Stay, Stray, Play and Feast: February 2018

Medieval Caceres
A Travel Back in Time
Medieval Caceres Series 17

Day 1

After almost a 5 hours scenic

bus drive fro Lisbon, Portugal-

…we arrived in Caceres, Spain,

…late in the afternoon.

We took a taxi to Encanto Apartamentos Turisticos,

...located at the peaceful Calle Muñoz Chaves,

…right at the heart of the old town of Caceres,

probably one of the oldest towns in the world.

It was a beautiful, two level,

…two bedroom apartment,

…wit complete provisions

to make us feel at home.

This would be our home for the next five days,

at the third stop of our European spring vacation.

After settling down and resting for a while,

we were off to look for a place to eat.

We passed by Charcutteria Mostazo,

…a unique Spanish supermercado,

which did not only provide us with

our basic grocery needs, but also

served as an awesome delicatessen,

…that sells a wide selection of ethnic

products from the Extremadura region.

We bought some groceries and took them back home.

We were lucky to have as our next door neighbor

as Encanto Apartamentos Turisticos had a full

dining a kitchen facility. Charcutteria Mostazo

made living in our apartment easier and convenient,

…and we always looked forward dining

our own delicious home cooked meals.

We walked pour way to the Plaza Mayor,

…and El Requete was the

very first restaurant we saw,

…there was a vacant table for four, so

we immediately decided to dine there.

Sitting at the al fresco section of the restaurant

overlooking the Plaza Mayor and the famous

Arco de la Estrella, we had one of the most

wonderful dining experiences of our lives.

It was already late in the afternoon and we

were all starving when arrived in Caceres

after a six hour bus trip from Lisbon, as we

had not eaten anything except for the very

early breakfast at the hotel before leaving,

…the grapes at the Gare do Oriente,

…and the native sour candies in Badajos.

El Requete introduced us to

authentic Spanish cuisine,

…and a culinary awakening, as it enlightened

us how our Filipino food was influenced by the

Spaniards after almost 400 years of colonization.

Salty, and greasy yet very delicious.

Our overall dining experience was outstanding, and I would
recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Caceres.

We returned to our apartment after dinner to rest,

as we intended too explore the old city at night.

My wife and my young son decided to rest

and go to sleep as they got exhausted of the

six- hour bus travel from Lisbon, Portugal.

Together with my teenage daughter, we decided to explore

the old town at night as it ids the most recommended time

to appreciate the splendor and archaic stillness of Caceres.

Armed with a map provided by our apartment host,

…we began our exploration at

the Plaza Mayor, which serves

as a portal to the old town.

It is lined with restaurants, bars, elegant

arcades and numerous souvenir shops set in

excellently restored centuries old buildings.

From the Plaza Mayor, we accesssx

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 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 suggested to my daughter that we

should just explore the city in the raw,

…enjoy the sights and sounds,

and take pleasure of the strange

feeling of stepping back in the past.

We explored every street, every nook

and cranny of the lovely old town.

We walked on beautiful and narrow cobblestone alleyways

with our footsteps echoing on the quiet walls of the ancient

buildings reflecting the glorious grandness of a by-gone era.

It’s the beautiful sound of silence that makes

Caceres was hauntingly stunning at night.

My daughter commented “It’s like we are

in the Twilight Zone” referring to the popular

American macabre television series 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.

We returned to our apartment past midnight,

and had a good night sleep in our apartment.

Day 2

It was our second day in Caceres, Spain.

After having a home cooked breakfast at

the Encanto Apartamentos Tusristicos,

…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.

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,

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.

We visited the Palacio de los Becerra,

a 15th century family ancestral home,

…and now also serves as a museum.

The view of Plaza de San Jorge is dominated by

the Iglesia de San Francisco Javier up the hill.

We next visited this Baroque style Jesuit

church built next to an ancient convent.

… it now serves mainly as a museum and the crypt

contains 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.

We walked down 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 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.

After the siesta break was over, we returned to

the Museo de Caceres using a different entrance,

…at the Plaza Publio Hurtado,

a scenic narrow a steep road.

… leading to the Arco de Sta Ana,

an alternative route to the walled city.

We traversed 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,
nd 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 stayed the museum until it closed at 7 PM

and returned to home thru the Plaza San Mateo,

We accessed the Calle de la Monja.

…where we incidentally found the lovely

Medieval Caceres Apartamentos Turisticos.

