Northern Spain....lots of green, lots of rain!

Santander, Cantabrias Oct 8
Oh dearest Santander, how I've missed you so. How have you been these past two years? Have your beaches been warm and sunny? Have your streets been flooded by rain? How long it has been...

Being back in Santander this past Friday (Oct. 8) was wonderful. We (Jeri, Emily and I) were greeted with lots of sunshine and warm weather. I was pleasantly surprised by the weather and welcomed it with a smile. Emily and I showed Jeri around the city. We walked from one end to the other to visit the beach. I walked by my old piso and we walked up to the school we went to. :) So many memories came back which were nice to be reminded of. I had planned to meet up with David, an old friend, but it turned out he couldn't get to the city that day. He did however tell me he was planning a trip to Valladolid soon so hopefully I'll get to see him then. :)
El Sardinero....the same beach I lived just a hop across the street from, two years ago.
Me in front of Playa la Concha...the water was so blue and clear....I was almost tempted to put my feet in. :o
A pond in one of the parks near the city center of Santander.
The fountain of the dolphins....I came up with it myself!!!! This is across the street from my old school, UIMP.

Oviedo, Asturias Oct 9
Here was new territory for me, but one I was very much excited about exploring. From what I had been told from friends it is small and you can visit everything in a day....boy were they right! Oviedo is absolutely beautiful. It is very green there (even for a city), it has parks everywhere, and the city was fun to just walk around in. :)

We spent all day Saturday visiting the sights, getting lost, and learning about the city. I can bore you all with the details, but I think you'd enjoy it more if I did so (with not as many details) as I share the pictures with you. So here we go...
This was the first building we saw (the one on the right). It is the palace for the royal family, specifically for the prince and his family, when they come to Asturias. In Asturias there is an award, similar to the Nobel Prize award, that is called "EL Principe de Asturias" and is given to Spaniards who make great achievements in their lifetime.
After we saw the palace we turned onto a street and came upon this beauty. This is the main cathedral in Oviedo. It is Gothic, so of course I loved it! It is HUGE and there is so much to see inside. I didn't count how many chapels there are inside, but there are a lot! It was a sight to see.
Here is the cathedral again behind this beautiful statue, "La Regenta". I believe she represents a good Catholic during Franco's time or possibly before. It is an absolutely beautiful statue.
Copycat.
The plaza in front of La Catedral.
Side of cathedral and a white marble statue that I really liked.
Starting with the cathedral, we have now entered the "old town" of Oviedo. Most everything in this part of the city is made with stones and looks medieval. Some of the buildings have been restored and painted with various colors, but everything resembles medieval times, nonetheless.
This is the main plaza in old town Oviedo called Plaza de la Constitucion. Even in the rain everything looks magical....maybe the rain adds to that effect?
This is the city hall in Oviedo (and yes it is in the old part of town). You walk under the building and on the other side you arrive at Plaza de la Constitucion.
One thing that I LOVED about the city of Oviedo is the many statues they have all around. I took so many pictures of them that I will only share my favorites with you. This is called "El Pescadero" (the fisherman).
La Pescadera....this one was extremely beautiful.
This is a market we walked by and decided to check out. It is similar to the ones that the Gypsies have in Valladolid.
Statues of two gypsy women...yes, this was in the center of the market we went to.
On our way to the art museum in Oviedo, we walked by this staircase and for some reason it reminded me of Romeo and Juliet...even though there weren't any staircases mentioned in the play. :)
This is the outside of the Museo de Bellas Artes which was FREE to visit!!! It has some interesting paintings inside and a very eclectic mixture of styles and periods. I will share a few of the ones I really liked or thought were interesting:
Can you tell who painted this one? Picasso....I'm sure it isn't one of his more well known paintings...not one I particularly like, but I felt it was worth mentioning. It is Picasso.
This painting was my favorite; it reminded me so much of Salinas Valley.
Canals.....Venice....Lovely.
This is the Universidad de Oviedo culture and sports campus. Since the outside was beautifully constructed I decided to take a look inside...
...I was not disappointed. :D
After all the walking, we took a break to try some "sidra" (cider). Asturias is known for its alcoholic cider. The waiters/waitresses have to pour the cider from the bottle a specific way so that oxygen enters the drink and gives a stronger flavor to the drink. We all tried it.....only one liked it. Oh well, it was a new experience and I'm glad I tried it.
The way the waiter is pouring the cider is called "escanceria". It is trickier than it looks; Jeri tried it and did not succeed.
As I said, even though Oviedo is a city there are lots of green areas....this being one of them. This is Campo de San Francisco. It is very big and is filled with a variety of trees, one being a cypress tree (similar to the ones in Monterey) and another being a chestnut tree.
Here's a chestnut tree in ALL its glory! I just love how big and open it looks...a perfect place to lay down and read a book, or take a nap!
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire....I just thought they looked so cool. I grabbed one to take home with me. :)
The large pond in the center of the park had plenty of ducks of different species and a one swan. Awww...
The last thing we saw in Oviedo was an old Roman church which still is used for services. It was closed when we went to visit it, but it was in such a nice location we walked around the area a little bit.
Gijon, Asturias Oct. 10
Iglesia San Jose...The first thing we saw in Gijon after getting off the bus.
Port in Gijon....I love the ocean!!!!
Playa Poniente....one of Oviedo's 6 beaches.
Playa Poniente by the rocks.
Battery of Santa Catalina. I'm not exactly sure when or what this was used for, but there were some remains of the building at the bottom of the park of Santa Catalina.
Parque de Santa Catalina
A really colorful building at the bottom of Parque Santa Catalina....loving the architecture.
Playa San Lorenzo....boy playing with his dog. Yes, the dog jumped into the water several times to catch his ball even though it was a cold day. :) I enjoy dogs' attitude towards life!

Hope you all enjoy the photos.
With Love, Celeste