NEW VENTURE!! - CONQUISTADOR TRAIL HOLIDAY

THE CONQUISTADOR TRAIL- CULTURE, COOKING AND WALKING IN EXTREMADURA


A journey of discovery through historical towns, beautiful countryside and delicious food.

Trujillo, view from the castle

Walking towards Trujillo

One of the magnificent conquistador palaces of Trujillo

Imagine staying in one of the most precious towns of Spain, beautifully preserved with a glowing atmosphere; a Moorish castle, medieval streets and amazing conquistador palaces………this is Trujillo in Extremadura. Our base is one of the most beautiful buildings on the Plaza Mayor, Palacio de Piedras Albas, a perfect 16th century palacio with a stunning portico overlooking the vibrant plaza.

The holiday is designed to explore Extremadura through culture, nature and gastronomy.

We visit some of the most historically interesting towns of Extremadura many with strong conquistador connections; Trujillo, Caceres, Guadalupe, Montanchez and Merida

We explore the superb nature and countryside of Extremadura, each day will include a guided cultural walk in a town as well as a walk in nature, many are on historical routes such as the medieval pilgrimage walk to the monastery of Guadalupe, the Via de la Plata Roman route through Merida and the Moorish mountain paths of Montanchez.

Food is an interesting element of our holiday, we include two mornings of cooking at the palacio, full participation welcome! Besides the creative cooking on these mornings Pippa will create a wonderful dinner every evening based on traditional Extremeno cuisine and also gorgeous recipes from Latin America. Extremeno food is full of surprises and wonderful ingredients such as the famous Iberic jamon and pork, wild asparagus, local cheese, wines and sumptuous fruit. The more exotic recipes use the ingredients brought back from the New World by the conquistadors; chocolate, peppers, tomatoes and maize. What could be more appropriate than to use these foods in Extremadura where they were first introduced to the Old World and particularly Trujillo where many of the most famous conquistadors were raised and then returned from the New World with fabulous wealth to build a perfect renaissance town.

THE EXCURSIONS

Barruecas, Caceres

Caceres - A fascinating world heritage town with a medieval centre and renaissance palaces of the conquistador era. A walk around the nearby Barruecos, an amazing area of huge granite boulders home to a huge stork colony. This area fascinated the Fluxus artist Wolf Vostell, we will visit the wonderful 18th century wool washing complex where he made his home and studio, it is now an enthralling permanent collection of his work and other famous Fluxus artists.



Monastery of Guadalupe



Guadalupe -A world heritage town with an astounding monastery dedicated to the famed black madonna, inspiration for all the Guadalupes of Latin America. A guided tour of the monastery by one of the monks.There are Zurbarans lurking in the cloisters. The original village of Guadalupe huddles around the monastery with its picturesque wooden balconies, full of flowers and bunches of drying red peppers.

Lunch in a local bodega. A walk in the beautiful Sierra de Villuercas.

Roman Theatre Merida

Merida - We explore the largest collection of Roman ruins besides Rome. Walk over the 2000 year old Roman bridge into the town where we will visit the impressive theatre and superb museum of Roman art.

Plaza Mayor, Merida

Time for some shopping or a break in the attractive plaza.

One of the spectacular mosaics at the museum of roman art in Merida

Vistit to the traditional covered market for fresh produce.

Lunch in a traditional bodega with great collection of bull fighting memorabilia from the last 100 years.

On the way back to Trujillo we stop off at the Natural Park of Cornalvo and walk around the lake which is in fact a Roman reservoir, a haven for birdlife.

Montanchez

Walking in the Sierra de Montanchez

A trip to the Sierra de Montanchez and the mountain village famous for jamon iberico de bellota. Surrounded by olive and fig groves, this charming village is known as the balcony of Extremadura due to vast views from the Moorish castle. From the village we walk into the countryside on one of the original Moorish paths, no doubt meeting a few donkeys along the way taking their owners to outlying olive groves. Our route will take us through chestnut woods, olive groves and spectacular views to the watermill gorge of Arroyomolinos where we can see many water mills descending though the gorge, some are said to be of Roman origin. The countryside is glorious with wild herbs and flowers and birds of prey wheeling above.

Lunch in a local bodega to sample the wonderful jamon and local Pitarra wine.

Accommodation at Palacio de Piedras Albas
The Palacio is in the heart of Trujillo, right on the main plaza but behind the impressive entrance is the tranquil atmosphere of a traditional family house with inner courtyard and a wide staircase leading to the first floor reception rooms and bedrooms. The stunning Florentine portico leads off the main salon, it is the perfect place to relax and watch life down on the beautiful plaza, if you need less distraction and more tranquillity there is a spacious garden filled with flowers and a lovely swimming pool in a sheltered corner.

Pippa will take you on a first guided tour of Trujillo, an introduction to your own wanderings through the atmospheric lanes and enjoyment of the vast panoramas from the castle walls. A simple but wonderful pleasure is to enjoy a drink at one of the open air terraces on the plaza, as the sun goes down the ancient building glow in a golden light.

