So, I woke up this morning and Rufi told me that there is a market that is put on every Sunday down by the river and that my housemate, Jenna, went down there to go with some friends. I decided that since I did not have a whole lot else going on that I would check it out. So, I walked down there (which is on the complete opposite side of town, by the way) and Rufi told me before I left that if I get in the general area that I could just follow the people to the location because there will be a lot of them. I get down there and Rufi was right, so I followed the people to the location.
The sight was amazing. It was a giant open-air flea market type of atmosphere. I get down there and see the length of one row. It was enormous. I was expecting it to be something like a farmer's market or something. Nope. It was clothes and such. The most popular article of clothing was socks, surprisingly. Nearly every vendor had socks on display for some reason. But there were also pants, belts, underwear, pantihose, scarves, and nearly anything else you could ever want. As I walked down the rows, the vendors were yelling their prices and what they had for sale. 2 euros for this, only 6 euros for that, buy one of these for 3 euro, get another one for free. I could not help but smile at how awesome it was to be in a place like that. People were yelling their prices, what they had for sale, and trying to get you to come buy their stuff. It was all very new and exciting. Everything was really cheap and there were tons of good deals, but I ended up not buying anything.
Along with all of these clothing items, there were also other odds and ends for sale. I do not know if I have already mentioned this, but there are a lot of North Africans in Spain that sell their goods on the streets and apparently in this market as well. What they sell is typically knock-off merchandise or illegal DVDs that are not actually out on DVD yet but somehow they have them. Along with these illegal DVDs, they usually sell purses. Here in this market, some were selling belt buckles, wallets, and even some were selling pots and pans for use in the kitchen. It was astounding the array of things that were on sale there. There was also a small cervecería selling fried food and alcohol.
After walking around the market for a bit, I decided to head back home. However, I did not take the same way I got to the market and instead I headed a different direction. I remembered that on my route there was the park I had searched for but never found last Saturday, so I decided I would stop there to check it out. The name of the park is Parque de los Jesuitos, or Park of the Jesuits. I got there and it was really pretty (see FB for some pictures) even though the day was pretty crummy. I am excited for the weather to turn better so that when I next venture over there, I can experience its beauty in spring and summer.
After I got through the park, I made my way back home. I do not know how long the walk was, but it was a really nice walk and did not seem that long, even though I was gone for about two hours. Now I have the rest of the day to lounge and do some homework and preparation for my tests this week.
Before I close this post, I would like to make a few comments about the things I noticed and thought about on my walk that I should tell you about.
(1) It is Sunday, so everything is closed in Salamanca. This is way different than the States, because everything over there is open all the time, even holidays. Here, however, I think they realize that rest is good and should happen frequently. It is something to get used to, but I think that the Spaniards have it correct. Along with being closed all day on Sunday, most stores are closed all day Saturday and those that are open are only open for a few hours (opening between 8 and 10am and closing for siesta time at 2, and then are closed for the rest of the day). Even though everything was closed today, there were still lots of people out on the streets just going for walks.
(2) Virtually every Spaniard dresses his/her best every single day of the week and always smells good, despite being surrounded by smoke all the time. It does not matter if it is a Tuesday morning and all one has to do that day is go to the grocery store, if a Spaniard leaves the house, they always are sure to dress to the nines. I guess putting on tons of perfume or cologne goes hand in hand with looking well. Look good, smell good.
(3) Despite being a college town, there are lots of old people in Salamanca. They are everywhere. I do not know why an old person would want to live in such a youth-oriented city, but whatever. I have not seen a whole lot of middle-aged people in the city. It is mainly elderly folks or college kids.
I think that is all. I am sure there was much more I wanted to tell you, but I will save that for another day I suppose.
Oh young Andy! You are too young to remember back in the day when stores here in MN (and the US) were closed on Sundays, too. They also had limited hours the other days of the week. You had to plan ahead if you needed/wanted something important. I don't remember how that changed, it just seems like we have always had the 24/7 convenience. I would like to go back to the simpler times (maybe - at least for awhile).
ReplyDelete