I went to Asturias for 3 weeks and it made a big impression on me. My sister’s husband is Spanish and from Asturias. They go each summer to see his family and this time she invited me along.
The north part of Spain is known as the green part of the country. A big contrast with the south of Spain. The only tourist in the north are the Spanish themselves, who flee the hot weather in the south. So I was pretty helpless with my English, or even my French. But I survived none the less.
Places to see
I went to Gijón, Cudillero (a fisherman’s town), Cangas de Onís with some Roman artifacts to see, Cabrales where I attended a fantastic food fest, and Llanes which lies in a beautiful bay with a fantastic beach.
We also spent a weekend in Mestas de Con, near Cangas de Onís. A very folk kind of town and I must admit that in Mestas, I participated in the local festival. I didn’t feel that comfortable dancing in such a crowd. You felt very welcome to join.
We went to the mountains, Picos de Europa, hiking through them with a guide. Not being of the adventurous type, I had some difficulties overcoming some height issues; looking down into an abyss right next to the path made my stomach ache a few times. And the assent with the teleferique in Fuente Dé, wasn’t my cup of tea. It went very fast up to the hight of 400 metres… When I found out where we were going that day, I was dead against it. Now I am glad I followed it through (did I even have a choice?), because the view over the mountain tops was the best sight I’d ever seen.
Food and drink
If for anything you must go to Asturias for the food. The tapas there are out of this world. The croquettes with Cabrales cheese were my favourites (even though they smell like feet). The fabada asturiana (a rich and hearty white bean stew with chorizo, morcilla and pork belly) is so delicious it’s almost wrong. And the traditional drink, sidra, is the way to win the heart of the Asturian hosts you stay with. So go ahead and try it.
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Wel, then the north is worth a look. There were Celtic settlements and it had a big influence in that region.
Well described Fab. This year, I am going on a cruise in June/July to Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Holland (Amsterdam) & Belgium (Bruges).My favourite destination has been Egypt. The pyramids of Giza were fantastic.
Thank you. Ireland is one of the destinations on my wishlist. Bruges, I visited 2 years ago. Sometimes it’s also worth to check out the places in your own country. You can find riches you never considered being there before.
Ah, that is something I’m hearing for the first time. I have never heard anyone falling out of love on vacation. I guess it happens. But apparently it was a good experience for you, Holy Queen of Whirlyball.
I loved Spain. It is where I fell out of love. Very freeing.
I sort of wanted to visit that region myself, mostly because I think part of it is on the pilgrim’s trail to Compestela (which I have always wanted to walk for historical reasons). But I am happy to visit most places in Western Europe for the history 🙂