My trip to Salamanca

New Cathedral in Salamanca

I came to Salamanca with few items on my list to do (not in any specific order):

1. See Candy and/or Sheila but preferrably both
2. Eat a Mixto con Huevo
3. Eat mousse (chocolate or lemon) at Delicatessen
4. Eat a Paloma

Seeing Candy proved to be the most difficult task of them all.  She was busy almost the whole time I was there which makes sense because I basically just showed up on her doorstep...well kind of.  When I arrived in Salamanca I called the phone number I had for her.  Still no answer (I'd been calling for more than a week now).  So I decided to head to the address I had and buzz her.  Again to no effect - a man answered the bell and said I had the wrong address.  Finally, I decided I would go to the ISA office and to my delight Rodrigo (my Spanish heartthrob - don't worry Faustino is aware of my crush) was still working there.  After shooting the shit with him for the next  10 minutes, he gave me two phone numbers for Candy - one I'd already had and the other her cell phone number.  At last, she answered her cell phone.  She was surprised that I called and I think happy to hear from me.  I spoke with her briefly as she told me she was going to be very busy that day.  Then I asked about Sheila and to my delight she was there.  I spoke with Sheila briefly and we laughed about her singing Michael Buble's Quando Quando Quando and Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you in English throughout the entire 10 months I lived with them.  The memories.  The next two and a half days I meandered around Salamanca looking for things to do and waiting for her to call.  On Friday she said she would try to call me after her dinner so we could have a coffee but she stayed out too late with friends.  On Saturday she texted me saying that she had been out of town all day with the kids but that on Sunday afternoon she'd be available.  I figured this might happen and this is why I didn't make any plans to get back to Madrid early Sunday.  So here I am in a cafe escaping from the cold and wind waiting until its time to go see my host family.  And I can't wait!

Mixto con Huevo with fries
(picture taken after I took my first bite and broke the yolk) 

As soon as I arrived and settled into Pension Los Angeles, right in the middle of the Plaza Mayor, I went to Cafe Tormes to eat a Mixto con Huevo.  It was every bit as good as I remembered it to be.  Ham, cheese and a fried egg in between two slices of toast.  The top piece of toast has a small circle cut out that way the yolk doesn't break.  Pure genius.  I savored every last bite of this sandwich that I so fondly remember.

Eating chocolate or lemon or whichever kind of mousse at Delicatessen proved to be impossible seeing as they no longer had it on their menu.  To say the least I was truly deeply disappointed.  Instead I had a crepe with chocolate sauce and whipped cream and a glass of red wine.  "Eh" describes my satisfaction with the crepe.  It was less than mediocre.  The wine was the only saving grace at that food outing.  I left Delicatessen disappointed wishing that this wouldn't be how I ended my last food memory of the restaurant.  I guess we've all had our better days.

Paloma

Paloma - Purely heaven on earth.  Thats the easiest way to describe my love affair with this food.  Paloma is a regional food consisting of the Spanish Ensaladilla Rusa, similar to potato salad but with mayonnaise, in a shell made out of corn but looks more like a chicharon.  I ordered a vino tinto with my Paloma and I was in ecstasy.  My love of mayonnaise, potatoes, tuna, alongside other items such as carrots, fake crab is combined to make a food so mouth watering its hard to describe.  Luckily I took a picture.  Even though that doesn't do it justice.  After I ate the paloma I had another pincho - potatoes, eggs and bacon.  In Spain eggs are not merely a breakfast item - yes they are indeed an every day dinner and lunch item.  This second pincho, which I don't know the name of, was very delicious.

2nd Tapa/Pincho

I'm glad that I went to this tapas bar along the Plaza Mayor which is not your typical tourist restaurant because let's face it, not that many tourists come to Salamanca.  Salamanca is a town where you live, where you study, where you visit friends, and its notable becuase it has the oldest University in Europe, a beautiful square Plaza Mayor that lights up at night (only other square Plaza Mayor in Spain is in Madrid), during the civil war it was the stronghold town for Franco's regime but in reality it isn't a tourist destination.

Plaza Mayor at night

So for now I'll sit and enjoy a tea, people watch and wait to go see Candy after she gets off work.