Cáceres: Casco Antiguo y Chicki Chicki
Trip Start
May 15, 2008
1
8
60
Trip End
Jul 24, 2008
Cáceres,
Extremadura,
Spain and Canary Islands
Saturday, May 24, 2008
After arriving and checking into our hotel, I wandered around the city a bit. We then had a tour of the old town (called the Casco Antiguo or Ciudad Monumental), which you enter through the preserved town walls off of the Plaza Mayor. The medieval old town was eerily empty except for touring groups like ourselves. Adding to the "ghost town" feel was the fact that almost all of the buildings are made of the same sandy stone and that it was such an overcast day.
We walked all around the cobble stone streets, stopping to watch a wedding procession coming out of the church before we got to go inside and climb its bell tower which lent beautiful views of the city and surrounding countryside
Caceres - San Mateo Church
. One of the neat things about the city, which you could actually see quite well from the bell tower, is that the town is known for its storks, who nest all over the buildings. To cap off our tour, we went to the Museum of Cáceres, where we saw exhibits about the town's history and the famous Arab aljibe (cistern well) which used to provide the town's drinking water around the tenth and eleventh centuries.The night made up for the disappointment of the afternoon tour. After returning from the Medieval part of town, we asked a local for the cheapest and best restaurant/bar around. A group of six of us went to Don Pancho, the restaurant he recommended in the modern part of Cáceres, away from the touristy Medieval section. It was great - the first 100% Spanish atmosphere I've been in (I mean authentic Spanish culture is hard to find in big cities unless you go way out into the suburbs). We had jarras (pitchers) of either Tinto de Verano or Cruzcampo and a plate of tapas for 4.50 euros - way cheaper than anything in el Centro, Triana, or el Arenal in Sevilla. After about 15 pitchers and plenty of tapas (including huge bocadillos (sandwiches) for 2.80), we became quite friendly with the Spanish patrons and bonded over the EuroVision singing contest, cheering Chicki Chicki on for Spain. Our new friends then showed us to a college bar (we were definitely the only Americans there) where we met a ton of other Spaniards, with whom we had a great night, by far my best in Spain so far.
Honestly, it was a nice visit, and from what I've heard, the best that Extremadura has to offer. However, I was quite disappointed by Cáceres. Maybe it was different from what I expected, or maybe the uniformity of every building in old town just didn't excite me, but I would recommend another town in Andalucia rather than making an excursion up into Extremadura. I can, however, highly recommend the nightlife here (for that of a smaller town).
