Maria

Dear Fodorites,

We are just back from a wonderful 2 week trip to Extremadura, Cadiz and Huelva provinces and Sevilla. It was a wonderful trip with many highlights which I will try to report on as I find the time in the next few days between catching up on life back home. Our itinerary was as follows:

Arrive, Friday, Oct 31st in Madrid. Due to a death in the family of our Madrid friends we ended up with a last minute hotel stay at the Hotel Preciados for 2 nights. Excellent, newly refurbished hotel in the center of the old part of town right off the Plaza of Callao. "Tapeando" (cruising the bars for tapas) with our former Spanish exchange student and her boyfriend.

Saturday, Nov 1st: in Madrid with a large part of the day at the Prado for the Manet show and the permanent collection. Absolutely stunning. Lunch at La Fabrica just up Lope de Vega street from the Prado: fabulous!

Evening with friends "tapeando" with special recognition to the Cerveceria Alemana in the Plaza de Santa Ana.

Sunday, Nov 2: Pick up my mother and sister at Barajas airport and head west to Jarandilla de la Vera and stay in Parador for 2 nights.

Monday, Nov 3: Day trip to Yuste, Garganta la Olla, Hervas, and Granadilla. Wonderful scenery but lots of mountain driving.

Tuesday, Nov 4: Leave Jarandilla and drive to Plasencia for the Plaza Mayor Market Day and pick up picnic supplies for lunch in the Parque de Monfrague. Afternoon stop at the "smallest monastery in the world" in Palancar. This was a real highlight of the trip but if you do not speak Spanish or have your own translator you would not enjoy it nearly as much, if at all. Headed into town of Caceres for a 2 night stay at the Parador.

Wednesday,Nov 5: Spent the day in Caceres which is an incredibly beautiful town with a perfectly preserved old center made of stone . We loved the feel of the town and spent the day wandering through the churches, soaking in the atmosphere of the noble mansions with their heraldic shields dislayed, and just enjoying a day out of the car. Dinner was at Atrio: again a total highlight but extremely pricey (350 euros for 4 people). But the food was exquisitely prepared, served and enjoyed by us appropriate to the price.

I will continue on another post as I have sometimes lost lengthy posts on this forum!

Maria

Maria

continued...

Thursday, Nov 6: Back in the car for a trip to Trujillo and Guadalupe and then on to our next overnight stay for 2 nights in Zafra. Trujillo is another very old and well preserved medieval village with all the trappings of her "conquistadores" sons who came bck from the New World with wealth and fame. A huge, open Plaza Mayor with Pizarro on horseback.

The drive from Trujillo to Guadalupe was very scenic. The Monasterio de Guadalupe is HUGE and, again, filled with the riches brought from the New World. The highlight of the tour is going right up to the chamber of the Virgin and she is turned so you can see her in all her splendor. We declined kissing the relics at her feet!!!! We then headed to Zafra parador for our next 2 nights.

Friday, Nov 7th: We backtracked about 45 minutes north to spend a good part of the day in Merida which has more Roman ruins than anyplace else in the world except for Rome. Outstanding Roman theater, amphitheater, acqueduct, temples, etc... The highlight here, besides the ruins, was the new Archeological Museum that was a stunning setting to display fabulous mosaics, statues and other pieces of daily Roman life.

Sat, Nov 8: Drive from Zafra to our next 2 night destination at the parador de Mazagon in Huelva province on the coast. Really beautiful drive out of Zafra and into the Sierra de Aracena. We stopped in Jabugo, the famous "jamon" (ham) capital of Spain, but were disappointed to not be able to tour the huge curing warehouse due to it being a weekend. We left Jabugo and drove on to the town of Aracena and saw the caves of the Gruta de las Maravillas. Pretty interesting, but the 1 hour tour was plenty of time to be underground on a beautiful day. This whole area is stunningly beautiful with cork trees on the rolling hillsides, wonderful black pigs grazing for acorns underneath and then the mountains with lovely villages tucked in every nook and cranny. We had a quick stop in Moguer, but not enough time to enjoy one of "the most beautful villages in Spain". Overnight at the modern, but beautifully situated, parador of Mazagon on bluffs overlooking the ocean.

