Before we left though, we went to our program's Cena de Despedida, a farewell dinner:
The view of the Río Tormes was beautiful from the restaurant we ate at:
After the cena, we took an overnight bus to Gijón at 3:30am. Gijón, while not the capital of Asturias, is the region's largest city and lies on the northern coast of Spain. We got in around 9 in the morning and were very tired so we first took a nap, after John's aunt picked us up at the bus station. One thing I really liked about Asturias is that there are almost no tourists, at least American ones. While the region is popular with Spaniards who want to escape the summer heat farther south, few foreigners ever go there.
Below is a map showing where Asturias is:
After eating churros con chocolate and frisuelos (similar to crêpes) for breakfast, and taking a quick nap, John's aunt drove us to Covadonga, which is in the Picos de Europa National Park. The park is beautiful, covered with rocky, tree-covered mountains, and the region is popular for doing outdoor sports like kayaking, hiking, and horseback riding. Covadonga is the site known for the appearance of la Virgen de Covadonga, and was the site of the Christian's first victory against the invading moors in 722, and thus the site of the beginning of the Reconquista (reconquering of Spain).
The chapel of the Virgen de Covadonga, cut into the side of a cliff:
John and me in front of the chapel:
John and me in front of the larger basilica, with the Picos de Europa as a backdrop, in Covadonga:
John and me in front of the chapel:
John and me in front of the larger basilica, with the Picos de Europa as a backdrop, in Covadonga:
After seeing Covadonga, we started the drive back to Gijón. We stopped in a small town on the way back for lunch, consisting of patatas bravas (potatoes covered in a ketchup-mayo-like sauce) and pollo.
The coast of the town:
A stand selling nueces, or nuts:
We stopped a few other places too, to look at the beach and an impromptu game of fútbol:
The street we parked on, by the beach:
We also stopped for café at another town and saw the Plaza del Huevo, as it is called colloquially:
After going to the beach, we went out to dinner with John's relatives. We went to an Italian restaurant a few blocks away called Gepetto's. The food there was muy rica.
John tried to imitate the Pinocchio doll at the entrance:
After breakfast, we went with John's aunt to El Laboral, on the outskirts of Gijón. El Laboral, by volume the largest building in all of Spain, was built by Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled Spain until 1975 when he died and Juan Carlos became king. Franco became dictator after the nacionalistas defeated the republicanas in the Guerra Civil (Civil War) that lasted from 1936-1939. The war was very bloody and most people in Spain now feel that the wrong side won. (It was also one of the reasons that Spain stayed out of World War II, since it was still recovering from its own war.) Several older people in Spain remember the war, sometimes having even fought in it, including John's grandfather:
Anyway, we went to see El Laboral, which was at the time being used as a set in a movie. It was amusing to see signs in English everywhere proclaiming it "Oxford University" for the film:
We climbed up the tower to get a magnificent view of Gijón, complete with fields for, of all things, béisbol and fútbol americano. (Unusual, considering fútbol and baloncesto are the nation's most popular sports):
There were also murals inside depicting Asturian life:
After touring El Laboral, we went to El Musel, Gijón's port, to take a boat out onto the water. We happened to be there during an airshow, so lots of people were out on the water watching planes do tricks in the sky.
El Musel:
There were lots of sailboats:
And we got a daytime look at the hill we climbed up the night before, overlooking the city:
Me on the boat with Gijón and the Spanish flag in the background:
And other people near the beach watching the airshow:
A stand selling nueces, or nuts:
We stopped a few other places too, to look at the beach and an impromptu game of fútbol:
The street we parked on, by the beach:
We also stopped for café at another town and saw the Plaza del Huevo, as it is called colloquially:
After getting back to Gijón, we went to the beach for a little while:
On the beach, you could get a caseta to stay out of the sun:
You could also get cushions and other beach ware:
I took a lot of art shots of the casetas, most of which were folded up since it was evening and the crowds had gone:
I also found a weird piece of seaweed and made a face:
There were also sand castles, their formation waning as the tide came in:
On the beach, you could get a caseta to stay out of the sun:
You could also get cushions and other beach ware:
I took a lot of art shots of the casetas, most of which were folded up since it was evening and the crowds had gone:
I also found a weird piece of seaweed and made a face:
There were also sand castles, their formation waning as the tide came in:
After going to the beach, we went out to dinner with John's relatives. We went to an Italian restaurant a few blocks away called Gepetto's. The food there was muy rica.
John tried to imitate the Pinocchio doll at the entrance:
After dinner, we walked around the historic district of Gijón, which was pretty lit up at night. We also walked up to a hill overlooking the city with a strange monument that makes creepy whistling sounds if you stand directly under it. Something about the angle of the wind coming in from the sea, I suppose.
Gijón at night:
The next day, we tried Asturian pastries at a local confitería. We sampled several different desserts, our favorites being carbayones and princesitas:
After breakfast, we went with John's aunt to El Laboral, on the outskirts of Gijón. El Laboral, by volume the largest building in all of Spain, was built by Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled Spain until 1975 when he died and Juan Carlos became king. Franco became dictator after the nacionalistas defeated the republicanas in the Guerra Civil (Civil War) that lasted from 1936-1939. The war was very bloody and most people in Spain now feel that the wrong side won. (It was also one of the reasons that Spain stayed out of World War II, since it was still recovering from its own war.) Several older people in Spain remember the war, sometimes having even fought in it, including John's grandfather:
Anyway, we went to see El Laboral, which was at the time being used as a set in a movie. It was amusing to see signs in English everywhere proclaiming it "Oxford University" for the film:
We climbed up the tower to get a magnificent view of Gijón, complete with fields for, of all things, béisbol and fútbol americano. (Unusual, considering fútbol and baloncesto are the nation's most popular sports):
There were also murals inside depicting Asturian life:
After touring El Laboral, we went to El Musel, Gijón's port, to take a boat out onto the water. We happened to be there during an airshow, so lots of people were out on the water watching planes do tricks in the sky.
El Musel:
There were lots of sailboats:
And we got a daytime look at the hill we climbed up the night before, overlooking the city:
Me on the boat with Gijón and the Spanish flag in the background:
And other people near the beach watching the airshow:
We got lunch with John's family at a classy restaurant on the beach, and then had dessert back at their apartment. Another of my favorite desserts was the braza de gitana, a large pastry that supposedly resembles a "gypsy arm".
Next, we left for Salamanca, stopping in Oviedo on the way. Oviedo, while not as large as coastal Gijón, is the capital of Asturias and the home of the Universidad de Oviedo. Unlike the rest of Asturias, Oviedo is somewhat conservative.
La Universidad de Oviedo:
La Catedral, which was unfortunately closed:
The city was very empty, due to the fact the university students were gone on summer break:
La Universidad de Oviedo:
La Catedral, which was unfortunately closed:
After driving for a little less than four hours (thankfully John's aunt took us, so we didn't have to take another obnoxiously long bus ride!), we arrived back in Salamanca, just in time to celebrate our friend Erica's birthday with the pastries we brought back from Asturias:
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