Starting to settle in

June 17, 2014

Hi all,

            We’re starting to settle into a routine but are still suffering a bit from jetlag. Everything here is on a much later schedule than we’re used to. Nothing opens before 9:00 or 10:00am, lunch is at 2:30, stores close for a bit in the afternoon, and then open again until 10:00pm. Dinner at restaurants doesn’t start until 8:30 or so, but it seems like most folks don’t really get around to eating until 10:00pm.

            Grace seems very happy with her class. She’s taking a course from 10:00am-2:00pm with three other students, one from Brazil, one from Scotland, and another from China. The library where I’ve been working is not only around the corner from Grace’s school but is also an incredibly pleasant place. It’s an ultra modern library worked into a very, very old building and has several tables near windows and outlets where I can write.

            The pool where we’ve begun swimming seems like it will work great. Their system is a bit unusual though. They have the day divided into 45-minute chunks signaled by a loud siren and when the siren goes off you have to get out so the next round of swimmers can get in.

            We hope to have a more interesting post for you after we settle in a bit more.

Grace's school, Tia Tula, is just a block away from both the Catedral nueva (which you can see here), and the library where I work 

view from the table where I've set up inside the library Casa de las Conchas

I get to watch folks walk around while working, a nice distraction...

we pass by the Plaza Mayor on our walk to class each day (one of the entrances here)

more of the interesting buildings we pass on our walk

we live on the road that forms a circle around old Salamanca, with the rest of the city expanding out past it. There's a little bakery there on the corner where we've been trying galletas every day. It's a chain store that seems to be all over the city. 

The pool where we swim is less than 10 minutes away. The graffiti outside makes it look a bit rough but it's quite nice. Note the bike path that runs through the city.

There's a charcuterie store with jamon and cured meats on practically every block since Salamanca is famous for this meat. Here was a display in one of the grocery stores. 

And here was one of the three other stands of ham for sale in the nearest big grocery store.