Salamanca Plaza Mayor

Just as Venice's Piazza San Marco is repeatedly referred to as "Europe's Drawing Room", so Salamanca's Plaza Mayor could boast at least the same for Castilla if not the whole of Spain. During my all too brief visit, I seemed to spend as much time just sitting in the shade (proper building shade, not umbrella shade as my father kept reminding me) watching the world go by, as we did visiting the "important" sights. We thus witnessed weddings, ladies doing lunch, various football leagues, an insight into disciplining children (or failure thereof) by different nationalities, indeed just about every social activity you could imagine. Although not cheap, at least it was, unlike Venice, affordable even to the extent that you can dine there with proper tablecloths (my personal quality indicator for restaurants...apart from the food of course), beautiful Castillian roasts, Rioja and other indulgencies for less than €50 each, about the price of a cup of coffee in San Marco!