SALAMANCA [Part II]

Can you feel it?

I had a really long night in Salamanca, and all I got was a t-shirt from La Chupeteria. I think you get the idea: I did not get much sleep, and my head was hurting with a tenacity that I have experienced few times in my life. I can usually pinpoint those experiences based on my consumption of something out of the ordinary for me, and this instance I chose the favorite of Van Gogh and Robert Jordan, absinthe. All I can say is ouch. I nearly got into a fight with a Spanish punk who grabbed my beard, but I was restrained by my buddy Daryl, who kept me company while I experienced the Salamancan nightlife. Three words "cheap is dangerous". Well, that's all I am going to say, as I am sure some of the more senior readers of my travels are not quite as interested in the more reckless ways in which I spend their money. At least I didn't spend that much [three words].

I woke the next morning after a three-hour date with my bed to find that I had ten minutes to pack and check out of the hotel. That meant eight minutes to sleep and two minutes to pack and get out of the hotel, I threw on the only change of clothes that I had with me, which was basically the same thing I wore the night before, neatly placed my Caviar sunglasses upon the bridge of my nose, and ran down the stairs to be the first one out the door. The world was too bright, but I had to take advantage of the adrenaline rush that I got from waking up and see the oldest schools in Europe.

I could definitely have gone to this place. Started sometime in the 12th Century, this school is made up of a mix of building from styles that span many centuries and many occupations and styles. There is an influence from every culture that Spain had conquered or was occupied by. My two favorite parts of the entire old campus were the huge redwood tree that was growing in the center of the courtyard in the main administration building and the planetarium of sorts that was used to study the stars. Both of these elements showed the true age of a school with so much history, as the tree was probably planted when the school was started, and that thing was TALL.

The tour of the school was amazing, but that was all my head could handle. It was time to venture off and escape the piercing rays of the sun and take refuge in a cafe where I could fill up on hangover killers like OJ, cafe con leche, and un pincho de tortilla. That is what I needed! After seeing the library at the Universidad, I walked discretely out of the university building and putting my hood on to hide my identity, I sneaked away towards the shopping district where I could find an establishment that would satisfy my primal needs for food and drink. An oasis revealed itself in the form of a cafe just off of the Plaza Mayor, and the oasis turned into a paradise when I discovered that they were playing the Olympic Men's Super-G ski race on the TV. I slowly recovered through two glasses of fresh orange juice, some tortilla, and two coffees, and I was again ready to go back into the harsh world.

I left the cafe to do some of the errands that I told myself I would do when I got to Salamanca. I am not going to say what they are for the risk of spoiling some future surprises, but I can assure you it was nothing illicit. In fact, I made a new Spanish friend, a little dog named Pipi [above], who was the pet of the proprietor of the store I went into. After securing my query, I went to meet up with some of the others from my group for a little afternoon relaxation. When we reconvened I found out that the part of the tour that I missed was dumb, and that I made the right choice in leaving. Phew. We walked into a casino and took a load off at the McDonalds, where I made my mandatory Big Mac stop, something that I feel I must do at any city with a McDonalds. God Bless the US of A.

We went back to the hotel for a small nap, which I replaced with watching Manchester United lose to Birmingham [nice], and then we got back on the bus to go back to Madrid. A short trip, but fun nonetheless. I most definitely would return to Salamanca to get more of the city and take better care of myself. The bus ride back was rather torturous, as I could not get any sleep due to the quantity of coffee that I consumed earlier in the day, so I just stared at the ceiling of the bus or out the window.

An album that kept me occupied during the trip. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Band of Gypsys [Live at Fillmore East]