Silver tops still wandering

‘Go to Salamanca’ so many said, so we did, and what great advice that was. Steeped in history and many a thing to warrant me getting my camera out.

But firstly I have to report that Princess Precious Four Paws, AKA Mrs. Russell has had to go and make the acquaintence of the local non English speaking vet. A wonderful service where you simply ‘walk in and wait’, which we did. Mrs Russell then obligingly rolled over to show off her affliction. One very red and scratched tummy. Seems old ‘precious’ here has developed an allergy. Not helped by the heat. So after the indignity of having a steroid injection into her gluteal maximus equivalent, and a tummy rub with aloe vera ointment, she nonchalantly swanned off and left us to pay the bill.

We are not particularly amused!

We three took a leisurely stroll around the old town, after doing battle with an underground car park. It seems to me that the whole idea of ‘parking’ is somewhat different here. I love that the cars are deposited within the allotted and clearly marked spaces, but these ‘slots’ are randomly positioned. The result is a car park that resembles a badly organised garage forecourt. I love all things ‘willy nilly’ and assymetrical so this appealed to me. But then I wasn’t the driver on this occasion and didn’t have to negotiate the concrete pillars, all of which were wearing sponge bandages. It was a little tight around some corners! Some words were used that probably don’t translate well into Spanish, many with anatomical connutations.

Storks … I think, nesting on an iconic bell tower.

Just keeping a beady eye on Mrs Russell!

The opportunities to photograph any number of amazing buildings were many. It would be very easy to spend a lot longer here and get to know the history and stories that these walls and magnificent carvings represent. We didn’t have that luxury as Portugal was beckoning.

We did however spend a very special evening in the Plaza Major. We broke all our rules about eating late and settled down with a cheeky chilled white in what can only be described as an absolutely stunning setting.

Our waiter was wonderful. He eventually just left us the digestif on the table with a couple of glasses. The late evening was spent chatting to our neighbours who were touring around in a similar fashion to us from Rotterdam. Many giggles and stories were shared and swapped.

The square lit up as the sun went down … and so was I!

After my ‘Kate Winslet’ moment we were escorted back to our hotel suite by Mrs Russell who was more than ready to put herself to bed.

A very special time in a very special place. We stayed up late and ambled through the streets assisted as ever by the very capable Mrs Google. Does she never sleep?

Onwards now to another new place. I have loved my brief stay in Spain and would love to come back again.