Sunday, Nov 9th: An early morning (8:30 am) tour of the Coto Donana which is available only with the National Park guides in huge 4WD vehicles. Definitely a highlight of the trip! The tours last 4 hours or more and take you throughout the park (the largest national park and bird sanctuary in Europe) where we saw loads of birds, deer, javelina, etc... in coastal beach areas, sand dunes, marsh areas and forested areas.
Then afternoon at the parador walking the beach and combing for seashells.

Monday, Nov 10th: Travel from Mazagon to Cadiz with stops in Niebla and Jerez de la Frontera and Puerto de Santa Maria. Nieble has a wonderfully restored castle with excellent displays and signage in both Spanish and English complete with moorish music piped in. The dungeon with its way-too-informative torture chambers sent me straight out into the sunshine after only 5 minutes! We toured the Domecq winery in Jerez and sampled sherry afterwards. Had lunch at Romerhijo in Puerto de Santa Maria where they load huge plates of cooked seafood onto platters and deliver it to your tables with big buckets for all the shells to be tossed. We arrived in Cadiz in time to tour the castle and take a long walk along the breakwater and soak in the gorgeous sunset. The parador is also a modern hotel (Atlantico) but it was thoroughly lovely.

I will, again, continue on another post before this gets too long..

lweber

Great reporting on areas not visited much. In a future segment could you comment on how, if at all, you would change your intinerary if you were to go back. Thanks!

Maria

Tuesday, Nov 11th: Took a fabulous driving tour that passed through Medina Sidonia, Alcala de los Gazules, Puerto de Galis, Jimena de la Frontera (lunchtime picnic at the top of the castle walls), Castellar de la Frontera (another fabulously beautiful hilltop town perched at the pinnacle of a mountain), then back to Cadiz via the coast through Tarifa and Vejer de la Frontera. This was really an incredible day of one beautiful place after another.
Back in Cadiz we made a dinner of one fabulous tapa after another washed down with sherry at El Faro, definitely a "must eat and drink here" place!

Friday, Nov 12th: A very quick drive from Cadiz to Sevilla where we dropped the car at the Santa Justa RR station and took a cab to Las Casas de La Juderia for another 2 night stay. Las Casas was as beautiful and friendly as I remembered from our stay 5 years ago. Rooms were lovely as the entire hotel is a complex of inner courtyards and patios. They have added a lovely restaurant in the lower level and have an excellent breakfast buffet every morning. We literally just threw our luggage into our rooms and headed out to see the Cathedral and the Royal Palaces (Reales Alcazares) and gardens which were also as wonderful as we remembered them. Made another stop at the Plaza de Toros for a brief but not too informative tour about bullfighting. Dinner was at La Hosteria del Laurel which we love and you can choose among the white tablecloth setting indoors, the more casual indoor meson setting or the outdoor tables for either tapas or the platos combinados.

Thursday, Nov 13: Another full day of sightseeing including the Basilica de la Macarena (a "must see" kind of place if you want to get a sense of the processions of Holy Week) and the Casa de Pilatos (one of my all-time most beautiful mansions in the world). Lunch at El Rinconcillo which was founded in 1637 and is the oldest continually operating restaurant in Spain. The afternoon we wandered over to the Plaza de Espana and were so disappointed to find it covered in dust and construction equipment as it is in the middle of a massive rstoration. But we wandered through the Gardens of Murillo and the barrio Santa Cruz. For the evening we happened upon another gem of our trip: during the month of November the Casa de Memoria (on calle Ximez de Enciso, just a block or so from the hotel) is putting on a wonderful (and inexpensive!) flamenco show every night. We were treated to an hour long show with 2 dancers, a singer and a guitarist in a lovely moorish patio with less than 100 people seated around the patio. It was fabulous and soul-stirring and eye-popping and left us moved to near tears.
Afterwards we did our share of tapeando in Santa Cruz: a perfect day!

Friday, Nov 14th: We stored our luggage at the hotel and spent the morning sightseeing at the Palacio de Lebrija (beautiful but very cluttered, IMHO) and also saw the Museo de Bellas Artes which we all really enjoyed. Then we grabbed our luggage and hopped on the AVE train for a scenic 2 1/2 hour train ride to Madrid. Spent the evening at the home of another 2 of our former spanish exchange students who are sisters.