PRICES
The holiday is for a minimum of 6 people and maximum of 8 @ €150 per person per day. Prices based on a shared twin. Single person supplement for private room is €50 per day

DISCOUNTS ARE AVAILABLE IF YOU ARE ABLE TO ARRANGE YOUR OWN GROUP OF 6 FRIENDS.

WHEN DO WE OPERATE?
The holidays are run in late April depending on Easter, May, June, late September and early October.

Spring is from February – May, the most beautiful season with millions of wild flowers, lovely sunny warm weather and some rain showers. June is starting to get hot but better to enjoy the pool and a taste of summer without the intense heat.

Autumn starts in late September - October usually delightfully warm and sunny with some rainy days but never continuous.
DATES
Our holidays are designed on a weekly basis.
The dates for 2011 are as follows

MAY 07 -14

JUNE 11 -18

SEPT 17 -24

OCT. 01 -08

WHAT DOES THE HOLIDAY INCLUDE?
Accommodation and breakfast at Palacio de Piedras Albas for 7 nights, 2 mornings of cooking and eating the preparations for lunch and dinner, 4 days of alternative activities and excursions with dinner at the palacio.

All ingredients, equipment and travel included. (Excluding arrival and departure travel to and from Trujillo)

Food and beverages and entrance fees whilst on excursions are not included.

BOOKING POLICY
A deposit of 30% of the total price for all persons to be paid to secure the reservation .
The remaining balance to be paid 8 weeks before the date of arrival.
We accept payment by bank transfer OR through paypal http://www.paypal.com/
A reliable and safe method of international payment.

A TYPICAL HOLIDAY WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING PROGRAME

1st DAY
ARRIVAL AT Palacio de Piedras Albas

Time to get to know your surroundings, meet the other guests and relax after your journey.
Dinner prepared by Pippa

2nd DAY
1st COOKING MORNING – INTRODUCTION TO CONQUISTADOR INSPIRED CUISINE
Breakfast
10.30 – 14.00 Preparation and cooking of a selection of Latin American dishes using typical ingredients and spices, e.g. quails in rose petal sauce and chicken with chocolate mole sauce.
Lunch at the palacio will be part of our morning’s preparation, usually we eat lunch in the garden.
Time to relax, a siesta, a swim, some reading or photography perhaps.

17.00 – 18.30 A guided walk around Trujillo with Pippa, through atmospheric lanes lined with secret gardens, jasmine and orange trees glimpsed over high stone walls, conquistador palacios with exquisite facades and beautiful interiors, sublime churches endowed with impressive works of art.

The walk starts in the magnificent Plaza Mayor, an almost theatrical space surrounded by a collection of interesting buildings, each with a story in the long history of Trujillo.

Time for another swim or preparation for the evening, we believe in making a special atmosphere every evening, the table will be looking very pretty and the food is going to be stupendous.
We are on Spanish time so tapas and drinks at 20.30 and dinner at 21ish.
Now the rest of the evening is up to you, you have had an interesting, active day so relax, enjoy and converse.

3rd DAY -CACERES
A guided walk within the Moorish walls, through the medieval town visiting the museum and Moorish algibe. Lunch in typical bodega.

A walk around the Barruecas lake and park with a visit to the Wolf Vostell museum.

Back to the palacio.

Dinner prepared by Pippa.

4th DAY MERIDA
Breakfast.
A cultural tour of this amazing Roman city.

Time for some shopping or a break in the attractive plaza.

Vistit to the traditional covered market for fresh produce.

Lunch in a traditional bodega with great collection of bull fighting memorabilia from the last 100 years.

On the way back we visit

Cornalvo Natural Park, a protected area of woodland near Merida, we walk around the lake which is in fact an original Roman reservoir, a haven for birdlife.

Back to the palacio for relaxing afternoon.

Dinner prepared by Pippa.

5th DAY 2ND COOKING DAY – Typical Extremeno ingredients and cuisine

Breakfast

10.30 -14.00 As day 2 using some of the ingredients that we bought yesterday for preparation of dishes for lunch and dinner.

Free afternoon

Dinner with prepared dishes.

6th DAY GUADALUPE
Breakfast.

A lovely ride through beautiful countryside to the Sierra deVillurcas where the town of Guadalupe clusters around the ancient monastery which was built in honour of the Virgin de Guadalupe one of Spains’ famous black madonnas. Walk in the Sierra de Guadalupe.

Return to Trujillo.

Dinner prepared by Pippa.

7th DAY MONTANCHEZ

Breakfast.

Visit to the mountain village of Montanchez famous for jamon production, walk up to the Moorish castle.

Walk to the water mill gorge of Arroyomolinos

Lunch in a bodega to sample the jamon, local cheese and wine

Back to the Trujillo.

Afternoon as day 2.

Dinner is prepared by Pippa

DAY 8

DEPARTURE