Day 46: Monuments of Oviedo

Had breakfast with our host family, then headed out onto the road again, heading northwards this time. Long drive first up, as our destination for the day was the city of Oviedo, where there are some early Christian monuments that are quite significant (and World Heritage listed, of course).

We drove for about 2 1/2 hours to the first spot south of Oviedo. Very beautiful drive through mountains, with rugged peaks, snow caps, cloud tops and alpine lakes. Here we found a tiny little church perched on a hillside in a dramatic location surrounded by mountains. The history here is interesting, because starting in the 8th century the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was almost completely conquered by Muslims, and although Christians were allowed to continue practicing, they were heavily taxed and had inferior treatment to Muslims.

The only area to resist conquest was a mountainous area along the northern coastline, the kingdom of Asturias where the city of Oviedo is located. So the monuments here are quite significant, as it's the only place in Iberia where Christians could freely practice for several hundred years.

The first church dated from around 850 AD, and was very different to the typical Roman Catholic crucifix floor plan we're used to. This was rectangular, small, and very bare with just a few carvings for decoration. Took some video then got back into the car, crossed through the city and visited the next two sites on the northern side. These were similar but different in interesting ways, such as one being a converted "palace" (very small), and the other being in the crucifix shape despite dating from the same era, approx 850 AD. Also had a spot of lunch at a restaurant here with a great view, on a high hill overlooking the whole city.

Afterwards we went down into town for a look at the Cathedral, which isn't actually listed but is built on the site of an earlier temple that is listed, as part of the original building still remains. Unfortunately it was closed on Sundays for worship, so we might come back tomorrow.

Headed to our apartment which turned out to be a gem - on the eighth/top floor of the building, very sunny and with nice views in two directions. Only 500 metres walk from the cathedral, and with a parking space downstairs that we didn't need as we got a perfect park directly out front. Schnitzel quite likes elevators too so he was happy going up and down.

Although we didn't feel like it, we ended up going out for dinner as all the supermarkets here close on Sundays and we had no supplies for dinner. Found a highly rated place nearby where I had a burger with blue cheese and bacon, while Shandos had a tostada, which is exactly what you think it is. Hers was topped with prawns, garlic and cheese - both delicious.

The local speciality here is cider, and although we haven't seen any orchards particularly, it's all grown locally. We ordered a bottle and did things the local way - you have to leave the fluid in the bottle until you're ready to drink, so you pour a couple of mouthfuls into your glass (from as high up as you can safely manage), drink them and then put the bottle back on the table. Interesting cultural experience! It certainly explained the odd drinking behaviour we'd seen at lunchtime!!

Glad that we've got a great apartment here, as tomorrow is a day off from touring and filming, we'll just be settled in doing blog posts, journal entries and video editing.Read more