Saturday, Nov 15th: Home again, home again, jiggety jog!!!

It was a fabulous trip and I would be happy to fill in any more details for people who are considering planning a trip to any of these areas!

Maria

olga

Unbelievable report!
Thank you very much for the info. I love all the areas that you explored in Extremadura and Huelva.
Thank you for the detailed comments on restaurants and sights.

tommy

What a great report. It has been a long time since I was in Extremadura, but I do remember feeling totally transported back in time in Caceres. and the stars at night were beautiful.

Maria, how did you like the Parador there? I was student when I visited, and couldn't afford the Parador, but perhaps it's time to plan a return trip....

Maribel

Hi Maria,
I've been eagerly awaiting your return and yet another really terrific and detailed trip report! As you know, yet again we'll be following in your footsteps in March (minus the Andalucia portion which we did spring-Extremadura only). It seems like lately wherever Maria goes, we go next! It will be great to get back to Extremadura. It sounds like you enjoyed wonderful weather not to mention beautiful scenery!

A few questions, when you've rested, if you don't mind:
I have a Fodorite friend who has booked the Preciados for next May at a rate of 100 euros. I thought it would be a good, central choice for his two nights and fresher, more "up to date" than the Carlos V. Do you agree, now that you've tried both?

Of your excursions made from Jarandilla, was there a village you would have omitted (or one you would have added)? We'll have 3 nights at the Parador after a day of rest in Gredos. Were you happy you chose the Jarandilla Parador rather than Plasencia? We thought we'd enjoy a countryside location first in the Vera valley then move on to city, Cáceres.

We'll visit the Parque de Monfragüe
from Jarandilla and will be there on Tues. to visit the Plasencia market too. Did you find a particularly scenic spot for your picnic lunch (great idea!)in the park?

In Mérida did you opt for the combined ticket to all Roman ruin sites or just do it a la carte? We're really eager to spend time in Rafael Moneo's stunning new museum. We'll need to make this a day trip from Cáceres, as we'll settle into the Parador there for 4 nights, using it as our second base.

I'm really glad both of you, your mom and sister had a terrific trip together and wish you many more! Thanks again for your really valuable trip report, as usual. And welcome home!

Regards,
Maribel

NEDSIRELAND

You missed one of my favorite Huelva stops: El Santuario de la Virgen del Rocio on the west edge of the Donana near Almonte.

We were very close to el Portal de la Macarena one year as the Viernes Santo Procession returned from its all night trek: very impressive!

Your narrative reinforces my opinion that Cadiz may be a better base for exploring Andalucia than Sevilla.

Great report(s), Maria.

Maria

Fodorites,

I will try to respond to the follow up questions as best as I can!

To lweber: good question about what, if anything, we might have changed on our itinerary. Not meaning to dodge the question, but I wish we had had one more day/night in each location! It felt like we had to narrow down our time in each city to either one day trip out of town or a day in town as each travel day (which was every other day) we had something planned en route. For example, in Jarandilla it would have been great to have a day in town or half a day in town and then half a day to see the ruins of Caparra which we missed when our day trip got too long. We also really did not have more than a couple of hours in the parque de Monfrague which was squeezed into the morning in Plasencia, afternoon at the monasterio de Palancar and getting to Zafra. In Mazagon, as NEDSIRELAND pointed out, we missed El Rocio completely(which was on our list to see) and also had to miss Palos de la Frontera, the Monasterio de la Rabida and a reasonable stroll through Moguer which was rushed.Out of Zafra we wanted to see Jerez de los Caballeros and Fregenal de la Sierra but had to keep moving. I guess the alternative is to not have a fixed itinerary and be flexible to stay an extra day when you want but we just keep saying to eachother "Well, we will have to do that the next time we come back!"

