Cáceres, goats and into the mountains...

Sunday begins with a quick stroll around the churches of Trujillo, where Phil climbs the tower for a bird's eye view, while Shareen rejects a spectoral invitation to join the flock (of the Virgin, not the storks.)

Inspired, we hit the road for Cáceres, home of the eponymous Marquis (Sainsbury's, Tescos, and every restaurant between - he makes a lot of wine.) It also has an almost completely walled town at its centre making it another historical place worth a visit - just remember always to take in the Plazas Mayores in these towns from a standing position and move off them before you sit down for a drink or a meal, unless you are feeling particularly like paying more for less.

Cacares does have Atrio - a two Michelin starred restaurant, whose website we consult to see if there are any special offers (as there are currently in many top end dining places which have suffered much from the recession. A handy tip if you're going out to eat, especially at lunchtime in London. This is not a bad thing as it may be the only opportunity many people will get to try extraordinary food at slightly more ordinary prices.) Anyway, Atrio's website tells us nothing, except, after a lengthy musical intro (don't they annoy you?) that the last award the restaurant won was for its web design - pretty good going for a resaurant website that doesn't have its menu or any other useful information on it. Our distrust of M Michelin is growing by the day.

But all by ourselves, we come across La Tahona - a smart looking joint in the modern style but with an interesting looking menu of both tapas and raciones. We decide that, since we are almost out of Extramadura and still haven't seen any pigs, we'd better make pigs of ourselves, and head inside, where in fact we make silly billies of ourselves by sharing a quarter of a cabrito. Accompanied by waxy potatoes gently stewed in olive oil and a little ensalada, this goatlet has been roasted in a clay pot in a wood oven (horno de leña) and is, frankly, delicious.

In an effort to get off the beaten track and have a change of scene, we have booked a hotel in the mountains for Sunday night. The Sierra de Peña de Francia is in the Parque Nacional de las Batuecas, a walking and hunting area south west of Salamanca, our next destination. The Hospederia de las Hurdes in Las Mestas, just on the edge of Extramadura, is part of a small Extramaduran chain of private hotels specialising in converting old buildings for hotel use (convents etc) like a poor man's Parador. The hotel (pictured right) had just opened that week for the summer and we were one of about 3 or 4 rooms occupied, as far as we could tell. Miles from anywhere, we had to eat in the hotel - another three course menu being the only thing on offer. Hotel restaurant - not bad, not great, not recommended. But the setting of the hotel was well worth the journey, as was the terrifying drive North to Salamanca in the morning (Shareen terrified, Phil driving) but more of that next time...