Madruelo, Cáceres

Before Easter, Mummy came into town for a visit before we headed on to Seville and Granada. Excited for her arrival, I decided we'd try out a new restaurant hidden down behind the plaza. 

We were the first to arrive and last the last to leave but the waiting staff were seemingly unbothered and very friendly, helping to explain the menu and had lots of recommendations! Seeing as we were fairly early, by Spain's standards anyway (!), the chef even came out to chime in on what he thought was good. 

Firstly we were presented with a tomato-garlic concentrate which was lovely. Accompanied with some toasts; one topped with tapenade and the other with Patatera (a chorizo spread) and honey. It was all delicious and really whet our appetite for what was to come.

We ordered a pork salad dish which comprised of very thinly sliced just cooked pork topped with roasted garlic, olive oil and a salad garnish.

Next we had octopus with olive oil and paprika, bulked out slightly with some potatoes and the occasional green leaf. We both enjoyed this but decided we liked the pork dish better.

Next, the mains. I went for Venison with a red wine sauce and the came with some vegetables and mashed potato. This was really lovely and the sauce really made the dish.

Mummy went for the chef's recommendation, a loin of pork with a creamy wild mushroom sauce. I sneaked a bit with my fork and it was really lovely but nothing unusual. But the pork was cooked perfectly and it didn’t stop us mopping up the leftover sauce with the bread.

After a quick peruse of the dessert menu we decided to share the chocolate brownie accompanied with both custard and cream – how could we not! This was really yummy and I wished i'd ordered one just for myself.

I would highly recommend this restaurant for great service and lovely food.

Feeling Fragile

After having a suitably long lie-in we could ignore our rumbling tummys no more and headed out into old town in search of something to eat. But first, we gave Fiona a little tour of the old town, the real gem in the crown of Caceres, windy streets and cute restaurants hidden by giant wooden doors. 

We wondered unto the church and past 'the toe' (if you rub it brings good luck).

We then headed out of old town and down to our favourite cafe - one of the only places you can get good cake and a cuppa to fill our bellies and perk ourselves up again. 

Fiona went for a toffee-nut cake, which was delicious especially the icing. 

I went for the '7 chocolates' cake which it a traditional chocolate layer cake but with an added biscuity, crumbly base, and a mountain of icing - yum! 

Penny opted for a nutella crepe with ice cream and Fiona and I were both a little bit jealous of her choice! 

We washed it all down with a round of milky coffee and chatted away until it was time to see Fiona off. 

Tapería Yuste, Cáceres

This weekend Fiona came into town from Madrid so we though it'd be the perfect opportunity to try out a new restaurant and bar hop around the town. 

We decided to go to Taperia Yuste. We looked over the menu and made our decisions, with help from the waiter, we were pretty confident in our decisions. However, when the food arrived we were taken rather by surprised as it wasn't necessarily what we expected. Talk about lost in translation! While different, this isn't to say the food was bad. A particular highlight for me was the spinach stuffed crepe with a trout cream sauce. Sounds strange, but it was delicious! I just wish there was more of it. The prawn cream cheese tostada went down well. but we came to the conclusion that that was all it was. A prawn and cream cheese on toast. Next we tried the 'Pizza Artesana' and this was the one we were most underwhelmed with. More of a deconstructed pizza with a strange cheese spread and some sort of jam. Definitely not a favourite and something we probably wouldn't order again. 

Next came the main; steak served with a delicious courgette garnish. Unfortunately we were so excited at the prospect of meat that I didn't manage to grab a snap. 

Then it was time for dessert. I had been eyeing up the desert menu since we arrived so was thrilled when the girls suggested we order 3 and all share. 

We plumped for a warm chocolate brownie with ice cream;

Sacher torte;

 and a toffee mousse. 

They were all brilliant and we ended up practically licking the plates clean! 

After we'd finished eating we hit the town and headed to a local bar brimming with people, spotted a table and nabbed it. 

Ordered some drinks and happily started chatting away. I was clearly telling a story that I found highly amusing…

It got later and the bar started emptying so we decided to move on and go for cocktails at one of my favourite bars in Caceres; La Traviata. I like this place because it has a fun interior and loads of little nooks you can snuggle yourself in with your drinks and have a good catch up. There's a mix of sofas and comfy chairs so it's easy to settle down and while away the hours. 

After a couple of drinks a feeling rather merry, we decided to head on elsewhere. This is where the night gets a little blurry and the camera was put away.

A walk in the sun

Since the New Year kicked in i vowed to myself that would get fitter, not just for summer but to be a bit more active all the time. Now that i'm living in Spain and the weather is getting warmer, I really want to make the most of it before it get's unbearable. And so keeping all this in mind, Penny and I decided to climb up to the church on the hill where there are beautiful views of the city and the surrounding countryside. And climb we did. 

Half way to the church we came across this lion king-style rock and despite the fact it was a little out of our way, we couldn't not stop and channel our inner animal all the way to the top. Where we decided to lay and basque in the sun for a while. 

When we finally reached the top, the sun was at it's warmest so after briefly taking in the view we slumped into the nearest chairs and sipped on some water. And rather unbelievably after lugging my camera all the way to the top I didn't actually take any photos! 

But I did stop to snap the view on the way down, so those pictures will have to do! 

I'm sure we'll be climbing up again and that time i'll make sure to get some pics from the top.