Salamanca 2

Arrgh! The roller shutters worked too well in keeping the light out of the room. I was supposed to meet G at 0930 for breakfast but it was 0920 when I awoke. I hurried to the cafe. It was a bright sunny morning, milder than the day before. At Plaza del Mercado there was a small produce market. G thought the piglets for sale were obscene.

I saw G off at the bus station. There was a Spanish mother with a cute young girl nearby. I said ¡Hola guapa! to the kid. The mother beamed at me.

Then it was back to more sightseeing. The University of Salamanca, founded in 1134, is the oldest in Spain and the third oldest in Europe in continuous operation, but the first to receive the formal title of University in 1254. Today it draws many students from all over Spain, as well as foreigners studying Spanish, giving the city a diverse spirit.

In 1572 Luis de León was imprisoned on accusations of heresy. Tradition has it that after he was cleared in 1576, he began his first lecture thus: Dicebamus hesterna die (As we were saying yesterday). Miguel de Unamuno is reputed to have used the same opening line after return from banishment by the Riviera dictatorship in 1930.

Many foreign students were visible in the quarter. On a noticeboard I saw ads for student lodging for around 20,000 pesetas per month, about 250 AUD in those days, as well as offers of tuition, etc. There were notices for student interests such as feminism, the occult, music, etc.

While resting on a bench near the Palacio de Anaya, I was greeted by an old man. He asked if I was Japanese (grr). After learning that I was Australian, he quizzed me. Was Tasmania part of Australia? What about New Zealand? Was Australia a rich country? What did we produce? Did we live in houses (casas) or flats (pisos)? Did I like Australia? Did I like Spain? Did we have much crime? He finished his inquisition by cautioning me to be careful of petty crime away from the Plaza Mayor.

I liked El Bardo so much that I went back there for lunch. It was tasty and filling vegetarian fare.

Late in the afternoon, post siesta, I went to look at the old Roman bridge which dates from the 1st century.

From the bridge I had a good view back towards the city.

For dinner I tried a pizza from Telepizza, a Spanish take away chain. The quality was pretty much what you would expect of such a business.

I read the news for a while in my room. At about 2300 I ventured out to view the Plaza Mayor. Discos could be heard. Business was winding down; chairs were being stacked up. There were lots of young people around. More Asian faces in evidence compared to other cities of this size. Students no doubt.

From the newspaper: China became the world's third largest economy, behind the US and Japan, displacing Germany, according to IMF reckoning. It had the potential to overtake the US. The Spanish economy went backwards between 1988 and 1992.

A second 6-pack of Los Cuentos de Borges, television adaptations of Borges stories, was to start screening soon. That episode seems to be the only one with a webpage, although the series is mentioned here so I wasn't imagining it.