Oviedo

 Monday, January 12, 2026

Before I went to bed there was a discussion about plans for today and a reasonable start time for the day's adventures.  I'm the only one who will be up before the sun, which means before nine! Sure enough, I'm up at seven and get to see the first glimmers of sunrise! Actually, it's so cloudy that there isn't really a sunrise, just a brightening of the light! I have plenty of time for my regular morning routine before I ever see another two-legged being!

Jenny commented last night that during the summer you can't see all those
lights in the distance because all the trees have leaves!

Good morning, Oviedo!

The plan is to walk down to the bakery for breakfast goodies;  but it has to be before eleven because there is no where to get lunch after three and you have to be at least a little bit hungry for it!  Starving is better because lunch is the big meal of the day. Dinner, of course doesn't think about happening until eight at the very earliest and is more likely to begin at nine or ten.

Ah! Everyone is awake and nearly ready to conquer the world! There's some dithering about appropriate clothing because it is chilly enough for a light jacket, but we'll be walking a lot and getting warm and so layers are the way to go. 

Barbara was the first one to use my new little tripod on location!

Our primary objective is definitely the bakery and the toughest part is choosing which brand of deliciousness everyone wants.  Happily there is a willingness to share that keeps the choices from being hard and fast! And the coffee is amazing, too!

And away we go!

I just love cool old buildings!

One of the two Stairs of Doom!

Jenny's mom, Karen, calls this the boat bridge.

This is Ole and Jenny's butcher.  We also passed Ole's barber shop.
The owner is currently home with his wife who has just had a baby, but before he took time
off, an hour's hair cut and beard trim was only thirteen euros!

My choice seemed reasonable!  Anot notice the little treat that came with the coffee!
The kids say that you always get a treat when you order anything to drink, every where!

And this is Barbara's!  No comment! Of course it's all for the benefit of the blog!!

There's more than one way to finish a treat!  Luckily everyone had already
given Barbara a hand with cleaning her plate!

One reason for going to the bakers, apart from the obvious!, is to make sure that we have change for the bus.  Ole and Jenny have cards, but the rest of us will need cash and they really don't appreciate having to make change!  The guys look like they've raided someone's piggy bank, stacking up coins to make sure everyone can get a ride!

It only takes a couple of minutes for the bus to come and we all get seats, even though we don't have to go very far.  But it's nice to ride, especially since, at the end of the day,  we walked 6-7 miles, depending on whose device we trust, or 15,000 steps.

(If you can see me, then Barbara took the photo!)
That's the bus stop behind us.

Now that we're fortified and have sat for a minute, we can begin exploring, marveling at the architecture and, eventually, making our way to the tea shop. What a treat! The guys wait outside while all the girls inhale the aromas and make difficult choices!

This is Barbara's new boyfriend, Tino Casal.  None of us know his claim to fame, but the
artist is Aurelio Gonzalez Ovias. 

Lots of public art!

Can't miss The Butt!!

When the football team wins, the water is blue, the team's color!

There are still remnants of Christmas all over the city.

Such glorious architecture all over!

They are dismantling the Christmas market.  Look at how cool this structure is, though.  You can
pick it up with a forklift and plop it anywhere.  There's a back door and the side open up, the overhand folds down and there's another piece that closes it up completely.

And they fold up into this!

That's one fluffed out pigeon!  It's not that cold out!

                             The bell in the cathedral is the oldest one in continuous use in Europe!

         The Camino de Santiago begins in Oviedo.  This shows the two paths you can follow.                 Throughout the city you can find bronze shells in the sidewalk that show the way.

King Alfonso stopped the Moors here, so Asturias was never under their control.
But the Basques will tell you that the Moors didn't want it because the weather was so awful.

There is an archeological museum nearby, but we settled for this ancient ruin which will
soon be the foundation of a new building!

Barbara's take on The Sphere!

This is the tea shop!  And like many shopping adventures the guys are patiently
waiting for the ladies to shop!

Just take a whiff of this!

They are just adorable!  And three of us walked out with cups of tea that were a gift. And lots of
yummy teas to take home! Ole says the two of them always give the kids something for free.

So many choices!  I think I've got chocolate orange and chocolate cherry!

Someone made a poster just for me!

It's hard to believe, but we're going to eat again! There is a menu of the day which includes a choice of two starters, two entrees, and two desserts.  None of us can eat that much so it's a good thing that you can get a half menu! It's only about thirteen dollars for the half menu and that includes the wine! 

It's gazpacho that came free with lunch.  And it was perfect for dunking bread into!

Barbara's croquettes, four mushroom and four hamón.  So glad she shared!!

fried fish with a large serving of scrumptiousness!

fabada, the famous dish of Asturias

pork tenderloin in pepper sauce - also yum!

Our waitress was a stitch!  Thanks for catching this shot, Barbara!

and tiramisu all around!

And you have to finish with café con leche!

The put two tables together for us.

We head toward the big park and pretty soon Jenny has to leave us to go to work.  She had this morning off but has to teach from four to nine tonight. Ole takes on the role of primary tour guide and we continue on our merry way.

Gildas are skewers with spicy pepper, olives, and anchovies.  The name came from a movie that
was benned by Franco for being too "spicy" so they created this dish as a f* you to Franco.

display outside a florist shop

I believe this is a government building

Barbara found this cool piece of Christmas decor!

Jenny's explaining that the date is changed every morning and is made of real, growing grass.
Later Ole explains that each number is actually a number-shaped pot in which the grass grows.

We went thrifting!! Some gorgeous stuff but I don't need a glorious winter coat!

He's a mandarin duck.

And a muscovy

Yes, it's an ancient arch but it was moved here in 1922.

                          This cow actually turns out to be foreshadowing!!  Stay tuned!                         

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This is a gourmet-food shop.

                                                                 Cool door handle

This bakery won an award! 

part of a fence

This used to be a residence;  now we believe it's a hotel.

And this memorial to Jews who died in Europe is on its grounds.

                                                                 Cool lamp post

                                                   This is part of the university.

                                                                     Giggle!

It'g getting to be golden hour!

                                                     This little guy is sixteen!

We get home about six and discover that the cow next door has just had a calf! She's just adorable and many photos were taken!!  

Once inside Ole has to work but the rest of us have the early evening to ourselves until Jenny gets home.  I'm working on the blog, Barbara has C.O.L.. Amanda and Stu are watching something on his phone. When Ole is done, he and Stu each suggest viewing options from YouTube, "The Amazing Digital Circus" and "The Writing on the Stall"

Tonight is pizza night, so no one has to worry about cooking or cleaning up! 

                           I guess it's the chair that he really loves!

Dominos in Spain is so much better than it is at home!  Some of the crusts are croissant and  cheddar jalapeño!  One of the pizzas is called Gobblemelon by Google translate!

                    Ole was kind enough to share his 900 year old chartreuse with all of us.  So special!!

Jenny is working on our plans for the next couple of days with input from the rest of us, to some degree.