I’m ba-a-a-ack!

And lovin’ it! Of course, the best part is being with G, since I haven’t seen him in over a year. But, it’s also fun and comfortingly familiar to be back in Madrid. It just seemed so normal to be traveling on the Metro again and I recognized the stops and the way to his apartment like I’d never left.

I came in on Friday, which was a holiday. It’s St. Joseph’s Day (or San José as they say here), sort of the equivalent of Father’s Day. Here it's the start of a 3-day weekend and apparently lots of people travel home (to whatever other part of Spain that may be) to celebrate with—you guessed it: dad.

When we got “home” from the airport, G introduced me to a friend from Vienna who had arrived in town for business, but (long story omitted) ended up having to stay at his apartment Friday night. G had to work Saturday morning and I figured I’d get up and do some shopping, etc. before he got back, but ended up catching up on my sleep (jet lag + short nights finishing an end-of-quarter project). We had talked about going somewhere this weekend—possibly Salamanca—but I was surprised when I got up to see G and his friend busy with his cell phone and new netbook, making reservations. “We have to leave in 15 minutes to make the bus,” he said. We each stuffed a toothbrush and a couple other items into a small bag and went racing out the door. Made the bus with 5 minutes to spare. Two and a half hours later, after traveling through rolling farmland, we arrived in Salamanca.

It’s a picturesque town with the oldest of Spain's existing universities (12th century), convents, churches & a cathedral, etc. Almost all of it is built from a golden-pinkish sandstone quarried nearby. (With all those huge buildings, I'm sure there's a plain where there used to be at least a small mountain.) As with most medieval towns, I suppose, everything historical is within walking distance, so we spent Saturday evening and most of Sunday just wandering among the crowd of locals and other visitors, eating at outdoor cafes, climbing up inside the cathedral towers, taking pictures, and other touristy stuff.

The architecture is pretty interesting and the incredibly detailed carved stonework on many of the buildings is something to behold. Apparently if you can find the frog that’s carved in one of the ornate facades of the university, you’re supposed to have good luck for the following year or, if you’re a student there, that you’ll pass the course. (Yes, we found it…with a little assistance.)

It’s spring and the weather’s mild, so I only saw two fur coats Sunday afternoon. (That cathedral was still rather chilly inside.)