Wet north to the hot centre

Weds 15^th

Rained all day. We drove to Lago de Sanabria which I am sure would have been very nice to walk around.  We only ventured out of the van to have a shower. Huge campsite right by the lake. Us and one other couple in a caravan on the entire site.  What a shame – we definitely will revisit.

lots of water

Thurs 16^th

Still raining so we drove straight to Salamanca. The wind on the autovia was very strong, buffeting the van about. The rain had stopped and it was warm again. The landscape changed to huge open plains with lots of agriculture.  The site was on the river Tormes 2 km out of town. Very neat and tidy plots. The wifi was possibly the best yet as we could watch UK tv on the laptop without any ‘loading” moments. Sad I know, but when we can, we catch up on some tv!  We enjoyed the evening sun and warmth which was very welcome after the rain and cool temperature of the last 2 days further north.

Fri 17^th

We cycled into Salamanca when it had warmed up a bit as it had been a mere 8 deg C when we woke up. The cycle path was very bitty and non existent in places. Still we enjoyed it and arrived below the most impressive old town. The Museum of Art was right above us with huge stained glass windows. 

fantastic stained glass

We pushed the bikes up through the narrow streets until we found a suitable place to lock them up. First impressions – what a beautiful place with very fine buildings. The renaissance architecture was magnificent and very well preserved / restored. The university is in the centre so there were all sorts of weird and wonderful students mingling with the tourists. Plaza Major is a rival for St Marks in Venice IMHO. The students plonk themselves down in the middle to chat and relax. Casa de la Concha was my favourite. 

Plaza Major

students at "work"

The cathedral was huge and made from grey, somber granite on the exterior. The interior however had the most amazing limestone arches. The gold factor was reasonably modest for once!  We thoroughly enjoyed wandering about and soaking up the atmosphere. We cycled back to a nice cup of tea and put our aching feet up for a rest.

convent

public library!

casa de la conchas 

university behind

cathedral door

roman bridge

Sat 18^th

Avila was our next stop as it has the best preserved ramparts and wall in Spain. When we arrived at the aire the circus was in town – all over the aire! So plan B – parking Rastra. This was right under the walls and very close to a gate into the town. Perfect – apart from the noise the cars made on the cobbled road directly below us. 6 other vans were there for the night.

view from our parking spot

vans behind trees

ceiling detail

dusk

like a film set at night

evening stroll

What a place, the walls and turrets look as if they are a film set. Lots and lots of character and atmosphere as we walked around the perimeter. The sunshine and continuing warm temperatures made it all the better.