Extremadura trip: Trujillo and Guadalupe

This is a follow up to my last blog about our trip to Extremadura, 3 hours to the north of Seville. While there exploring some of the monumental cities in the region we stayed in Trujillo in a hotel that was a converted monastery from the 16th century. One of the cool things that Jose and I have done a few times (hoping to do more in the future) is to stay in hotels which have been created in historic buildings. Here in Spain there are lots of options like castles or paradores where you can sleep in a unique place.




Our hotel had a pool but unfortunately we could only go for an hour a day due to COVID restrictions. We took full advantage in the afternoons after spending our mornings sightseeing. The hotel also offered a good breakfast which is always a plus.



Trujillo was the home of Francisco Pizzaro, the explorer, so of course the main square is crowned by a gigantic statue of him. We were pleased to find that there weren't many other tourists around and at some points it seemed we were alone in the city while we walked around the cobble stone streets.




Trujillo has many well-preserved buildings including several churches and a castle which sits at the highest point of the city which served a strategic purpose in defending the town. The castle was also used in scenes from Game of Thrones, specifically Casterly Rock. I was interested to discover that there are less than 50 residences in the city center and that the majority of the buildings are restaurants, hotels, hostels or government buildings. 




We also drove the winding road to visit Guadalupe which is a World Heritage Site since 1993 and was named one of Spain's most beautiful towns. It is most famous for its St. Mary Monastery and the Virgen de Guadalupe which is a figure with dark skin with many devotees throughout the world. We arrived and took a tour of the monestary before having lunch and heading back. 





Overall our trip was nice and exhausting. We saw a lot of the beautiful towns that Extremadura has to offer and it made me want to go back and visit the more natural settings in the region. The one upside of traveling during COVID is the lack of people around so we were able to enjoy our visits without crowds and without waiting. In Spain in general during the summer lots of people flock to the coasts and the beaches which is understandable due to the heat. We in fact met a few families who were stopping at our hotel on their drive from the north of the country down to the beaches of Andalucia. This mass exodus of people to the beach means that other types of tourism like city escapes can be good if you can survive the heat (and maybe don't have three kids tagging along).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Spanish recipe: Chipirones a la plancha

Image
Ok so I know this picture is a bit blurry and I apologize but it is the final result of my having cooked chipirones a la plancha for the first time. Let me explain, chipirones are small squid and a la plancha means grilled. They are served in an olive oil, parsley and garlic sauce. At first I wasn't sold on the idea of this recipe but believe me, it is pretty awesome and super healthy. It is a really typical tapa that you can order at almost any bar here in the south of Spain. Chipirones a la plancha is usually served on a bed of lettuce or with a small side salad. Yum! Here's the how: First you need the chipirones (small squid that come with the heads and tentacles attached). I can buy them at my local grocery store in the fresh seafood section. I bought a package of 400 grams though the good thing about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you like. Allow me to also explain that here in Spain people tend to eat a lot more fish and seafood than...
Read more

La mesa camilla

Image
The mesa camilla is a very Spanish invention (in fact I believe it to be a very southernly Spanish invention). It consists of a table, a heater and a heavy, long tablecloth-like fabric that drapes over the sides. The idea is that you put the heater under the table and when you sit down you put the fabric over you like a blanket. The truth is that it does keep you quite warm. The downside is that once you get up and move, you lose the heat. Since the houses and apartments here in the south of Spain are not created for the cold (no central heating) a mesa camilla can be found almost every where.  We didn't have one last year and survived with blankets, space heaters and flannel pajamas throughout the winter. This year Jose decided we needed to get a mesa camilla. I fought the good fight (since often times they look very similar to the option in the picture above) but we ended up ordering one not too long ago.  Typically the mesa camilla is made of wood and can be stored ...
Read more

Spanish names

Image
Maaaaaaaria, I just met a girl named Maria Hopefully you just read that and sang the song from West Side Story in your head. Let's just say that from what I have experienced here in Spain, people really, really like this name. In fact, there are times when it seems like EVERY woman or girl is named Maria (or Maria de/l something) and though they might go by the second part of their name, their given one is still Maria. People definitely opt for traditional names here, unlike the US where names go through trends.  Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link which contained a GIF  (originally from The Atlantic)  showing the different female names that had been popular in the US since 1960. It is interesting to see how a name like Jennifer would be popular in one region and then would sweep the nation. Such a map would not be as cool here in Spain since not a whole lot would change. Maria. Maria del Carmen. Miriam. Marian. Mirian. Variations on a theme. Religious...
Read more