This Sunday, I went on an excursion to la Ciudad Rodrigo, La Alberca, and La Miranda del Castanar. This is also known as La Sierra de Francia (the mountains of France, although it's actually not located on the French border) While in Ciudad Rodrigo, we saw a play taking place in the streets, commemorating the expulsion of the French during the Napoleonic Wars, which were 200 years ago. (There's also a cathedral, though it was closed while we were there.)
One of my favorite spots that I have seen while here was La Alberca. The entire village is designated a National Monument, and it is very reminiscent of The Village of Far Far Away, of Shrek. I really felt like I had just returned to the Middle Ages!! It has very narrow streets, and there is a small plaza in the center. All of the buildings are short (about 3 stories) and very old. You can see the old wooden beams of most of them. It is very much a typical village of the mountains. There are many other villages like this in the area, though La Alberca receives the most tourists, for better or worse. The area was very green and mountainous. There are also fresh water springs in the area, and it felt much different from most of the rest of the region of Castilla. Beautiful, and very peaceful.
La Miranda was very similar to La Alberca, though smaller. It had beautiful views of the area, and many cherry trees all around. Very natural, and though it's only about an hour and a half from Salamanca, it felt like a completely different way of life.
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