Sellin' the Sizzle en España: Asturias: Surprisingly Enchanting

Alright, next up is the magical land of Asturias. To be honest, the rest of the group and I weren't originally very stoked for this trip. We'd heard how previous groups had taken trips with their professors to Barcelona and the Basque Country, much bigger "name destinations" than the wild lands of Asturias. But, boy was I wrong. That weekend was one of my favorite of the semester, mostly because the places we visited were so much different than the rest of Spain. We traded in sun splashed coastal towns for the rolling green hills of what looked like Scotland--even down to the traditional bagpipe music. The food was a great change of pace too--lots of hearty meals, specially designed to fuel the region's hard mountain folk. So, let's take a photo journey back to Asturias:

The town center of the city of Oviedo. Very old-fashioned feel. That's the cathedral in the middle.

Side of the cathedral.

The side door through which pilgrims enter. The town of Oviedo is located on the Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James, one of the most famous pilgrimage routes in the world. There are cathedrals strategically stationed a day's walk apart across northern Spain, leading from the French border to Santiago de Compostela in western Spain. The route is supposedly the one took by the apostle James when he took the gospel to Spain in the first century A.D. When a pilgrim arrives in a city, he/she is supposed to go first to the cathedral/church where the priest will give them some sort of coupon for a free night's stay somewhere in the city.

The cathedral in the distance.

The symbol of the pilgrim--it's all around the city.

A statue dedicated to the traveler. Apparently, Woody Allen loves Oviedo. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

We went to this restaurant/sideria (like a winery for cider) in the countryside. Really good food. I'm not wild about the sidra (cider) but it was cool to see how they make it.

Apparently, pouring it like this releases the oxygen. Or something like that.

Paige and I outside of the restaurant. Really pretty countryside.

Mike and I in front of a giant barrel of cider. Ginormous.

Sign on the men's restroom. I really liked the carving.

We drove up to Gijon, a coastal town in Asturias. I really like the combination of the sea and a grassy knoll. One of my favorite places/views of the trip.

Part of our group. I'd love to go back to this place.

Gijon's little port.

Two random old Spanish men. I'm sure they were discussing something important. They just have that look.

Gijon is located on the Bay of Biscay/Cantabrian Sea. Cool place.

Up next was a trip to the Picos De Europa (European Peaks), a park that houses part of the Cantabrian Mountains. This, I think, was the most beautiful nature spot I saw in all of Spain. The above picture is of an old church/monastery built into a cave in the side of a mountain.

The modern day church. A really impressive building I think.

Artsy photo of me gazing at the snow-covered peaks. This should be my album cover.

This is such a cool meadow type area--the pictures don't really do it justice. With the mountains rising up all around and the serene lake nearby, I could have frolicked there for hours. Yes, frolicked.

Andrew and I lake side in our apparently matching uniforms.

Gabe, Rohit, Me, Mike. Mountain men.

This is my new favorite picture-taking pose.

We went to a cheese cave next. They make cheese and then store it in a cave. Cool, I guess, if you're into cave cheese. It tasted a little musty...

The road less traveled by. Another attempt at art.

Cool house. I'm not sure how long I'd hang out underneath it though.

Lots of animals wandering around in the countryside.

Another great little restaurant in the absolute middle of nowhere. I don't know how our professors found these places but they sure were good.

View from the restaurant porch.

Fabada Asturiana--very typical of the region and really good. White beans, chorizo, blood sausage, some type of vegetable. Really hearty stuff.

This is where I ate the fish cheek and fish eyeball. Cheek good, eyeball bad.

Wild boar. Pretty tasty.

The restaurant. They had a little pool table inside too.

I call this "Boat lying in the weeds."

Spanish journalism at its finest.

Teresa in front of a random American flag. They need a new one--Old Glory is looking a little tattered.

Another great beach. I forgot the name of this town but it wasn't very big.

Cool houses. Can't be cheap.

The boardwalk.

Old Man and the Sea.

Somebody's got to catch them.

Back to Oviedo to see these two really old churches. This one is San Julián de los Prado--built in the 9th century. That's old.

Home of Real Oviedo. Once very successful, they're now in Spain's 3rd division.

Old church #2: Santa María del Naranco. Also, 9th century.

They're music is excellent. Nothing like the flamenco of the south. Bagpipes!

Ugly fish at the market. I guess you can buy this?

The daily street market. Pretty cool.

A gyrating cow in a store. Weird.

Fawning over La Regenta. We read a book based in Oviedo for one of our classes and she was the main character. Basically, every man in the city loves her and wants to be with her.