A stop of convenience in Asturias

I took the 0830 bus from Santander to Oviedo in Asturias today.  The waiting underground station at Santander was not glassed-in from the waiting buses and I imagine it would be rather unpleasant during peak hours.  Think carbon monoxide poisoning?

The bus arrived from Barcelona and we boarded for Oviedo soon after, with a new driver.  Kim had decided to fly from Auckland to Los Angeles about this time, a day earlier than planned, due to the flight having seats for his standby ticket.  I spent time on the bus trip helping him with things like making a last-minute hotel booking.

That made the 2h15 ride go very quickly.  It was cloudy and cool as I arrived into Oviedo and took a short walk to the Favila Oviedo Hotel near the train station, which was a short walk away from the bus station.

Oviedo was simply a stop to break the otherwise long journey from Santander to Santiago de Compostela.  And with a cheaper hotel (than Santander or Santiago) very near the station, it seemed like a good way to see another city.  The city was more high-rise than expected, as we many other places in Spain I’ve been to this trip.

It was around midday when I ventured out to explore.  I needed food but most places were café/ bars with a few mini sandwiches.  Proper meal places weren’t operating until 1300 and there was nowhere selling meal-sized sandwiches.  I eventually found a café/bar that could make up a large sandwich, making feel ready to visit the cathedral.

After the EUR1 visit to Santander cathedral, I was surprised by the EUR7 price tag here.  But it was justified when I saw the spectacular altar piece that had many biblical scenes ranging from the annunciation, adoration of the Magi, resurrection etc.

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There was a small Decathlon branch near the hotel so I popped in and got another pair of hiking shoes which I really liked and fitted me well.  I spent the remainder of the afternoon indoors.

I took dinner at a mall, ordering a schnitzel and prawn omelette.  The house wine that I ordered was poured from a large bottle in front of me.  Then he proceeded to pour sparkling lemonade into it.  Miscommunication perhaps but very refreshing accompaniment to my meal for only EUR1.50.