a day trip to Salamanca

Lola and I woke up early Saturday morning (easier said than done) and drove up to Salamanca for the day. It wasn't a tourist visit, we've been to Salamanca numerous times. With the new highway it only takes an hour and a half from Plasencia. The main reason for this trip was to visit the enormous Decathlon store. Lola bought a basket for her bike and I purchased one of  those hip Quechua tents that flips open and (in theory) sets itself up in 2 seconds.

We did, however, stroll around town in the freezing cold for an hour or so before grabbing a bite to eat (I had   carrilleras - beef cheeks) and here´s the photographic proof.

Anybody who's ever spent 5 minutes in Salamanca has taken a photo of this building - La Casa de las Conchas. Previously owned by a doctor who was a member of the Order of Santiago, (whose symbol is the scallop shell, hence the facade being mercilessly decorated with shells) it now houses the public library.

And here we have Fernando and Isabel on the facade of the Universidad Civil. Despite the frigid temperature there was still a small crowd of tourists trying to locate that stupid frog sculpture. Don't know about the frog? Well, on the facade of this building there is a little frog that is difficult to find. (Spoiler alert: the frog is located on a skull on a column to the right of, and slightly above, Fernando and Isabel.) It isn't much to look at - the frog is badly eroded - but if you find it you will, supposedly, have good luck and even get married within a year.

Anyway, here´s the stupid frog:

And the plaza mayor... 

And this crazy face I spotted high up on a building near the cathedral:

And we paid a visit to Casa Lis (http://www.museocasalis.org/) which is a small Art Nouveau and Art Deco museum. I highly recommend a visit just for the creepy two-headed dolls and the great music. (There were Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole tunes pumping out of the museum speakers during our visit!)