AS I NEVER TAKE A WALK WITH A TURTLE #3 and LAST

Before returning back to Lisbon, a stop in Salamanca was great. I could breath in the atmosphere of the famous student city where the purest Spanish is spoken. This makes it be a popular destination for students wanting to learn Spanish.

The glowing sandstone buildings of the old city shine on a bright sunny day and you immediately understand why the Old Town is called "The Golden City.

It's delightful to wander the streets of the historic city, most of which are for pedestrians, only.

The honey coloured buildings are lovely and harmonious. There is a lot of street life to enjoy: cafes and restaurants mixed among the churches, monuments and historical sites.

Plaza Mayor (The Main Square) - the meeting point for Spanish people and tourists, as well. Built in 1729 and completed in 1755, Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor is widely considered one of the most beautiful plazas in Spain. Throughout its history,  Plaza Mayor has served as a market, and a bull fighting arena. Nowadays, it hosts the City Hall as well as a variety of restaurants and stores.

The elephant sculpture by a Spanish artist adds a touch of whimsy to the Square. 

You see faces of prominent people in Spanish history
 carved into the sandstone above the Plaza's 88 arches.





From Plaza Mayor I walked to the local market but it was already closed. All I could see was a man selling strings of garlic heads, at a street nearby. For my curiosity I asked him the price per string: €5.0 (US$5.8, approximately)!!! Much cheaper than in Portugal...

It's seen at a roundabout on Avenue of Portugal

As I returned back home, the two windmills that I see from my bedroom, greeted me...

~~ Thanks for having joined me ~~

~~ Have a great weekend and a wonderful month ahead ~~

AS I NEVER TAKE A WALK WITH A TURTLE...#2

When we drive around Spain we often spot a large silhouette of a black bull on the top of a hillside. That is what is known as the Osborne bull, and it is the unofficial symbol of Spain.  These came about as advertising for the Osborne sherry company, which started to put these bulls up by major roads in Spain  to advertise their “Brandy de Jerez”. When a law was passed to prohibit all advertising within a certain distance from the road, the bulls were made bigger.

Ciudad Grupo Santander (Grupo Santander City) was built in the vicinities of Madrid. It's one of the best corporate headquarters in the world, and one of the most ambitious and innovative projects undertaken by a Spanish company, both in terms of its size and in terms of its operational implications.

Entrance canopy - exactly like a conventional border control. Before crossing it, and, despite having getting noticed beforehand from our group's arrival,  there was a strict control (I was requested by a security guard to take my glasses of as he checked my passport).

More than 5,000 trees and shrubs were planted  in the construction of the course and the vegetation is flourishing with a multitude of colors and wonderful scents.The local fauna is beautiful and you can find species such as the grebe, redfish, coot and mallard. Regretfully, I was there with the main purpose of playing and not taking photos.

 Grove of 1,000-year-old olive trees transplanted from Sicily

The golf resort was founded by the bank Grupo Santander with the intent of providing bank employees, customers, shareholders, and also the general public with a superb golf course. It is 6,855 meters long form the back tees, which makes it be one of the longest courses in Europe and also in Spain.

Main Building

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~

~~ May you all have a great start of the week ~~