The Ancient Walled Cities of Salamanca, Avila, and Toledo

Here is a question we have recently asked ourselves...
How did we ever live without a selfie stick, and how did we ever find our way anywhere without the bossy woman on our phone telling us where to go???
So this trip to the ancient walled cities has been greatly enhanced by our new selfie stick and the maps (and bossy lady) on our cell phones. Who knew???

Our first old walled city after leaving the wine region was Salamanca. It is called the "Golden City" as the sandstone buildings appear to glow. It is a vibrant, lively little city with much history and culture.
We stayed in a great little boutique hotel just outside the city walls. This is the view of old town across the street from our hotel and it was just a quick walk up the cobblestone street to the center of town and all of the action:

Salamanca is home to the first University in Spain and is the 4th oldest university in the world. The students are in large part what keeps it such a vital, vibrant city. It is packed with great restaurants and bars as well.

The Plaza Mayor is known to be one of the most beautiful Plazas in all of Europe:

And of course, the Cathedral such as we see in the heart of every European city.

There were storks with their nests everywhere high, especially on the Cathedral towers:     

 

Fullish moon the night before full moon. Notice the bird flying by it:

Old Roman Bridge near our hotel:

The best street performer yet and definitely deserved the donation we made to his cause. His little puppets were playing music and dancing:

We went out for a full moon meal near the square the next night:

Now we are not usually the kind of people who photographs their food but, this was the most creative and elegant salad ever:

And now for the main event---the full moon rising over the town as we are walking back to the hotel.

So we took one of the bottles of our wine and walked to the roman bridge to really celebrate Mother Moon.
We had a lone guitarist playing for us as we basked in the magical, mysterious Moonbeams on the bridge:

Toasting the Light within and without:

Salamanca was very, very good to us...

Then we left for an afternoon stop in the town of Avila. Avila is a World Heritage City with intact formidable walls, forming a fortress around the entire city:

It looks like something out of a story book:

From inside the city looking at the fortified walls:

Then we drove on to the walled city of Toledo...
The hotel had rose petals waiting for us on our bed:

And looking out of our balcony window the next morning:

Toledo is a historic city high up on a hill and surrounded by the River Tagus on 3 sides. Synagogues, mosques and churches in the old town are a testament to the diversity in times past. It is called the "City of Three Cultures", and is one of the most visited cities in Spain.

It was bigger than the other two old towns we had visited and so it seemed a little overwhelming. So we wandered the winding cobblestone streets and tried to take it all in...

The cloister in one of the many beautiful monastery's...

Little pink baskets hanging on the street lights in the old city:

And of course, one of our favorite finds in old town...

Down one of the many streets we got lost on...

An old Roman bridge outside of the city crossing the Tagus River:

And then in the evening we drove out of the city to a high lookout called Mirador del Valle. We could look back on a whole panoramic view of the city, and found another opportunity to open a bottle of wine and just take it all in:

And now that we are in sensory-overload of so much history and culture, it is time to go back home to Ecstasea waiting for us in Valencia.
Aaaaahhhhh...too much fun!!!