We left early Thurday morning to catch an 8 o clock flight from the Tenerife South airport. There we met up with Emilio, our special guest for the trip. Anna treated us to a quick breakfast of cafe and croissants and we headed for the gate. After a long three hour flight, we landed in Bilbao. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking: green mountains, tall trees, cows, and horses, all in a landscape that seemed to roll on forever. In the distance you could see the white tips of the ´Peaks of Europe´, a distant mountain range that decorated that far stripe of sky that separates the earth from the clouds. We drove quite some time through the Basque country (during which i don’t think i peeled my eyes from the window) then stopped for lunch in a the most random seeming restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I ate some amazing fish soup (all the sea food from Asturias is fresh from the sea), then we were back on the road.
We arrived in Llanes late noon. Our first stop was to visit the cousins and Teresa´s brother in his apartment. The little town was incredibly picturesque, It seemed to have been taken from a fairytale: long, narrow cobblestone roads, a medieval castle tower marking the center of town right next to the antique church. Plants grew in every crack and corner, everything was so lush with vegetation. Moss painted the bricks and Ivy ornamented the walls of the old houses. Everywhere you looked there was beauty.
We socialized a bit with the family, and then we headed for ´La Paz´ (´The Peace´), the comfortable home of my host mother and where she her family spend their summers. It was big and cozy and very ´lived in´. There was a lot of yard to run in with nice grass and even a cave in the back yard behind the house. It reminded me a bit of home mixed with my grandparents house in New Jersey, so being there made me feel a bit nostalgic. The family took me on a tour of Llanes, they showed me around the Port and brought me to the ´Cubes of Memory´. We strolled down the narrow streets enjoying the brisk, healthy air of the evening. We went back to La Paz and I played soccer with the boys. We called for pizza and relaxed there for the rest of the night.
Friday Teresa and Chris took me to see a the Basilica in Coranova (sp?) and saw the cave of the Virgin. There I drank out of a series of seven fountains which ensure, as legend has it, that I will be married in less than one year. Consider this your wedding invitation ; ). That afternoon, I ate the biggest lunch of my life: we started with a fried bread square topped with what seemed mayonnaise, then a fried crepe stuffed with orgasmic cheese (my personal fave), then a chowder-esque dish of mushrooms and chestnuts in a creamy cheese sauce (fanTAStico!); next was a dish of churizo traditionally prepared in an Austurian fashion, rather than being sliced it was served crumbled and hot and topped with a cheese sauce (yumm cholesterol); then, already full from the appetizers, we were served our main dish of Fadabes, or huge beans served in a saucy broth with chunks of churizo sausage and ham. After all this and the two of us being ready to internally combust, we managed to top it all off with dessert; I had a cake layered of crepes and alternated with chocolate and applesauce filling. I will never eat so much again in my life, we were both sick and uncomfortable for the rest of the day. The rest of the evening consisted mostly of recuperation, as I was handicapped from any quick movements, however later that night there was a Latino concert that I was interested in attending. With my unbelievable luck, we ran into a friend of my host family that knew of 4 American girls that were here visiting for the long weekend. They were eating dinner (goodness, not more food!), so we met up in a restaurant and hung out and talked. Two of them were of Colombian families that had lived in Miami all their lives, the other two were from Maryland who came from half Spanish half American families; all of them were studying in a University in Washington DC and participating in a Study Abroad program in Madrid and on vacation staying with one of the girl´s family in Austurias. We hit it off, they were such a great group of girls, all of them nice, intelligent and interesting.
Saturday
In the morning I went by myself to explore a bit more of Llanes and take photos. The whole family met up for lunch at the golf course. After lunch we went to Rales, the ancient run down town of fifty-some residents where apparently everyone in my host mom´s family was born. There, the kids and I explored the creek and played in the playground as the parents chatted it up with their cousins. Also, We were heckled by old ugly crazy ladies.
That night I met up again with the American girls for dinner. After that I stuck around to catch a bit of the latino fest.
