Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

It's rainy and a bit dreary now that we moved east to Asturias, but I don't mind. It's in the low to mid 50's F and we scored a huge apartment not far from the bus and train stations. Alfonso, our host, even picked us up at the front! Now that's service. After our tiny apartmtent in Santiago, we're ecstatic about the space and it cost a mind-boggling $60 or so per night.

Our bus here took 4 1/2 hours and was one of the nicest buses I've been on. It was a "Supra" bus on Alsa lines. It didn't seem to cost much more than the others, but it had 3 leather seats across and was more like a first class plane experience, with lots of movies to choose from on the way. There was even a screen showing the speed of the bus, the location on the map, and the ETA, just like on a plane.

We arrived at night, but set out right away to get some provisions and even made it to a local Vermouth tapas bar down the street. Americans usually only use vermouth in dry martinis, but we discovered the joy of Spanish Vermouth in Madrid and Malaga a few years ago. It's sweeter and served from barrels and with ice. We opted for glasses of Rioja and Alberinho wines this time with a light dinner of garlic Langostinos in olive oil. I was still pretty full from our last meal in Santiago. They're known for their meats and for the first time on the trip, we didn't have any seafood. We ordered a recommended meat plate for two to split. Even then, it was too much but it was a churrasco of various pork cuts. Six hours later, a couple of delicious shrimpys was all I needed.

There's not a lot of tourism here, especially in November, and that might be why I like it. It's just locals going about their day. I think Oviedo is about the same size as Madison, but there are hundreds of 6-12 story buildings everywhere. Deanne's fighting a cold, so I walked out today solo and hit the Fine Arts museum. There's a great collection of Spanish work, and I especially loved the 2 rooms of Sorolla's. There's a new wing built on to two connected palaces. It was easy and fun to get lost in there.

Outside, I saw that they're putting the finishing touches on their Christmas market in two locations. And I got a haircut. There's no shortages of barbers and hair stylists here. I walked by about 8 on the way to the barber I found online and then saw at least 5 more walking later. And I'm just in the center, not far from the old town. I like how the city is laid out. It's mostly modern with wide streets and boulevards. That's totally different from what we've seen on this trip so far.

Deanne felt better by the next day, so we did the day trip to Gijon. Today is now our last full day here and we spent it just walking around in a light rain and enjoying the sights, which is pedestrian shopping streets, a beautiful central park, lots of statues including a Botero, and lots of amazing architecture. I took Deanne back to the museum and enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time. We found a nice local restaurant and ordered the set menus for $13 Euros. It was four courses and one included the Fabada, the amazing bean and sausage dish I had yesterday in Gijon. It was even better today! Once again, we're so full from these set late lunches that we just snack at home for dinner. We have not adjusted to going out to dinner at or after 9 pm. We're not even hungry by then.

It's been a great town to just chill out in. We love it. But tomorrow we take an express bus to Bilbao after passing right through Cantabria. Bilbao is in Basque Country and we plan on going to the famous Guggenheim museum there and enjoying the sights in the Casco Viejo, or old town.

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