We got there around 2, which is right during siesta time, so we checked into the hotel and met with another professor (Dr. Ricecamp I thin
k) who is here for genealogy, who is also from BYU, who was going to show us around the city. After he briefed us on what we were going to do for the day, and where to meet him when siesta was over, we set out to look around the city for the half hour or so of free time that we had, which turned out to be just the right amount of time that we needed to find the place that we were supposed to meet him. We started the tour, and it was really cool to have him there, because he knows just about everything about just about everything in the city from all of the genealogy work that he has done there. So we got a first hand tour from someone who really knows his stuff! We went to another Cathedral, the Cathedral of Salamanca, which was like a nice new cathedral at first, which was then connected to an older cathedral that was off to the side. In the older cathedral on the floor you can see different colored tiles, which were burial places for people in older times. I guess back in the Renisance times, you could have it written into your will that you wanted to be buried in the cathedral, and then when you died, they would open up one of the tiles that had a space underneath them for the purpose of burying people , put your body in, then seal it back up. Then every so often th
ey would go through, clean out the bones and put them in a graveyard near the cathedral, or something like that. That would not be my ideal job, bone cleaner outer. In fact, I wouldn’t do it at all! Good thing they don’t do that anymore, or if they do, good thing I don’t know about it! After telling us about the cathedral, we had about 15 minutes of free time, so Kate and I went around from room to room testing the acoustics either by coughing or clearing our throats rather loudly, then waiting for people to clear out so we could hum a hymn or 2. I was a little disappointed with the acoustics of this one, and we weren’t able to have quite the same humming experience as before, but it was still fun.
We then made our way over to the University that is in this town. It’s really famous for its linguistics programs and had some pretty cool architecture! Before walking in, we were told to look at the façade and look for the hidden frog, which if found is supposed to either bring you good luck or marriage within the year. It was kinda funny because the girl who found it first is the one that is engaged, so I guess the myths must be true! Haha! We walked around and saw the university as is was back at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, and they told a really cool story about one of the professors that used to teach there, who was kidnapped by the Spanish and tortured for 5 years, and upon returning to his classroom to teach, with people packed into the classroom to hear what he was going to say, he started his class by saying “As I was saying yesterday” and then taught like nothing had happened to him at all. Kind of a cool story.
After the university, we said good bye to our cheery tour guide and headed back to the hotel to grab the rest of the lunch our madre had made us, and ate that for dinner. After the very enjoyable sandwich me and the girls I was rooming with decided to head down to the old Roman bridge that they have right there in the city. Apparently it has been there since before Christ and was still being used as a road a few years before. Obviously it has been re-done, but it was still cool to walk across it and see some of the ruins of other parts of the bridge sprouting off in random directions. There was also a really neat view of the cathedral, all lit up at night. I wasn’t able to get such a great picture with my camera because it was dark and the cathed
ral was far away, too far for the flash to reach, so you will just have to trust me that it was really pretty.
After enjoying the brisk night walk, we originally were going to go back to the hotel and watch a movie on someone’s lap top, but it turned into a big girl talk night, which was still good! I really love the people that I am here with! Most of us are getting really close with each other, we all know just about everything about each other’s lives and everything, and I feel like wherever I go, I am just surrounded by best friends! Its so much fun!
k) who is here for genealogy, who is also from BYU, who was going to show us around the city. After he briefed us on what we were going to do for the day, and where to meet him when siesta was over, we set out to look around the city for the half hour or so of free time that we had, which turned out to be just the right amount of time that we needed to find the place that we were supposed to meet him. We started the tour, and it was really cool to have him there, because he knows just about everything about just about everything in the city from all of the genealogy work that he has done there. So we got a first hand tour from someone who really knows his stuff! We went to another Cathedral, the Cathedral of Salamanca, which was like a nice new cathedral at first, which was then connected to an older cathedral that was off to the side. In the older cathedral on the floor you can see different colored tiles, which were burial places for people in older times. I guess back in the Renisance times, you could have it written into your will that you wanted to be buried in the cathedral, and then when you died, they would open up one of the tiles that had a space underneath them for the purpose of burying people , put your body in, then seal it back up. Then every so often th
ey would go through, clean out the bones and put them in a graveyard near the cathedral, or something like that. That would not be my ideal job, bone cleaner outer. In fact, I wouldn’t do it at all! Good thing they don’t do that anymore, or if they do, good thing I don’t know about it! After telling us about the cathedral, we had about 15 minutes of free time, so Kate and I went around from room to room testing the acoustics either by coughing or clearing our throats rather loudly, then waiting for people to clear out so we could hum a hymn or 2. I was a little disappointed with the acoustics of this one, and we weren’t able to have quite the same humming experience as before, but it was still fun.We then made our way over to the University that is in this town. It’s really famous for its linguistics programs and had some pretty cool architecture! Before walking in, we were told to look at the façade and look for the hidden frog, which if found is supposed to either bring you good luck or marriage within the year. It was kinda funny because the girl who found it first is the one that is engaged, so I guess the myths must be true! Haha! We walked around and saw the university as is was back at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, and they told a really cool story about one of the professors that used to teach there, who was kidnapped by the Spanish and tortured for 5 years, and upon returning to his classroom to teach, with people packed into the classroom to hear what he was going to say, he started his class by saying “As I was saying yesterday” and then taught like nothing had happened to him at all. Kind of a cool story.
After the university, we said good bye to our cheery tour guide and headed back to the hotel to grab the rest of the lunch our madre had made us, and ate that for dinner. After the very enjoyable sandwich me and the girls I was rooming with decided to head down to the old Roman bridge that they have right there in the city. Apparently it has been there since before Christ and was still being used as a road a few years before. Obviously it has been re-done, but it was still cool to walk across it and see some of the ruins of other parts of the bridge sprouting off in random directions. There was also a really neat view of the cathedral, all lit up at night. I wasn’t able to get such a great picture with my camera because it was dark and the cathed
ral was far away, too far for the flash to reach, so you will just have to trust me that it was really pretty.After enjoying the brisk night walk, we originally were going to go back to the hotel and watch a movie on someone’s lap top, but it turned into a big girl talk night, which was still good! I really love the people that I am here with! Most of us are getting really close with each other, we all know just about everything about each other’s lives and everything, and I feel like wherever I go, I am just surrounded by best friends! Its so much fun!
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