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Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Caceres by Day: Historic Tour to the Past (Medieval Caceres Series 5)

Caceres by Day 
Historic Tour to the Past
Medieval Caceres Series 5 

It was our second day in Caceres, Spain, 
and after having  a home cooked breakfast at

…we headed to the Plaza Mayor for
a more intensive self guided tour at
the walled ancient town of Caceres.

 

We were in early and there were very
few people at the Plaza Mayor and we
stood to admire the huge central square,

  

 

… filled by numerous restaurants, set in
well- preserved centuries old buildings,

 


 

….elegant arcades, 



...hotels and souvenir shops.

 

 



Ayutamiento de Caceres or the City Hall, is located
at the other end of the plaza. It is an imposing very old
building overlooking and the seat on the city government.



We then visited the Caceres Tourism Office to get so maps,


…had our pictures taken at the office’s glass
walls, bearing the town’s name of Caceres,

 

…and the kids were very amused as Caceres
also happened to be our family’s surname.


We also had pictures taken at the stairways
leading to the ancient walled city,


…and at the entrance of the Torre de Bujaco,

 



…before heading to the Arco de la Estrella,

 

…the main portal to the UNESCO Heritge site
that bears the image of Virgen de las Estrellas.

 

 

On the right we spotted another ancient
arch at the Calle Adarve de la Estrella.

 

After the arch, at the left side of Calle de la Estrella,
We walked past the Palacio Episcopal de Cáceres,

 
the bishop’s palace of the diocese of Coria-Cáceres.

 

 

…and right in front is the Concatedral de Santa María.


The Santa Iglesia Co – Cathedral of Santa María
the oldest structure in the walled city  is considered  
the most important Christian temple in Cáceres .


Inside the beautiful Romanesque –Gothic church,


…is the Museum of the Co-Cathedral, with a display
of collections of liturgical pieces, priceless silverworks
from ancient artisans and numerous religious paintings.




After visiting the Concatedral de Santa María,
admired the old buildings at the Plaza Sta. Maria,


…walked past the Plaza de los Golfines,

 

…to Plaza de San Jorge,

 

Where the Palacio de los Becerra is located.

 

It was built as an the ancestral home of
the Becerra family, in the e 15th century,

 

…and now serves as a museum.

 

The view of Plaza de San Jorge is dominated
by the Iglesia de San Francisco Javier that
appears like an imposing structure up the hill.

 

Also known as the Church of the Precious Blood,



…is Baroque style  Jesuit church
of built next to an ancient convent.


It is also a museum and in the crypt is
the Interpretation Center of Holy Week.

 

After visiting the Iglesia de San Francisco Javier
we hiked up at the Calle Cuesta de la Campana,

 

…which led us to the Plaza San Pablo,






…and the adjoining Plaza de las Veletas,




…where Museo de Caceres was located.


The Museo de Caceres would have been
the fourth museum we visited for the day
but we were told that they’re closed for the
afternoon siesta and advised to return at 5 PM.


It was then that we realized that it was
already past noon so we decided to return
to the apartment and to have our lunch.

 

From the Plaza de las Veletas, we walked 
down to  the Barrio de San Antonio,

 

 

on to Calle Rincon de la Monja,




...until we reached the Casa Museao Arabe
which was also closed for the afternoon siesta.

 

...we then slowly walked up
 the Cuesta de la Marques,




...and ended up at the Plaza de San Jorge,


...where we walked to the nearby Plaza Sta. Maria,

 

…out of Arco de Estrella,

 

….leading to Plaza Mayor,

 

…and back to Encanto  at Calle Munoz Chavez.

 

We decided to dine on the canned eel that we
bought from Fabrica Das Enguias in Lisbon,


…but we were shocked to see a creepy
whole eel all coiled up inside the can.


I decided to cut it off into small pieces
so the kids won’t be terrified to eat it.

 

It went well with the Maria Biscuits
(we call it Marie in the Philippines),
and we had a one of its kind snacks.

 

At exactly 5:00 PM, after the siesta break was over, we returned 
to the old walled city the visit the Museo de Caceres once again,
bought some refreshments from an ice cream shop along the way,




…and utilized a different entrance,

 

  

…at the Plaza Publio Hurtado

 

...a scenic narrow a steep stairway.

  

 

… leading to the Arco de Sta Ana,
an alternative route to the walled city.

 

We travesed the very narrow
Calle del Arcode Sta Ana,

 

...on to another narrow
road the Calle Condes,

 

 

…which led us again
to Plaza San Mateo,

 

…to the adjoining Plaza San Pablo,


…and finally to Plaza las Veletas
where Museo de Caceres is located.

 

It was already past five in the afternoon,
the museum has opened after the siesta,

 

…and we were able to
view the massive display,

 

…of historical artifacts ,

 

…the this awesome museum set in
two ancient buildings considered
as UNESCO Heritage structures.


We browsed the museum until it closed at 7 PM.
We then decided  returned to our apartment.


Thru the Plaza San Mateo,

 

…we accessed the very narrow yet
beautiful Calle de la Monja.

  

 



…where we incidentally found the lovely
Medieval Caceres Apartamentos Turisticos.

 

Since the facility bears our surname (Caceres),
we had our pictures taken in front of the apartment.

 

We then walked to the Cuesta de Aldana, where
the El Corral De Las Cigüeñas, a café built at the
patio of the old Rectory of Santa María  which offers
a wide repertoire of live concerts and some tapas.

 

We then turned to Calle del Mono,

 

... that  led us back to Plaza Sta. Maria.

 

Instead of exiting at the Plaza Mayor,
we decided to take the Calle Tiendas,

 

…to en- route to Calle Zapataria,

 

…and finally to Calle Munoz Chaves, back to 
 the Encanto Apartamentos Tusristicos.

 

It was a 13 hour city tour on foot on
one of the oldest towns in the world.

 

Caceres is a Gothic-Renaissance city, with a large
 number fortress-palaces from the 15th and the 
16th century, that has been properly conserved.

 

This city in Extremadura bears the traces
of highly diverse influences, that evolved
from different centuries and generations.


Together with Prague in the Czech Republic,Tallinn in Estonia,
the "Monumental City of Cáceres" was declared by the Council
of Europe as the Third Monumental Complex of Europe in 1968

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