Day Sixty Seven: Sundays in Salamanca

I LOVE Sundays in Salamanca. It’s truly a day of rest here because nearly everything shuts down including grocery stores, encouraging people to stay in with their loved ones or go out and do something that doesn’t involve spending money. Usually, we wake up slow.

This morning, I went out with my roommate and friend to visit the gardens of Salamanca and finally find the frog in this famous wall of the university. Legend has it that if you can find the frog, you’ll get all A’s or you’ll return to Salamanca. I found it, but only because I had already seen the thing it’s on top of, otherwise I don’t think I ever would’ve realized it was a frog.The gardens were next on the agenda. We walked through a tan stone arch into a bright green garden with a man singing songs in Spanish and playing guitar to our left. I love that it always seems like there’s a musician on every street to set the mood and remind me where I am. The gardens weren’t huge, but they were pretty and peaceful, and had a view overlooking part of the city. I also found a new second favorite flower, the yellow and orange ones posted below (if you know what they are leave me comment!) We sat on a bench and talked for a while just enjoying the atmosphere.We came home to the perfect Sunday lunch of paella. I chose to spend the rest of my day relaxing more to get ready for the week. We turned off the lights in our room and I watched a movie, and then, to top off this lovely day, it started raining outside. It’s one of those loud rains too, where it sounds like a bath is filling up right next to your window.

I don’t get to spend many Sundays in this city because I’m usually traveling. In fact, this is my last one here until December I believe. But there is something about the way the whole city seems to rest that puts an enchantment on this day of the week. It is one of my favorite things, and probably one of the things I will miss the most.