Salamanca, Portugal, and Ciudad Rodrigo

We left Avila and headed west to the university town of Salamanca. Salamanca is considered one of the most spectacular Renaissance cities in Europe. Through the centuries the sandstone buildings have gained an exquisite golden glow that has given Salamanca the nickname La Ciudad Dorada, the golden city. This golden glow is unique in Spain and is due to the "Villamayor Stone", a very special type of sandstone coming from a quarry situated in Villamayor, a village close to Salamanca.
The old Romanesque cathedral was founded in the 12th century. The nearby University was founded in 1218. Currently 36,000 students attend what has to be one of the most historic campuses on earth. I had to get a Salamanca U. t-shirt.

After Salamanca we pressed on further West until at last we crossed the border into Portugal. What did we see in Portugal? Oh...ummm...nothing actually. We spent 15 minutes in the border town of Vilar Formoso, snapped this photo at the quaint train station, then back into Espana. Yes, my quest to travel to every country in the world leads us to silly excursions, but the border was so close, I couldnt pass it by. I'm sure Portugal is lovely, and I certainly plan to give it my full attention on a future trip.

After spinning thru Portugal, we backtracked to the tiny Spanish village of Ciudad Rodrigo. Here I had a surprise for Lindso. I had booked us a room in a small castle dating back to 1372.

Rodrigo was a quiet walled town, population 14,000, surrounded by farmland and topped by our castle with sweeping views of the valley and an ancient roman bridge. We had a very quiet evening here, drinking in the castle's dungeon-like pub complete with a suit of armor in the place of a bouncer.