Thursday, August 4, 2021

Oviedo, Day 2

I don't remember the last time I slept until 10:00--but I did this morning. Our travels Tuesday and Wednesday went as smoothly as possible: we made all our connections without panic, everything was on time, our bikes arrived with only minor visible issues (the TSA had opened the boxes and obviously shifted our careful packing around, and Ken's sprocket had broken through the bottom of the box but appeared to be fine). After hot showers and cold drinks, we crawled into bed and slept a good 10 hours. Amazing.

We had such a productive day! Ken found coffee, juice, and sweet rolls before I rolled out of bed. That fortified us for opening the bike boxes and at least beginning the reassembly. Within an hour we had both bikes together with absolutely no problem, and were ready to head out for some lunch and exploration.

Oviedo is the capital of Asturias, with about 200,000 people. It is beautiful. Today was sunny and warm and breezy. Tourists filled the plazas and streets, mostly masked, mostly keeping social distance. We found a shaded outdoor table at a restaurant nearby and ordered the traditional Asturias soup called Fabada, made with chorizo, blood sausage, spinach, potatoes, ham, and paprika, and served with a hard roll. Our second course was Cachopo, which is two thin steaks sandwiched together with a slice of ham and cheese and then deep fried, served with a spicy blanched red pepper and french fries. No, we could not eat it all. But it was fun to try!

To walk that off, we wandered down a main street, through a park, to a cathedral. On our way back, we stopped at a bike shop and bought a rubber ring to attach the front light more firmly to my bike. Then we toured a couple floors of an art museum, found the Vodafone store and switched our phones to a Spanish plan with new SIMM cards, and withdrew a bunch of euros from an ATM. And we spotted the Mercado, where we couldn't help but buy a selection of local sheep cheeses, a loaf of crusty bread, and a few slices of smoked jamon (ham) for dinner.

Back at the apartment, we enjoyed our food, organized and reorganized a few things, and caught up on email--before heading out again to find the ice cream Avalo had told us about. It is a local specialty made of the ingredients from a cake his family has at Christmas. It was delicious.

As I write this, it is 10:00 pm and the streets are filling up again. And we are still awake. Without even trying, we are almost on the Spanish schedule of getting up late, eating a light breakfast, lunching around 2:00, and eating a light dinner after 7:00. I think that's mostly jet lag, but maybe it will stay with us.

The Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias specializes in art from this region, displayed in beautiful modern galleries within three historical buildings: the Palacio de Velarde, the House of Oviedo-Portal, and the House of Solis-Carbajal. Picasso is just one of the famous artists represented.

Our apartment is located near the Town Hall in the Plaza de la Constitution.

Oviedo is the start of the Original Way, or Primitive Way, the original starting point for the Camino de Santiago.

Scallop shells mark the Original Way through Old Town.

The Iglesia San Isidoro el Real was founded in 1200 and is one of the oldest parishes in Oviedo. Some of the earlier structure is revealed in this courtyard.

The current form of the Iglesia San Isidoro el Real dates from about 1587-1681. This view is from the back side of the church.

The Catedral Metropolitana de El Salvador de Oviedo is located in the plaza marking the start of the Original Way.

Only a few stalls were open in the Mercado during the afternoon, but we found what we needed for a light dinner.

Free outdoor movies start at 10:15 pm in the plaza between the Town Hall and the Iglesia San Isidoro el Real on various nights throughout the summer. Thursday's movie was Robin and Marian.