Salamanca revisited

Simon Calder, a British travel writer, visits Salamanca for 48 hours and is seduced by our lovely city, where he mingles with the university students and comes across an astronaut among the carvings of the cathedrals.

Then American historian Rick Steves immerses himself in the high and vast plateau of central Spain and visits a sunny, sandstone town and the finest Plaza Mayor in Spain. With the help of a local guy he samples a glass of Rioja and a plateful of ham and "bravas" and savours some people-watching. He finally takes in the centuries-old troubadour tradition of "tuna bands.