This past weekend 5 of us from the program ventured off to Salamanca... it is Northwest of Spain and pretty close to the Portuguese border. The city is fairly small and reminded us all of Madison because it is very much like a college town. The main attraction is The University of Salamanca which is the oldest University in Spain. The other main attractions of Salamanca are its Plaza Mayor (which is breathtaking at night) and the Old and New Cathedrals. During the day the Plaza is full of people and all the cafes put tables and chairs out so you can drink your cafe con leche (coffee) and eat a pastry from one of the many bakeries inside the plaza.

The five of us stayed in a hostal in the downtown area....and it wasn't exactly my best hostal experience but for all of you who keep reinforcing the "be safe" message because you recently saw the movie Taken or have in the past seen the movie Hostal, don't worry! When I say that it wasn't the best experience I only am referring to its cleanliness. However, it only cost 17 euro a night and it was in an excellent location so in the end the good outweighed the bad.

The nightlife was much like Madison as well with people in their 20s dominating the bar scene. The nightlife in Salamanca is supposed to begin in the Chupiterias or shot bars... in my opinion, it is not the best way to start a night but we decided that we would only be in Salamanca once so we had to do it right!

After the shot bars we went to a normal bar where I asked for whatever beer was on tap (usually Mahou) and the woman handed me a liter of beer.... the serving sizes in Spain seem to be much bigger than in the states!

We finished both nights in clubs (which are free in Salamanca a definite one up on Madrid where most of the clubs have at least 10 euro cover charge)....

Before getting on the bus on Sunday we went out to lunch where Robbie ordered Salamanca's signature dish Cochinillo, which translates as roast suckling pig. it was disgusting. Becky and I, who are both vegetarians, had a very hard time sitting at the same table as him. They basically stuck a baby pig in a fryer cut it in half and put it on his plate... and I thought the raw steaks at Gibson's were bad....