Cacéres: Ay Ay Ay, Song of the Sorrowful Churro-Seeker

Cacéres, Spain (Cacéres, España)
November 2015

For some inexplicable reason, on the day we visited Cacéres, Yannick had a strong hankering for churros. By pure chance, the parking space we found happened to be on the same road as a churreria! However, it was in the process of closing its doors for the day, so we were foiled. 

The Plaza Mayor was surrounded on all sides by palaces and stately historic buildings. What detracted somewhat were the bars, restaurants and tourist shops that plagued the ground levels of these buildings. In 2011 the square had undergone a complete redevelopment in order to make it more pedestrian-friendly, and the desired effect was certainly achieved. It felt like a place where one could meet with friends and spend a sunny afternoon. We also saw a statue of San Pedro standing on a book. How rude.

Up a shallow flight of stairs we reached another plaza, this one topped with the church of San Francisco Javier like a cherry on a sundae.
The Visigoths who had overrun this area of Spain were forced out by the Moors in the 8th-century. Remnants of this past could be heard in a very vocal busker who strummed away at his guitar and belted out a tune. While sounding very Spanish, it also reminded us of the chants of prayer that blare from the top of minarets. He played with much gusto.

The whole old town felt very untouched and authentic. We got a good feel for it as we stalked around trying to find a place that sold churros. Sadly, this balcony contained no churros. I checked.

Finally we found a cafe that had several breakfast options, one of them including churros. Success! We found a table (or more accurately, large barrel) and ordered the churro option. They had sold out of churros! NOOOOO. Instead of settling for toast, we left. It's churros or nothing!
The next town on our itinerary was Trujillo. Both Cacéres and Trujillo are famous for the conquistadors who left their hometowns to make names for themselves in the New World. (As well as GOLD, mountains of it! And it's mine, mine, miiiiine! Don't mind me, I watched Pocahontas too often as a child. And as an adult.) Stay tuned for some conquistadorial action next time on Teh Travels! 

Today's post was almost called: Pedro’s Toes But No Churros