Trip Recap City #2: Oviedo (Top Choice)

Situated in the dramatic ridges of the Picos de Europa mountain range in Asturias, Oviedo was the most beautiful city of the trip to drive to.  Because Craig and I were doing the trip on a budget, we set our GPS to avoid toll roads. This was worth the extra gas as we meandered through sierra from the region of Castilla y León to Asturias.  As soon as we entered Asturias, the landscape abruptly changed from green expanses of farmland to profound mountainous ridges and slopes.  It was the best route of the trip.

lunch break

Oviedo itself was simple yet pretty, clean, and quaint.  We strolled through parks, wandered through the old city casco until we sat ourselves down in a hidden plaza filled with sidrerías--cider cafes, for lack of a better translation--which are the a notorious part of the Asturian culture.

But you can't just plop yourself down and start drinking your cider at your leisure in this region.  You must follow the cider-sipping etiquette if you don't want to be chastised by an Asturian waiter:

1.  Because the cider isn't carbonated when it's manufactured, you have to pour from a high distance from the glass like this...

I didn't attempt this one

...or just wait for your camarero/a to do it for you.

2.  Immediately take a quick swig while the cider is still effervescent from the fall. (I was too slow and my waiter took my glass out of my hand and gave it to Craig.)

3.  Leave a sip of cider a the bottom of the glass.

4.  Wait for the waiter to come serve you another trago.

5.  Right before being served, with the flick of the wrist, shake your glass so that you whisk the remaining cider to the floor.

6.  Enjoy another swig and repeat.

 I love the sidrerías.  With cider splattering about from the wrist-flicking and pouring, the atmosphere is  lively laughter and shouting as people try to avoid being sprayed.  Tables, chairs, floor, and even customer clothes are accented with splash stains, but everyone seems to be too buzzed to care.

Later that evening we headed out to a recommended restaurant, Tierra Astur (and just for the record, I'm recommending it again).  If the mountains aren't enough for you, Asturias is worth visiting for the food and cider alone.  Fresh cheese, steak, pork, stews...it's like Bavaria meets Spain.  I will forever dream about that meal.

cheese sampler

fabada, famous Asturian bean stew

Asturian steak

We ended the night (right when it seemed like everyone was starting theirs), by strolling around the city, snapping photos of ourselves in front of landmarks like true guiris.  It was a definitely a Top Ten Spain moment.

My advice to a guiri: Get to Asturias.  Even if you're a visitor just passing through Spain, cut a couple of days out of your trip to Madrid or Barcelona and make your way up north.  For some reason Asturias is a destination often overlooked by non-Spaniards, but it shouldn't be.

And if possible, explore the region by car.