Tommy, yes, Caceres is most definitely one of those paces where you feel like you are in a totally different era. The parador was great and was completely part of the wonderful atmosphere of the city. We looked out of our balcony and could see gigantic stork nests on every church steeple and each one had a stork clapping it's bill loudly at other ones. When we were at the top of one of the towers just off the Plaza Mayor we could gaze across the city and see not only storks but hundreds of other birds in flight swooping through the church steeples. It was really magical. And, of course, strolling the stone streets at night with all of those majestic buildings lit up really took you someplace else entirely.

Maribel, again, due to my fear of losing long posts, I will write separately.

Maria

Maria

Maribel,

About your question of places near Jarandilla, Yuste is a must just to see where old Carlos V gave up the world to retire to. We also enjoyed Garganta la Olla and Hervas but they are fairly similar but with lots of scenic driving in between. The mountain driving is formidable and slow. The guy at the parador told us, definitely, not to take the mountain road from Garganta to Piornal but to backtrack thru Jaraiz and Plasencia and then up the Jerte valley. I am sure that this will be faulous in the spring with all the cherry blossoms! The best place of all on our daytrip out of Jarandilla was the abandoned town of Granadilla on the Emblase de Gabriel y Galan. I don't know if it was the time of day (late afternoon) with all that lovely low light warming everything to a rosy glow or the beautiful setting or what, but we all LOVED see the castle and small town that was abandoned and left. It seems that they have some sort of living history educational thing going on there as there was a group of high school age students participating in something. But walking the ancient walls of the town, which are still intact, and seeing the surrounding countryside and the castle and church in the distance was really beautiful. Olive trees and fig trees and orange trees all growing next to the walls with those friendly black pigs scouring the ground or acorns made you feel like you were in some kind of Spanish bucolic dream.

I would definitely want to spend more time at Monfrague, also. We had our picnic right at the Salto del Gitano mirador which was beautiful and then drove to the castle and hiked to the top. I would have enjoyed spending a few hours just hiking on some of the trails and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

I would definitely recommend the Hotel Preciados over the Carlos V. The locations are practically identical. The Preciados is completely re-done and updated with very modern and fresh room interiors. There is a restaurant at the Preciados but we did not use it for breakfast. I got an internet room rate of 117 euros (no breakfast) for a friday and Saturday night stay. I do not even know if they serve breakfast as we met friends at another hotel each morning for coffee. Staff is helpful and friendly.

Merida was great! We bought the entire Conjunto Monumental ticket and did not see everything on it. I would highly recommend the Theatre, the Amphitheatre, the Casa of the Amphitheater and the Alcazaba for those sights requiring a paid admission. Other things, the Temple of Diana, the circus site, Trajan's arch, the roman bridge and the aqueduct can be seen without entrance fee.

Anything else?

Let me know!

Maria

Pedro

Thanks Maria for your excellent report. I would like to give my impressions about some of the places you have just visited. In Extremadura, Llerena, Olivenza and Jerez de los Caballeros are nice places to stroll, the first for its whitewashed porched main square, the second for its portuguese remind ( including a beautiful manuelin style church ) and the third for its imposing four baroque towers. In Sierra Morena area we like specially the tiny rural towns of Alajar (The view at the top of the Peña de Arias Montano is awe inspiring, just 3 kms out of the town ), Fuenteheridos ( surrounded by orchards, plenty of colours in Fall, good villa turistica ) or Almonaster with its little old mosque (at the top of the hill). Going South to Huelva and just 22 kms from Aracena I always like to drive around Riotinto Mines area, with its impressive and colourful landscapes, a remain of its glorious industrial past (Good Museo de la Mineria in Riotinto and interesting Museo Vazquez Díaz in Nerva).
In Moguer the place to see is Convento de Santa Clara and you can buy delicious and cheap pastries at Confitería Consolación in the city centre. ( With Rufino in Aracena, the top places in the province to buy "pasteles" ). In Sevilla my short trips are to Carmona (improving each day) and Santiponce (Italica roman ruins and San Isidoro del Campo Monastery). Going on with Cadiz province, I love Medina Sidonia, one of the prettiest villages in Andalusia with an important gothic church at the top of the town. You can visit there also part of the roman sewage system, partially restored.
Finally Los Alcornocales Natural Park offers some of the most virgin and dense oak forests in Europe. Try Las Asomaderas Viewpoint not far from Jimena for a wonderful panorama or the area around Charco Redondo Reservoir in Los Barrios. Greetings... Olga, Maribel and Maria!!!

