Oviedo Day Two

 Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Today's adventure takes us to Gijon, on the coast, with beaches and everything! We catch the bus that takes us to the train station and make all our connections right on time, even accounting for some of us questioning the virtues of climbing uphill all the way to the bus stop!

                                                          Waiting for the bus in the shade!

                                                    The first mention I've seen of the eclipse!

It's about a forty minute train ride and we get off right in the heart of the city!  Gijon is about three times as large as Oviedo and kind of due north.  It has all the all world charm but there is quite a lot of it!  Our plan is to wander and explore until our 3:30 lunch reservations and we make good use of the time.  There's a stop at a cute little paper store (it sells paper goods;  it isn't made of paper!) and a bit more wandering to find a coffee stop.  Coffee always comes with a tiny pastry of some sort but two of us ordered water!  Turns out we got something, too!  A tiny slice of bread with a spread of some sort and a slice of something we couldn't quite identity but it felt good in the mouth!

                                                                Lots of wall murals!

                                                        The Camino passes through the city.

                                                          Clever name for a French bakery!

                                                                   So many little parks!

                 There are lots of little art-show type shops set up! The most typical thing in Asturias is the        sidra. Given that knowledge, there are two jewelers selling earrings.  One makes hers from ole sidra bottles!!  And the other selling apples.  Both are iconic!  Neither Jenny nor I can choose so we buy one of each and now we each have a pair of earrings with a green glass sidra bottle and a red apple!  If you know you know!

We continue to the beach where everyone seems to be!  Lots of bodies on the sand and in the startlingly blue water!  Then we head toward the church we can see in hopes of exploring the ancient Roman baths that are underground.  Oops!  They close in two minutes and although it only takes about twenty minutes to see them, the man in charge says to come back when they reopen at five.  Oh well, more time to wander!

                                                The city is right there at the edge of the beach!

                                                     Love the tile work on the ground floor!

                                                 When the tide comes in the beach disappears!

                                                                           maybe next time!

Look at that!  Jenny says it's the place that old festival floats go to die!  Too cool! 

And as we explore more of the beach area we discover a Paseo Gastro which is a row of food places!  Stu and Amanda find a pistachio cheesecake and Ginger, Jenny, and I have the local specialty, Doña Gilda Picofino and Vermut Picofina.  The story goes that back in the 1940s there was a movie staring Rita Hayworth and her character, Gilda, was sexy and spicy and rebellious and this treat was created and named in her honor.  It is traditionally made with an olive, an anchovie or other fish, a small pepper, and a baby pepper filled with cream cheese.  Such a treat!

                                                Great shot, Jenny!  (and the next two as well!)

I tipped this guy since I recorded him and wouldn't you know it but he turned up at our lunch restaurant, too!

                         The vermut was hitting pretty hard so Jenny got us some potatoes to help!

We've wandered enough and it's time to find La Tabacalera and have lunch. Stu has been promised a very special cocholo and it's up to the rest of us to choose another dish or two to share.  When the waitress takes our order we have really only two selections and she tells Jenny that's not enough food!  She says okay, we'll have a cheese plate! The waitress approves since the kitchen will be closed if we decide we need something more!  

The cheese platter includes two blues, which will be just for Ginger and me!  All of them are wonderful though, and we're instructed to start in one corner and go clockwise, ending with the blues.  And there is quince paste which is very like guava paste and is a good compliment to all of them.  And of course there is the mandatory bread basket!

Then comes our choice, a breaded veal or at least young cow, with a creamy slightly blue cheesey sauce. Quite delicious!  Stu is patiently waiting for his cocholo and holy cow when it arrives it's ginormous!! He has his fill and the rest of us have some, too!

                                                                          Mr. Spoon!?!?

We have coffee and one order each of flan and rice pudding that we all share.  And, not to mention, there are two bottle of sidra with the cheaty stopper so we all get a chance to, sort of, cast it! 

We're stuffed and lubricated and it's pretty darn warm, so we decide to give the baths a pass and head back to the train station.  We all know where our tickets are and we only have to wait five or ten minutes for our return train.  The stations appear on a sign telling you the next four stops, so it's easy to make sure you get off at the right one!

                                                        Look how far the tide has come up!

                                                         Some of us have to touch the water!

                                    There's the Spanish spelling and the Asturian spelling.

                                                              There's a jellyfish warning!!

                Guess who this is going to be! The artist was working on it when we went into town.

                                                                    The city is right there!

Walk to the bus and then walk home?  Bad idea!  We get a taxi that will hold us all and ride in luxury practically to the door!  Money so well spent!!   We come inside and die for a while, some drift off to shower, some nap a bit, some sit outside in the breeze and fresh air.  Jenny texts us all her dinner plans to ask our approval and then she suggests that everyone check out the sunset!  That gets some of us outside and the rest appear like magic when she says the donkeys are in residence!

                                                            Fancy sandals on the train!

Such fun to feed the critters and pick fruit off the trees and eat it! Jenny had been throwing the fruit over the fence for the donkeys but we got brave and fed them through the fence, pushing the pears and apples though the fence and into their mouths! I got one of the plums before anyone else came out and we all picked peaches that were so so sweet!  Jenny harvested some vegetables from her garden to put in her curry for dinner.

Time to come inside!  It's gotten dark and Jenny needs to cook. And Ole is finished with work and joins us! We all serve ourselves and some of us are still so full from lunch that we just take enough to enjoy how good it is! And Ole lets us sample one of the cocktails that he is planning on serving tomorrow night for the eclipse party.

I gather plates and do some washing up in the kitchen and now I really have to crash!! By the way, today was a 12,000 step day.  Yesterday was only 10,300!