Trujillo - Day 2

Late yesterday evening I walked out of the front door of our house to get some fresh air. Just outside were the beautifully floodlit churches of the old town. I experimented with various settings on the camera to achieve the best results. I will let you judge for yourselves between these two examples.

 This morning after a late start due to mistaking the time, you would have though that after three weeks we would have adjusted to European time by now, I wandered into town to buy breakfast. In the Plaza Mayor there was an explosion of Spanish flags where none were visible yesterday.

As it is not a festival I assume that this is some sort of reaction to the referendum that is being held in Catalonia tomorrow. Presumably it is to show solidarity with the Spanish Republic, and of course as one of the poorest areas of Spain this area has most to lose by the withdrawal of the richest region.

So after our slow start we walked the short distance to the castle, this time for a proper explore. After climbing the walls it is possible to see the huge extent of the castle.

It was much extended over the years by successive Spanish rulers. It was always on the borders of major European conflicts, the battle between Moors and Christians, the various wars of the Spanish Succession and the Peninsular War. It is not surprising that much was invested in a strongpoint in this location. From the walls it is possible to see the strategic significance as it has all round views for miles over the plains of Extremadura. It is also possible to appreciate the beauty of the buildings of Trujillo.

 After doing a small supermarket shop I made a purchase with a difference. In the information book that comes with the house I noticed that it was possible to purchase homemade baked goods from the nuns in the convent opposite. Well this was a challenge; inside a dark doorway was a bell that I rang. A disembodied voice made me aware of a sort of circular dumb waiter. I think I must have made myself clear because shortly a packet of biscuits appeared. I placed ten Euros in the tray and back appeared my change. This I suppose is the earliest version of online shopping disembodied shopping!!!

Tomorrow we move on to our final stop on the holiday, a restaurant in the Picos de Europa recommended by Barbara and Iain. It is a long drive so we will be up early, assuming we get the time right. More on our experience tomorrow.