A trip to Extremadura in Spain
Merida is a beautiful Roman city where we spent our first two nights. We stayed in the 5* hotel Merida Palace which was located right in the centre overlooking the Plaza. It is within walking distance to all the restaurants and historical sites and only a five minutes walk to the bridge which takes you to the old town. Merida has many old roman buildings situated around the city which have been restored and are still being used, which was so lovely to see. We enjoyed our first group dinner in a Michelin star restaurant located only a few minutes walk from our hotel. We tasted delicious Iberian ham that the area is very famous for and a fabulous sea bass dish along with different types of local goats cheese and wines. It was a perfect start to a great trip. The next day we did a walking tour around the city visiting many of the historic and roman buildings such as the roman amphitheatre which is still being used for many events and festivals throughout the year.
The next day we visited the town of Almendralejo. We had a guided tour of the Bullring in the town where the balconies in the bullring dated back to 1912 and have been fully restored. The town hall purchased the bullring and they rent it out to local companies for events such as jazz nights where they serve the famous Cava (Sparkling Champagne). There are very few bullfights held anymore as it is less popular now with the younger generation.
The Extremadura area is very well known for the production of wine, sheep and goats cheese. The best quality grapes are picked by hand whereas the standard quality grapes used for table wines are picked using machines. We were so lucky to get a guided tour of the wine production factory. We had the pleasure to see how the wines were produced, bottled and stored before sitting down to a delicious lunch to taste the local made cheese and wines.
Our next stop was at the gorgeous city of Caceres, a city full of history with cobblestone streets and beautiful medieval architecture where every building had a story. We visited the stunning Lake Barrucecos which is the setting of the final battle of the dragon in Game of Thrones. Situated right by the lake we got a tour of the famous Museo Vostell Malpartida. This museum is amazing and the artist Wolfe Vostell a German painter fell in love and returned to the area to set up this studio in post-war contemporary art. We arrived back at our hotel to check in and we stayed in the NH Collection Caceres Palacio De Oquendo. It was perfectly located in the centre of Caceres with everything on your doorstep.
The next morning our guide took us out into the deep Spanish countryside through fields of oak and acorn trees to see the Iberian pigs. As our bus drove in, they gathered around and it was amazing to see. The pigs only feed on acorns which are plentiful this time of year, so generally they would be less amused with people compared to when they are scarce. We then went to the local village to the Iberian production factory to see where they salt and cure the hams. After the tour, we went for lunch where we got to taste many of the different types of ham. Each slice of ham is from a various parts of the pig and tastes so different. The thinner the slice is cut, the tastier it is.
Trujillo was our last stop in Extremadura, another beautiful town full of history with a medieval stone fortress on a steep hill overlooking the whole town. A few of us climbed to the very top to watch the sun setting which was stunning. The town is beautiful with a big market square bustling with many restaurants, shops and museums all within walking distance. Our guide took us on a lovely walking tour to explore the town and then we met to have our farewell dinner before our flight home the next day. We travelled 3 hours to Madrid airport where we flew back to Dublin.
Extremadura is such a special part of Spain and is so authentic. The people are so friendly and it is full of history with the most delicious food and wines. I highly recommend anyone to visit Extremadura if you are looking for a non-touristy and more cultured part of Spain to explore as this area has so much to offer.