Since the facility bears our surname,

we decided to have our pictures

taken in front of the tourist 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 truned to Calle del Mono,

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

We took the Calle Tiendas,

… 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, that took us to a large number of 15th and 16th
century properly conserved historic fortresses and palaces.

…that bears the traces of highly diverse influences,

that evolved from different centuries and generations.

Day 3

It was our third day in Caceres and we woke up late.

I got down from the apartment to buy something to

cook for breakfast at the Charcutteria Mostarzo, and

found out that it was closed at it was a ‘fiesta official.

I decided to look for a restaurant at the nearby

Plaza Mayor where I could buy breakfast but

most are are closed for the a public holiday.

I walked farther down the road to Calle Pintores

and saw Granier,the only open dining facility on

a place that a public holiday put into a standstill.

The smorgasbord of freshly baked

artisanal bread was a sight to behold.

The aroma of oven fresh bread from

Granier Bakery, was a prelude a delicious

breakfast, that everyone is craving for.

It was our fiesta official’s breakfast savior.

After breakfast we are set to explore the other side

of Caceres, away from the walled city, to see what

the city had to offer beyond the monumental walls.

We walked at the other end of the almost deserted

Plaza Mayor, posed in front of the City Hall,

…turned to the busy Calle Pintores,

…and visited the Parroquia San Juan Bautista,

where the mass service has just been concluded.

From the church,

… we proceeded to the Calle San Pedro,

…where we rested for a

while on a sidewalk bench,

…and spotted another Charcutteria Mostarzo.
We were disappointed to find out that just

like their store near our apartment, this one

it was also closed for the ‘Fiesta Official’

We then walked our way to

the Caceres Opera House

along the Calle San Anton,

…all the way to Avenida de Espana,

…until we reached the

Parque de Calvo Sotelo.

It was a long walk from the Plaza Mayor.

so we decided to stop and rest once more,

to enjoy the rustic ambiance of the park.

We crossed the Calle General Primo de Rivera,

…that led as to the beautiful Paseo de Cánovas.

The Paseo de Cánovas is a public park

at the center of the Cánovas neighborhood,

…to which it gives its name, within

the Centro-Casco Antiguo District.

It is a verdant outdoor mall at the
center island of Avenida de Espana,

..built at the end of the 19th century, and named after

a Spanish politician, Antonio Canovas del Castillo.

It is the heart of the commercial area, and the usual

venue for various cultural events throughout the year,

and we extremely enjoyed the on- going puppet show.

Along the Paseo de Cánovas, was

a lively weekend farmers market,

…and we were overwhelmed by the magnitude

of indigenous Extremadura products on display.

The Weekend Market is a tourist attraction

that features probably more than 100 vendors.

The market is a destination for foodies

in search of the market's ethnic cuisines,

…and of showcase Extremadura’s

cuisine in specialty food market.

We were happy to stumble upon

this wonderful weekend market

that gave us everything we needed,

…as we were running out of food due to

supermarket closures on Fiesta Official.

It was late in the afternoon and

we have been walking the whole

day without having any lunch.

From the Caceres weekend market we

went to the Restaurante Caceres to dine.

The Restaurante Caceres, has a lovely al fresco

area that offers an awesome view of the Plaza Mayor.

It served us some of the most

delicious Extramaduran dishes.

It was our penultimate day in Caceres

…and we were happy that we chose

to dine at Restaurante Caceres,

…as it gave us a delicious culinary conclusion on

our visit to this wonderful ancient city in Spain

It was our penultimate day in Caceres, and we were

happy the we chose to dine at Restaurante Caceres,

…as it gave us a delicious culinary conclusion on

our visit to this wonderful ancient city in Spain.

We returned to our apartment

after the very late lunch to rest.

At five PM, after the siesta was over, while everyone
decided to stay home to rest and relax, I returned

to the old town for some more explorations.

I went on foot, took photos randomly,

…and headed to posh Parador de Caceres.

The Parador Caceres is a luxury hotel

...wjere we initially reserved here but failed to
ge a family room as they were fully booked.

The hotel set is an ancient Gothic palace is an

attraction by itself so I really needed to see it.

It was the Palace of Torreoraz built in the 14th century for

Diego Garcia de Ulloa, a knight of the Order of Santiago.

From the Parador de Caceres, I chanced upon

the Palacio De Los Caceres- Ovando or

the House of the Ovando or Ovando Palace

a Renaissance style building built in 1519.

The palace façade also served as a settingfor numerous European films,
one of which was Alain Delon’s El Tulipán Negro in 1963. Lucky for me,
it was open despite being a holiday and they also have a free entrance.