Day 24: Madrid Spain: Cuenca – The houses are hanging!

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I have to admit that I did very limited research into Cuenca before the start of our trip. I only knew that it was a beautiful little town known for its picturesque Hanging Houses.



So when we arrived in Cuenca, I was caught off guard when the train dropped us off literally in the middle of nowhere. I had no idea that the train station was so far away from the city center. We had to take a cab into the city center, costing us around 15 euro. At this point we were running low on funds and only had enough money for the cab ride back to the train station.



In the city center we were unable to locate an ATM machines. However, we contemplated about withdrawing more money because we didn’t want to pay the unnecessary service fees for the final day of our trip.



So in Cuenca we decided to just wander around and explore the city. Our first stop, the Hanging Houses! The hanging houses are suspended from sheer cliffs overlooking the Huecar River. They were pretty awesome to view from the long red Saint Paul Bridge. Apparently there is a restaurant in one of the Hanging Houses, but we could not find it.



We found another restaurant along one of the side streets that had good reviews on Trip Advisor. I believe that it was called Figon Del Huecar. I do not remember what we ordered, because it has been some time since our trip. I do remember that we ordered the salmon salad. The food was not bad but not worth the price we paid. Furthermore, the staff kept on forgetting our order because others who came in after us were getting their meals before us. Luckily we were not in a rush to do anything.



After lunch, we headed off to explore some more. There were various hidden alleyways and streets with an incredible view of the gorge. It was nice to sit down and relax away from the crowds. I found Cuenca, a great town to just wander around and get lost. It reminded me of our short time in Ronda where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the countryside.



So with that our time in Cuenca came to an end. We arrived back in Madrid in the evening and decided to try out the Mercado San Miguel market for dinner. The place was too crowded and the paella that we were craving was not there. So we wandered the streets and found this great line of restaurants along one of the side streets. With beautiful Spanish music in the background, the atmosphere was perfect. It was probably the best meal that I had in all of Spain. What a great way to end our vacation in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.





Tomorrow we head back to Toronto via Atlanta.

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