Victor's Visit and Scary Sardines!

On Saturday, Victor came to visit us in Salamanca. We had a great time walking around with him, visiting our favorite park, and tasting the famous local cuisine on Calle Van Dyck. This post will go in reverse order from our adventures in order to let you savor the more palatable part of our day. So, for your very eyes, I present the story of "The Scary Sardines!"

During our visit to Calle Van Dyck, a street known for its excellent and cheap food that the locals eat and the tourists know little about, Victor asked if I liked sardines. Now, I had tasted some tiny fish earlier during my visit and thought that was what I would be sampling. Then Victor delivered this to our table (cue Jaws theme song):

I was a little freaked out at first by their full appearance (I'm not a big fan of eyes looking at me while I eat...), but Victor seemed to be enjoying them:

So, envisioning Jeff Probst saying, "Survivors, ready?!" I started out optimistically:

However, I struggled a little with tearing off the head (all the guts, etc. kept dripping down my hand):

Once the head was finally off, I decided to dig in:

Yet, this was all I could think about (cue Jaws theme song):

With a mouth full of bones and gut-covered hands, I decided that sardines were not for me:

Thankfully, Victor helped finish most of the meal:

Scary sardines aside, we had a great walk through Salamanca. Even though I've stated how much I hate grafitti, I was a fan of this work of art that reminded me of the excellent Mucha exhibit that we saw at Casa Lis.

J. Santiago loved this gas station in the middle of the city (a sight that you very rarely see):

I never get tired of laughing at the ridiculous way that people dress up for bachelor and bachelorette parties (the frog was perfect since it is the mascot of Salamanca!):

Well before the sardine incident, we took Victor to our favorite park in Salamanca. This park is adjacent to the hostel that houses pilgrims on the Santiago del Compostela pilgrimage. The park reminds me of the garden from The Secret Garden. It is full of little treats—blackberries, raspberries, grapes, tropical plants, fountains, an old well, and an excellent view of the city (it is flush with the old city wall). We saw some of the pilgrims while we were there, which was especially appropriate since Saturday was the Festival of Santiago. Some of the pilgrims were even traditionally adorned with the famous shell necklaces that indicate that they are pilgrims going to Santiago. Here are some wonderful views of the garden:

The statue at the entrance (translation: I am an old woman, which God made me no worse than all the others. If I live well or if I live poorly, God is the witness of my heart.):

Grape vines:

The old well:

The old city walls:

J. Santiago and Victor:

The view of the cathedral from the garden:

Enjoying the greenery and the fountain behind us:

It was nice to see Victor again, and we are looking forward to spending some more time with him in Toledo after our exams this week!