I lost my heart to Salamanca!

A Flor in Salamanca

Refreshed by chocolate, the next morning saw us to the Estación de Charmartín train station to catch the train to Salamanca. It's a 2.5 hour ride over the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains and past picturesque towns surrounded by medieval crenelated walls. (And storks. But more on them later.)

Salamanca is a gorgeous city. Elegant. Graceful. It would not be entirely wrong to say that I lost my heart to Salamanca. And after only two days, I knew this was a place I could see myself living in, and that Joe and I would have to find a way to come back. Enough history, culture, art, and food crammed into a small cozy city to keep me happy, and with Madrid less than 3 hours away by train for when the hankering for someplace bigger comes along.

Anyone from a university town will be immediately comfortable in Salamanca. The heart of the city is its beautiful Plaza Mayor and the ancient University (founded in 1218, making it almost exactly 600 years older than the University of Michigan). And although tourist shops dominate the area immediately around the Plaza Mayor and other historic sites, the streets themselves are filled with a lively mix of students and tourists. The entire old city is walkable, and neighborhoods farther out are easily accessible by bus. True to the general layout of medieval cities, the streets are a tangled maze, but Salamanca's small size means that in a few days you'll be easily finding your way around.

Our first day there, we set out for the Plaza Mayor, just a few blocks from our hotel. Almost immediately I spied a bakery and the most delicious looking pastries arrayed in the window. A delicate, crisp confection caught my eye. I had to have one.

This particular bakery called it a floreta, though I saw it labeled as a "flor" everywhere else. And yes, it was as delicious and crispy as it looks. I bought several more during our stay, and immediately upon returning home I searched for a flor maker. The closest I have found are these Swedish Rosette Irons and these Rosette Irons. But the pictures of the finished cookies look shorter and doughy-er than the Spanish flores. (If anyone knows a source for the irons to make Salamantino flores, please let me know!)

Just a few scant blocks away from the historic university area are streets populated with locals and non-tourist stores. Appliances, clothing, home goods, groceries, fruit and vegetable markets... all the things of a living city.

Evening time is for taking a paseo, and the locals come out en masse to stroll and enjoy lively conversation. The air was filled with the chatter of a thousand conversations, a delightful sound unlike any I've ever heard in an American city.

Next up: Really awesome Tapas in Salamanca

Comments

[Aimee]

Wow, that flor looks like something only fairies could eat. So delicate!

[Nach]

May be you can ask for hand made one, there where you live. I have two very old, each one from different grandmother (family's memory), and there are several models (flower forms):

· Photo 1
· Photo 2
· Photo 3
· Photo 4

I dunno. May be you can find it in a old Hardware store in Salamanca, but I haven't seen it yet in stores. Both (photos) are hand made, heavy iron, called "de forja" in spanish.

You have a delicious blog!
Best Regards.

[Kitchen Chick]

Nach, those are beautiful!

Fortunately we were able to a friend from Spain to find one in a hardware store (I would have never known to look there!) and ship it to us. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe I'll do that this weekend.