedral and had a wander around the centre, but after looking at a map of Sala I spotted a really large park down by the river called 'Parque de Los Jesuitas' which looked great! So we decided to head off there walking! Eventually we made it down to the river and the park seemed nonexistent, when according to the map it was right next to the road! So we decided to turn left to try and find it, and came across an old abandoned industrial site running next to the river, as well as a run-down park and a cycle track too! It was really pretty down there by the river as all the trees in Sala are now starting to turn those gorgeous autumnal colours, and the river sort of turned into a mini lake which was picturesque, so we took a few photos before heading across the river to sit down and take in the amazing views of the cathedral! After a while admiring the cathedral we started to get chilly and Kat said her bum was cold!!! so we decided to go for a mcdondalds mc flurry!! (obviously the thing to have when you're already cold- not!) but it was really yummy!!!! By late afternoon we were really tired and didn't have the energy to go looking for the Parque de los Jesuitas again, so instead I took Kat to this little secret garden in the centre which Kayleigh showed me a few weeks ago! It’s honestly like a secret garden in there, with so many plants and overhanging vines! Really picturesque! And something really lovely is that there is a well in the centre, but it’s not just an ordinary fountain as it is covered with padlocks!! And all of the padlocks have people’s names- names of lovers who have sealed their love at that spot with the padlock! How romantic!!!! I have included a photo below. In the evening we went to the train station/cinema complex on my road to have a look at the film times, and luckily they had the film 'Tiburon- la presa' (Shark- the prey) starting at 6.30, so we bought our tickets and then went to Montaditos for a drink and a well deserved sit-down after all of the walking we did today!!! The film was much better than I expected for a shark attack film, and had a hint of horror in it as well which made it better! The Spanish language was also quite easy to understand which was much easier for Kat as she studies Advanced French and Beginners Spanish. After the film we were going to go back to Montaditos again, but instead decided to go back to mine and finally attempt cooking a Spanish tortilla! At first I was a bit lost at how to cook it without a recipe, but then i remembered how Lorena cooked one the other day..... And so we started cooking it like that! First I peeled and finely chopped 3 large baking potatoes and put them in a large deep frying pan with lots of oil and set them frying. Kat then finely chopped a red onion (whilst crying of course!) and fried that separately and then Laurie cracked 6 eggs into a glass bowl and whisked them up! We then basically had to wait until the potatoes were well cooked and breaking apart before adding them to the glass bowl with the whisked eggs and the chopped fried onion. We then mixed it all together and to be honest it didn't look very appetising...... But then we put the tortilla mixture into a deep frying pan and as it cooked it began to actually look like a tortilla! The problem came though when we had to flip it as there was too much oil, so we had to drain some of the oil first, then give it a flip! A few minutes later we had a perfect Spanish tortilla! We then made a salad, got a fresh French baguette as well as a plate of cheeses and mozzarella and tomato salad and the three of us had a lovely meal :) I'm pretty proud of my new found cooking skills..... I'll have to make it for my parents when I go home (just to prove I'm not an entire disaster in the kitchen!)

The cathedral from across the river

Kat and I down by the river

The well with all of the love padlocks!

The tortilla meal with Laurie and Kat!

 

Yesterday was Monday- and despite waking up late Kat and I actually had a productive day doing Uni work! I managed to get all of my French notes written up, and she did quite a lot of her French work too! Then in the evening I went to my French class which was really good :) I'm starting to enjoy the classes a lot more now, and I feel a lot more organised now that all of my notes are written up into my folder! Now I just need to start the Rosetta Stone language CDs that Dad bought me- but finding time here is an issue! The days are just so busy! After French I then went to my usual hostel to use the wifi again. It's week 9 and We still don't have internet in the flat! It’s such a pain as I'm having to lug my laptop into the centre, and also pay money for drinks just to use the Internet! Skype is also impossible to use as there's always so much noise in cafes and hostels- so I really can't wait until we get the wifi in the flat. I keep being told that they (Orange) are coming, but honestly I have stopped believing now, and well...... I guess I'll just have to wait until one day it works! :( It really has added so much stress to my time here though- note to future Erasmus students---- make sure you get a flat with wifi already installed. It will save you a lot of hassle, and money as well. This morning I woke up early around 7am ish and went to my History and Culture of Italy class! Only 2 other people turned up, and we ended up watching a film! It was about marriage and divorce in Italy in the 1960’s- so it was quite interesting really! Then I just went to my Literature and Cinema class and the lecturer didn’t turn up until 20 past 12..... and then he couldn’t get his laptop to work with the projector to watch a film and he was still faffing around at 12.40! We then left as most of the time had gone, and there wasn’t enough time to watch the film in another room! That’s Uni in Spain for you! I honestly wonder how any Spanish students get degrees! I miss Uni in Leicester! Never again will I complain about Leicester’s organisation! Ok, time to head off and meet Kat now for some lunch, and then I have Italian Language from 5-7! Lots of Salamancan love! <3 XXX