Our drive to Cáceres was uneventful - we made one stop at a road side station where we used the facilities and bought some snacks. We arrived roughly three hours after we left Sevilla and walked in the rain from the parking garage to the hotel. We checked in and found our nice rooms and then went to the cafe in the hotel for a quick lunch. A fabulous mixed salad with crispy chicken and very good grilled chicken sandwiches. Then were not hungry for dinner LOL. It had stopped raining and so we went out for a start of our touring.
These are first afternoon photos of Cáceres. It was very "cold" to us. And windy and some rain. So we cut our walking tour a bit short and did the bulk in better weather the following day.
Mary and I saw each other at breakfast - she was done and I was starting. The hotel breakfast spread was excellent. When Phil arrived we checked out and left our bags for later. Then we restarted our touring.
Cáceres is a jewel of Spanish heritage in the heart of Extremadura, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Its streets, monuments and people tell stories of a glorious medieval past.
No consensus has been reached among historians regarding the etymology of Cáceres, some considering its origin as Roman and others as Arabic. Among philologists consensus is that it is Latin nomenclature distorted by Arabic, until finally adapting to the definitive Christian name, as occurred with at least half the place names of ancient origin in the southern Iberian Peninsula. (Wikipedia)
Visitors can see remains from Prehistoric, medieval times, the Roman occupation, Moorish occupation and the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. Cáceres has four main areas to be explored: the Historical Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, the Modern Center, and the Outskirts. (Wikipedia)
Cáceres was declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 1986 because of the city's blend of Roman, Moorish, Northern Gothic and Italian Renaissance architecture. Thirty towers from the Islamic period still stand in Cáceres, of which the Torre del Bujaco is the most famous. (Wikipedia)
On the second day we saw a lot of palacios and many churches and a variety of other enchanting locations. Fabulous Renaissance and Medieval city - extremely well preserved with the walls. Truly beautiful. We went on to a convent where you could buy baked goods through a little revolving door. Mary picked out the ones she wanted and after a bit of back and forth about the needed currency (the nun couldn't break a 20€ note so we all pooled our coins and a 5€ to make up the 8€ total.) We saw many magnificent plazas and Palacio from the various centuries. From the era of the ruling nobility to the era after the reconquest when the king and church held the power. A very picturesque and very interesting town.
Then we picked up our luggage and went back to the car and headed an hour south to Mérida. A UNESCO site of Roman ruins.
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