Maribel

Hurray! Pedro's back! We've truly missed your wise travel advice. Please stay around!

Maria

Pedro,

Thanks for all your follow up comments! It just reinforces my previous thoughts that this area of Spain is so un-appreciated and deserves much more time than we had a chance to give in our last trip. The geographic beauty, historical importance and architectural abundance of Extremadura makes it such a "sleeper" location for travellers.

I echo Maribel's thoughts: Welcome back to the Forum and we hope to see more well-informed comments from you in the future!

Maria

olga

Long time no see!
It's great to be able to read your interesting comments and ideas again, Pedro.
Welcome back!

Maria

I think I need to revise my previous comments to say:

IN SPITE OF the geographic beauty, historical importance and architectural abundance of Extremadura IT STILL IS such a "sleeper" location for travellers!!

Maria

jparis

Maria,
What internet site did you use to get a 117 euro rate on your room at the Preciados Hotel? I can't seem to find anything less than 150 euro, but we staying on a Thurs. and Friday night. Thanks

Maria

To jparis:

I just went to their home page at preciadoshotel.com and filled in the reservation search and got it. I just tried it with a couple of December dates and found it also.

Of course, all of this always depends on your specific dates...good luck!

Maria

Maribel

Maria,
Thanks for the warning about the mountain driving. I have a formidable, utterly fearless driver, a veteran of northern Spain who has never met a mountain he couldn't conquer on 4 wheels, but it is really exhausting. We won't attempt the journey from Garganta de la Olla to Piornal. On my new Michelin 576 it's still marked as treacherous.

We're really excited about seeing the Valle del Jerte at the peak of the cherry blossom season. I think we've timed it perfectly, as the days we'll be in Jarandilla will be the height of the season in the Jerte. And we'll be doing it more easily, coming from a night in Gredos, going through the pass at Tornavacas for the spectacular views.

Do you have any particular recs for Jarandilla itself for our 3 nights? Did you opt for the half board at the Parador?

I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner at Atrio, one of Spain's finest gourmet temples. I suggested it to you because it is truly one of the country's best, albeit pricey but worth it, I think. We'll celebrate hubby's birthday there, so we'll throw all caution to the winds.

Do you recommend any particular rooms at the Cáceres Parador? We've decided to pay the supplement with our 5 night card there rather than stay in Trujillo (have stayed there before) because after 3 nights in Jarandilla, it will be a treat to be in a city, and I have wonderful memories of my last visit to Cáceres's exquisitely preserved medieval quarter.

From Cáceres we'll plan a full day in Mérida, as the last time I was there it was during Holy Week, and I still haven't seen the stunning Museo Nacional de Arqueología.
We'll also take the Ciudad Monumental pass.
I've put Palancar on our list as a stop on the way to Coria plus the ruins of Caparra, since we'll have the extra time.

Thanks once again for a fine trip report, and I shall try to put one together as well when we return next spring. You're so right about Extremadura's being a true "sleeper" travel destination.

ekscrunchy

How did I ever miss the marvelous 20-year-old report?

So much vital info here, and I read it again since I am looking for a region to visit before my return to Vejer in March. Been to Jarandilla, Caceres, etc, but so long ago it is like another lifetime..(sadly, missed the Jerte cherry blossoms)

Thought this would be interesting for those travelers with cars, seeking to veer off the beaten path a bit in Spain this year..

mikelg

Ekscrunchy...these are absolutely wonderful places off the obvious Seville, Barcelona and Madrid. I like to spend my summer vacation in Ayamonte, in Huelva province, where the Guadiana river ends and with a wonderful coast, beautiful towns along the river and lots of little known "white towns" full of so many beautiful places. The Andévalo region is a must-visit (practically no tourism), as is Almonaster and its smallest mosque in the world, Jabugo and its great ham, the amazing mines of Riotinto and the odd colours of the river, Sanlúcar del Guadiana, Moguer, Bollullos Par del Condado and its less known Condado wines and orange wine...