Saturday
-Angel told me he could give me a ride to Madrid in the morning. I waited half an hour for him outside in the freezing cold and he never came… so I walked to the bus station and caught the next bus but therefore missed the train I wanted to take and had to wait more than 2 hours for the next one.
-while I waited an older woman asked me for help with something and she said that she and her husband were going to Asturias to which I said “me too.” And she asked if I was from there (score! Not everyone can tell I’m a foreigner!) and I told her that I was actually from the US and she was like “wow! You speak really well!” always nice to hear :)
-while I was getting on my train Angel called to apologize. The poor guy felt awful for oversleeping.
-I saw a really attractive boy waiting for the same train and so I thought “Dear Jesus, sit us together.” So I get on the train and I sit. And then he gets on and he sits next to me. And I then I found out I was sitting in the wrong car and had to move. Poop. It made me laugh though.
-instead I got to sit by myself. But there was a man across the aisle from me that insisted on clicking his frickin’ pen for like half an hour. Thank God for Ipods :)
-The scenery on the way was absolutely beautiful. Snow covered mountains, vast fields of nothing-ness, green pastures… I think everyone needs to visit Asturias and they need to go by train, car or bus so they can see everything beautiful on the way.
-I struggled a bit to find my hotel because the streets of Oviedo, like most of Spain, are not marked very well. I think I asked at least 12 people for help but everyone was super nice and I eventually arrived.
-later I walked around the streets finding a place to eat but I’m just terrible at making decisions and I meandered around for quite a while until I eventually settled on a place.
Sunday
-I went out to explore Oviedo in the morning and was disappointed to find it was one of those cities where everything is closed on a Sunday
-then I discovered the outside market and the city came alive.
-I just kept walking and ended up finding the super charming part of the city. It was gorgeous. Just the smells and the sounds mixed with the prettiness of the city… I fell in love with Oviedo. Definitely the perfect city to travel to alone.
-I walked everywhere. Like literally. I found a beautiful park and ended up returning there after my siesta to write and eat some Pelotazos (which are these cheeto things that Abby and I used to eat on our travels together).
-in the evening I went to church. I had googled an evangelical church and went. I’m super glad I went. It was big (well, bigger than mine in Quintanar and my old one in Sevilla). It was youth Sunday which was fun and I loved the worship and I met so many nice people. Including a guy from New York, who’s doing missions with the Jewish population in different parts of Spain.
-After church I went to try to find somewhere to eat and watch the Madrid game. It was bizarre because most of the bars and stuff were closed. Yeah, it was a Sunday, but there was a freakin’ Madrid game on. Even all of Quintanar is open on game days.
-I eventually found a place but I asked the bartender for a menu and he was like “at this hour?” but it was like 9.30ish, the normal time to eat in Spain, so I explained that I just wanted tapas and he was like “oh yeah, we have tapas” so I order something and it comes out on this giant plate, like a full meal. I was really confused.
-and I asked the same guy a question about the first part of the game that I missed and he gave me a super generic answer which actually kinda made me mad because I was like “just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about Spanish fútbol. I want the details!” But whatever.
Monday
-I was super excited for this day because I was finally going to Lastres, the town where my favorite show Doctor Mateo takes place. I got on my bus and it was perfect because one of the first songs played was U2’s Beautiful Day, and that it certainly was.
-I saw my first black and white cows since PA.
-I missed my stop and ended up in the next town over, but the mistake ended up being a good thing because I got to see the one house from the show and the fútbol field from a hilarious episode. I explored this cute little town for about an hour before the next bus game.
-and I have to apologize to Chinchilla because I think Lastres may now be my favorite town ever. I mean, there’s a beach, a castle (somewhere. I never made it there), and Doctor Mateo.
- I went to try to find the castle and ended up on an actual hike in the woods. And I don’t recommend anyone trying that in wedge boots.
-but this town was beyond gorgeous. It was so beautiful I seriously almost cried. And the weather was perfect. I could not have picked a better day to go.
-Before I left I had to have some cider with my lunch because Asturias is known for it. And I learned that I should probably never drink it again. I didn’t feel that great afterwards (and honestly I didn’t drink a lot) and that was also one of the things I drank that time I ate the whole chicken. So now I’m convinced it was the sidra that made me sick.
-When I got to Oviedo I did a little bit of shopping and ate the best kebap I’ve eaten to date. Sooo gooood.
Tuesday
-I woke up early to go out and buy some Asturian milk and cheese.
-I caught a train back to Madrid at 11ish. And can I just say that seats on the train that face each other are super awkward…
-at the bus station in Madrid I ran into 3 of the people that work at the school so I didn’t have to ride back home alone, however I slept most of the ride.
Wednesday
-back to school. Nothing special happened. I had to be outside for my 2 gym classes and it was terribly cold. I can’t believe it’s this cold in March. I miss Andalucia. Heck, I miss the nicer weather from up north.
-I went to Pilar’s for dinner with her, Celia, Eddie, Bea and Benni. It’s always fun with them. I’m glad I had the chance to spend time with them since I feel like I never see them.
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