Saturday, January 13, 2018

Caceres at Night: A Walk Back in Time (Medieval Caceres Series 4)

Caceres at Night
A Walk Back in Time
Medieval Caceres Series 4 

After a  late lunch, which also served as an early dinner- 
 we returned to Apartamentos Turisticos Encanto to rest.

 

My wife and my young son decided to stay as the six- hour bus 
travel from Lisbon exhausted them. Together with my teenage  
daughter, we decided to explore the old town at nightfall as
it the best time to appreciate archaic splendor of Caceres.



Armed with a map provided by our apartment host,

 

…we began our exploration of  the
old city at the Plaza Mayor.

 

Plaza Mayor, which serves as a portal to the
old town, is a magnificent huge public square.

 

 

Restaurants, bars, elegant arcades and souvenir shops
are set in excellently restored centuries old buildings.

 

From the Plaza Mayor, we accessed
the old town at the Arco de Estrella,

 

 

..the main entrance to the walled
enclosure to this medieval city.

 

Within its walls, we stood in awe,

 

…spellbound with the incredulous
sensation of stepping back in time.

 

A fabulous collection of medieval buildings,


… in an excellent state of conservation,


…that together with Prague in the Czech Republic and
 Tallinn in Estonia, this place was declared by the Council of Europe
as the Third Monumental Complex of Europe in 1968,

 

…and earned the nickname as the
 "Monumental City of Cáceres".

 

To avoid distraction, I set aside the map and decided
 that we should just explore the city in the raw, and 
enjoy  getting  lost in this hauntingly beautiful place,

 

…appreciate the sights and sounds of the lovely old town,


..and take pleasure of the strange
feeling of stepping back to the past.

 

We explored every street,  

 

...every nook and cranny,

 

…alleyways, 

 

…square, 

 

…and alcoves reflecting the grandness
of a glorious  by-gone era.



We walked on beautiful and narrow cobblestone alleys, 

 

...and heard  our footsteps echoing on the 
brick lined walls of the ancient buildings.

 

It’s the beautiful sound of silence that makes 
Caceres hauntingly stunning at night.

 

The old town is so beautiful, full of history, and it is a
wonder why  Cáceres does not attract international 
tourists and not as popular as other Spanish cities.

 

 It is underrated and not recognized the way it should be.

 

We returned to our apartment after midnight, and my daughter 
commented “It’s like we were in the Twilight Zone” referring to
 the popular American macabre television series in the 60's
and the 70's often concluding with an unexpected grisly twist.

 

Indeed, Caceres at night made us return to the
past without having to use a time machine.

 

It is an experience I would never forget.

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