Day 40: Oviedo

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We woke refreshed with a bell ringing at a civilized 9.00am. We parked our car in the Mercado car park a few blocks away last night and it hadn’t been towed away, clamped or with a gazillion tickets. We have purchased instant coffee and cappuccino mix and now have really hot tap water, or whatever comes close. Billy loves and apple juice and Magdalena cakes for breakfast. We are driving along the northern Spanish coastline, through the hills that are filled with eucalyptus trees that smell wonderful.

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We have spent an hour at a praia (beach) Santiago de Renante reminiscent of Torquay before the developers got to it. The sand was clean, white and went for miles. We walked while Billy ran in circles winding up for his next adventure..racing Daddy to the flags!! I tried to convince him to dip his toes into the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic Ocean because he won’t get another chance, but no way Mum! Not very populated, the town had a pub/café and a pecadaro/seafood restaurant called Moby Dick. Lots of land for a beach holiday house and beautiful green countryside with corn crops, fat cows and a gentle lifestyle no doubt.

The guests arrived dressed like Logie night and did they look wonderful!

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Last night Billy’s Tamagotchi fell in love and had a little egg. Billy went into raptures it was so sweet. This morning it was here Dad, you feed it!! Billy is now a Robbie Williams fan, followed by Queen. We drive a fair bit as Spain is a big country and diverse from dry baking heat to mild, sunny days with gentle breezes.

We found a one star hotel in Oveido which is also called Austuria. No ideas why....Will thinks the later sounds much nicer. They also have to double up on souvenirs with both names.. Our window has a view of a cathedral spire which is lit up at night. We walked out to the cathedral across a plaza and discovered the chapel getting prepared for a wedding. Billy and I tiptoed in and checked out the size of the tuberoses that smelt beautiful The guests arrived dressed like Logie night and did they look wonderful! The dresses where spectacular, always colourful and guys went formal as well. We stood back looking like Aussies in thongs, T shirts and sunnies. My favourite shorts are khaki, belted up and make me look like Steve Irwin but they don’t show the dirt…..yeah! Will’s fashion disaster is spilling chocolate milk on clean clothes regularly.

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The city is dotted with fantastic sculptures, mostly quirky and humorous. We found a mega- hyper Mercado selling everything from shoes to squid, televisions and tomatoes. We spent quite some time there. It was Saturday night7.30pm and no one looked like closing down. We took our shopping back to our room to tidy up for a real dinner. Put some lippy on, Trent Nathan light jacket that crushes to nothing and bounces back, my Steve Irwin shorts and white runners not thongs, Will in his smart shirt famous for being his dinner-out shirt that hasn’t been washed, hair gel and wet face cloth for Billy and off to Gascona Avenue.

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Gascona's many cafes and restaurants with menus in Spanish and we focus looking for 1. chips and 2. anything that clues us into the food. We settle on La Bodega de Gascona. Kimmy and the head waiter shook hands and laughed that neither of us could speak the others language. The younger guy spoke English which he learned from movies and television and he was excellent. Wisely Will and I choose the Asturia menu which has three courses, wine and coffee. When we finished not only were we full, but pretty tanked on that Spanish red wine with the never ending supply inclusive. We started with hot bread and a platter of Austurian cheeses which came from any animal they can milk we guess. We where full on that; next came pork and bean casserole in a huge heated cauldron to share. A few jokes about the toxicity of the Peugeot tomorrow, more red wine as we struggled through this delicious dish. Dessert was crepes for Will and creamed rice with caramel sugar for Kim. Coffee, paid up and we asked Billy to get us home safely, tuck us in a good night!