Semana Santa Starts in Salamanca

Semana Santa, the traditional Easter Week parades, starts for us in Salamanca with a Palm Sunday procession during the day especially for the children. Salamanca is our favourite city so far. Like Segovia it is a UNESCO World Heritage city built of golden coloured stone. The ancient University buildings, the oldest in Spain founded in 1218, jostle with the Cathedrals - both old and 'new', we are talking 12th and 16th centuries here. The nearby Plaza Mayor is magnificent and full of life, the whole town has a really good buzz about it.

We take time out from sightseeing to window shop, there are some fabulous Meubles - furniture shops, and we dip into the great Museuo Art Nouveau y Art Deco. Next door are the Archives of the Spanish Civil War, there is an interesting art work by Robert Silvers who recreates Picasso's Guernica from photos of all the archives, very clever. The majority of the rest of the exhibits were Masonic regalia including what they describe as a 'salon', basically a Masonic temple. Apparently (and please bear in mind there was no English in this museum so I may well be way off course) the Masonic secret society provided a ready made network to fight against fascism in the Guerra Civil Espanola. I never cease to be amazed by what I have no idea about!

The weather is hotting up in Salamanca and we sun bathe whilst drinking our coffee in the Plaza Mayor. The locals are still in jumpers and coats, it is after all only April! But these are peeled off as the day progresses and the heat builds up. Storks are still busy repairing their nests all over the city, they flap lazily in the azure blue sky, their legs dangling ungainly behind them. It is here that I have a disgusting cold. Had to buy pastillas from a Farmacia for a raging sore throat.

Our hotel is the Palacio de Castellanos. An expensive 4 star hotel set in a 15th century palace facing the Convento de San Esteban. From our third floor bedroom we can see both the Convent and the Cathedrals which are lit up at night and are fabulous. The entrance is a cloister which has been glazed in to form an arresting reception area and drawing room. Accommodation was hard to find for Saturday night so we decided to splash out, which is why we are here, it is a fantastic location, very central. It doesn't tick all my boxes though as it charges through the nose, 12 euros a day, for an unsecure wi-fi connection to the internet. Whatever next - 4 star hotels charging for pay as you view TV? Needless to say I didn't connect here!