Sunday
We went to Olviedo, the capital of Ausurias. It was mothers day so there were special tradictional festivities going on, there was a bag pipe band marching down the street and many people dressed in traditional Austurian clothing (looks similar to your stereotypical Scottish Kilt) with cattle and other farm animals arranged in the town plaza for photos and such. There was even a pottery making station set up for kids and funky clay oven that looked like an over-sized bee hive to cook the projects in. All of this was going on, plus the typical Sunday morning market that goes on in many cities in Spain, where you can buy fresh bread, veggies, cheese and other foods, clothes, purses, belts and just about anything you can think of. We got lucky, it was a great day to be there with so much going on. I loved Olviedo, it is an old funky college town (college towns are always hip), very clean, and with a great ambiance. My host mother graduated from this University with her law degree.
For lunch we stopped in a typical bar to eat some pinchos, which are little tapas (appetizer) sandwiches. To try things traditional of Austurias, we ate pinchos of churizo, tortilla española, queso de cabrales, and beef. After lunch we went to the park and it started to rain (oh, glorious rain!!). I think I was the only one happy (ecstatic! I miss the rain so much!!) about this, however apparently we had been lucky that it had only rained that one day during the five days we were in Austurias because typically it rains quite often in the north of the peninsula.
We drove through a city called Gijon, however we didnt stop or get out of the car because at this point it had really started to pour. We drove through some more pueblos on the way home for the scenic pleasure and to see how other towns were in the area. Arriving home, we were passed groups of prospectors with banners and horns cheering on the competing cyclists in a race that had taken place all day long (we saw them starting out that morning when we left to go to Olviedo). The race ended right in Llanes, we saw the signs counting down `5 kilos` until we were almost to the Paz and we passed the `1 kilo!`, so I walked to watch for a bit at the finish line. It seemed quite a big events, there were cameras and floats set up at the end. Every biker had their own personal motivator: a `pimped out` car which followed behind them at the finish with a megaphone cheering them on for that very last difficult bit. Leaving the race, I encountered a soccer game which I ended up staying to watch. After the game, my family and I went over to the cousins` apartment and I said goodbye for the very last time to sweet little Pablo and Miguel. We went out to dinner and had AMAZING cheese (Queso de Cabrales), more churizo, fresh shrimp, and other sea food. (I wonder how many kilos I gained on this trip?). ; )
Monday
I woke up to my last day in Llanes very late, around 11:30. I slept so well there, and so much. I didnt have time to do much that morning around the town because I had gotten up so late, I`d wanted to take a last stroll and buy some post cards and cheese. Instead we packed and cleaned, and I went exploring in the cave for just a little, however I didnt get to far because I was afraid being alone, not to mention the light I was using was hardly sufficient. We left the house to head for Bilbao around noon. We drove and stopped for lunch at this HUGE long beach before arriving in the city. In Bilbao we stopped to looked at the Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art. Unfortunately the ONLY day of the week it is closed are Mondays. What luck. That AND the special exhibit was of Surrealism, (only my FAVORITE style of art!). Im still pissed about that. The good thing about the Guggenheim is that if you cant get in, you can at least admire from the outside, the architecture of the place is a modern masterpiece in itself, so we walked around so that I could get a glimpse of its magnificence. We took a short walk around the city. It was a little dirty, but I would love to go back to go to the Museum and also to try some of the modern and creative pinchos that the city is known for; something I regret not trying while I was there and had the chance.
After that It was to the airport.
Standing in line to buy some last minute Queso de Cabrales, I stumbled into a fellow northern american. He was a Canadian Author writing a novel on the women and what to do and not to do when finding men to date. We talked quite a bit, he was charming and we traded contacts; it was a nice cherry to top of all the exciting happenings of the weekend. I entered the place with a smile and with good thoughts in my head as I reflected on the vacation. I am more than satisfied with the Spain that I was introduced to and I feel more comfortable with my host family and I think they know me a little more. I would definitely put Austurias on my top THREE list of Most Beautiful Places I have ever-ever visited in my Whole Life. Please, if you go to Spain and like green lush vegitation, fresh air and mountains, visit here!! I`ll never forget La Paz!
