First stop: Trujillo - Cáceres

Now if you haven't planned your vacation yet, please stop a minute and at least consider my proposal. Instead of going to the beach, to many of those fantastic beaches in Spain, how about planning a road trip, and adventure?

My first proposal is the following: 

Madrid is a good starting point, as it's right in the center of Spain. If you're going to be using public transport please take into account that some of the towns I am going to recommend are not easily accessed by frequent transport, so please check official websites such as THE TRAINLINE

From Madrid you can easily get to Cáceres (Nothern province of the Extremadura region). Once in this area, you can decide wether you'll stay in Caceres or on the other hand you could experience in other towns that aren't too far away. For these small road trips I highly recommend renting a car, these small towns have public transport but their schedules might not fit your journey making it rather difficult to plan a good adventure for the day. 

I recommend having your main base in Trujillo, this medieval town is about 40km away from Caceres, and about 80km from Guadalupe, which is a very picturesque town guarded by a beautiful monastery worth visiting. From Trujillo, you will also be relatively close to Plasencia, another small city that has it's magical enchantment. 

While in Trujillo, you mustn't miss the main square, the Saint Martin Church as well as the Santa Maria Church that has two main towers that can be visited and from which you will have a wonderful view of the town. And of course let's not forget its castle at the very top of the town, built between the IX and XII centuries. Most of these touristic attractions have a ticket office in which you will be able to buy tickets to all or some of these monuments. 

Trujillo's Castle

Now, it's important to pay attention to what or where you could eat. This will completely depend on what you like. But a very common and popular place to eat is 'La Troya' famous for its traditional meals and especially for the big quantities they serve, if you have a rather big appetite, GO FOR IT. 

It's not too pricey and it's worth the experience I guess😂. When I was younger I was able to eat all the food they served, but now, I just can't handle the appetizers they serve in huge amounts. 

Or, if you don't want to go through the hassle of having to eat too much, you can always try ''Catedritos" which is a traditional restaurant/bar with reasonable prices and good food (at least last time I went)  or 'Hostal La Emilia' which is also a nice place to book a room, I personally liked the place, the service and the food, it's also a walk away from the center of the town, a very good spot if you like peace and quiet because sometimes it happens that visitors come in the time of year in which the town is celebrating their traditional festivals and the center can be very noisy, so before visiting make sure you book your stay in an area that's rather far, but not too far from the town square. If there aren't any festivities or fairs going on in the town, staying in the center can be a very good choice. Most of the accomodations are fairly decent and clean and some offer 'breakfast included' packs.

This would be day one and two of your adventure, exploring Trujillo will surely awaken your imagination and have you curious for more. 😊

My personal advice: Travelling to little lost towns can be really exciting. Take into account that in many you might not find the fancy service, accomodation and touristic glamour you can definitely find in other well-prepared areas. Most of these places live off internal visitors that come from different places of Spain and normally don't stay longer than a weekend. So please be kind, you can always suggest ideas to the business owners etc. They aren't used to having people that aren't from the country, so smile, enjoy and always add something nice 😻.

Spain is not only beaches and sun

Most of the people around the world come to Spain to visit the main touristic areas: beaches and main cities such as Madrid or Barcelona. But have you ever imagened what lies in between these attractions?

Spain is a mediterranean country that tackles the planet on the Iberian Peninsula. It's a small but rich country that hides many beautiful corners, cultures and landscapes. It's unique position on the planet allows various species develop naturally among the human cities and activities and most importantly, it's hidden little towns throughout the lands are in many ocassions astonishing. 

Allow me to show you what else you mustn't miss visiting while you come to Spain. I have always liked to see beyond what's given, explore the lands that surround me. I live in Spain, I've been out and about, but when it comes to travelling I'm the first one to take a look at the map of the country I'm living in and say: Hey, I haven't visited this area yet. 

We will start with Extremadura, a 'State or Region' that I highly recommend visiting between mid September and early June. This region hides spectacular landscapes, incredible castles, and beautiful towns in which the mayority of them you can still feel the middle age essesence or vibes that ignite your imagination transporting you to times in which other things were important.