On day three our objective was to leave the northern coast of Asturias and drive into Castilla y León with plans to visit the major cities of the region but first we would be visiting the capital city of Asturias – Oviedo.
After breakfast we settled up with the owner of the hotel, Santiago, and he invited us to return and with what I thought was a very nice touch he said that we should henceforth consider his hotel to be our home in Spain.
We took the direct route this morning on the Autovia Cantabria and although there was promising blue sky there seemed to be the constant threat of bad weather being blown in from the Bay of Biscay as grey clouds scudded in from the north.
The route took us east at first past the industrial town of Aviles where deep quarries and massive steel works sat side by side, rather uncomfortably with green fields and grazing cattle. Asturias was once one of the most affluent regions of Spain based on its mining and steel industries and people flocked here from other regions for employment but as with everywhere else it seems this has now changed and although the steel mills were belching smoke and the foundries looked busy, Asturias is no longer considered to be so industrially wealthy.
After only a few kilometres the road swung south and immediately the weather became more certain as we headed towards the blue skies above Oviedo and when we arrived we headed for the historical centre and quickly found ourselves in an underground car park close to the city and as we walked to the centre we passed the first of over one hundred statues that decorate the city and we started rather appropriately with the traveller.
My immediate assessment of Oviedo was that it seemed confident and relaxed and the honey coloured stone of the Plaza Mayor was welcoming and friendly except that is for the ever-present gipsy beggars with their gnarled and twisted faces like characters from a Goya painting. They hang around outside cathedral doors and pester people for money as they go come and go. Personally I find these people to be a downright nuisance and I don’t understand why the authorities don’t simply move them on.
Before visiting the cathedral we spotted the covered market and made our way inside to see what was on offer. It was quite wonderful with meat and fish and vegetables and many stalls selling local produce. While Asturias is especially known for its seafood, the most famous regional dish is fabada asturiana which is a rich stew typically made with large white beans, shoulder of pork, black sausage and spicy chorizo, which it seemed to me is a sort of French Cassoulet and we flirted for a while with purchasing a pre-packed tourist meal to take home but then realised that we could easily do this for ourselves without too much effort, came to our senses and moved on.
Oviedo is only a small city, only just scraping into the top twenty largest cities in Spain and it isn’t even the largest in Asturias so it didn’t take that long to walk around the historical centre and soon there was only one thing left to do – visit the Cathedral. The building was severely damaged during the Spanish Civil War when the conflict more or less started here and there was fierce Nationalist oppression inflicted by General Franco but it has been restored now and has been returned to its former medieval grandeur.
Inside is the mausoleum of the King’s of Asturias and an elaborate alter piece but nothing else really stood out for me. Except the candles! Traditionally a votive candle is lit in memory of someone and I have always thought there is something special about lighting a beeswax candle, or even a tea light and standing back and saying a little prayer or dragging up a memory. Sadly these little candles seem to be increasingly replaced with a box full of flickering bulbs that, having paid your money, remain lit for a while and then after a pre-determined time simply switch off. I expect it is something to do with health and safety! A few years ago I remember going into Florence Cathedral and the heat from the thousands of candles was completely overpowering and I am sure that a little accident could easily have led to a raging inferno!
After leaving the Cathedral and side stepping the beggars at the door we returned to the car, stopping on the way for a coffee where we sat in the pleasant sunshine and plotted the next stage of our journey – one hundred and twenty-five kilometres to the city of León in neighbouring Castilla y León, the largest of the Autonomous Communities of Spain.
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Love the perspective on the street photo Andrew with the cathedral lit in the background.
I always love seeing pieces about Oviedo! I lived right down the street from the Cathedral.
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My friend said that Morocco was the worst place for being pestered. He swore he would never go there again, given that his first holiday there was completely spoiled by beggars.
John, I said exactly the same but then I found some cheap flights next January and I had to eat my words!
I am with you on candles vs light bulbs Andrew. Let’s see, do we light a candle in someone’s memory or do we flip a switch? A flickering candle seems to represent life to me in a much better way. –Curt
I think candles are sadly a thing of the past!
Not in our house, Andrew. Peggy loves candles. Guests at our dinners can always expect candle on the table. –Curt
Same here Curt, scented candles everywhere.
Hope you had a good drop or two or… of vino with that stew, Andrew 😀 Don’t know about burning candles being a health and safety issue but I reckon the mounted wax is a bugger to clean and so – presto – here come the light bulbs 😀
I hadn’t considered the cleaning dimension. Happy New Year to you and I look forward to reading your posts in 2016!
A shame about the candles
It seems that they are a thing of the past.
Oviedo certainly looks a place worth visiting
Well wort an afternoon of anyone’s time.
Good!
I wonder if they’ll make it so you can choose the color of the LED lights . . .
perhaps rainbow colors.
Mood candles?
Maybe . . . I wonder how soon it will be before they’ll offer an app where you can light a digital candle (for a fee) and watch it burn on your phone.
That was very interesting, so thank you. I enjoyed the fact that you were writing about smallish places rather than Madrid and Barcelona. I had no idea that Oviedo and Gijon were so close to each other and it was nice to discover where two of La Liga’s less fancied teams play their football.
I agree with you, incidentally, about lighting candles. So much better than electric ones. I always light a candle or two at Lincoln Cathedral whenever I visit,
I recall reading that a lot of the football teams in Northern Spain were started by British workers. In particular Bilbao.
I loved Oviedo. Did you see the statue of Woody Allen? Very life-like.
I did indeed, should have taken a picture of it.
I was not brought up in a church where candles were lit. But over the years I have gone into a church and lit a candle – there is a special feeling.
Indeed. Thanks John.
Nice to see Williams B. Arrensberg again . . .
. . . no one has done my suggestion of the candle app yet . . . perhaps I’ll give it a go and sell it to the Vatican (for a cut of the proceeds).
You have visited some interesting places Andrew, I enjoy my virtual travels with you. I always light a candle for my parents and brother when I visit a cathedral even though I am not in the slightest way religious. it just seems a nice way to remember them for a few peaceful minutes.
I do the same just in case.