Asturias

Tuesday we spent most of the day in the car, driving north to the region of Asturias, which is very different from the rest of Spain. The mountain chain in the North (which lies just to the South of Asturias) keeps the rain from the sea in Asturias, making everything very green. The people here really love and respect their environment, and it's clear to see why. The vistas once we entered Asturias are beautiful. We were making our way to Gijón. On the way, however, we stopped for a late lunch in Leon. I wish we would have had more time to stay here, because, like every other place we've visited, it has it's own charm which probably would required a week in and of itself to fully discover. Back in the car, we were almost to Asturias. I was looking forward to seeing Jorge, a friend who visited us in Lake Charles last year. Jorge is full of life and an extremely fun person to be around. Always happy, Jorge will make you laugh with his love of American Country Music and Lady GaGa.

Jorge is a great tour guide. He showed us Gijón, a very different city that the others that we've visited so far. It seems a bit more modern (especially more so than Segovia). After checking into our hotel and a much needed shower, we got dressed and headed out for dinner. I must say, boiled Squid is one of my favorite things I've eaten here. The texture is just chewy enough, but not too chewy. The sight of the "suction cups" (I'm sure there's a technical name, but I don't know it) was a bit off-putting at first, but I dove in and I can say that I'm glad I did; it's delicious. With our meal, we drank a bit of Sidras (alcoholic apple cider) which is the typical drink here in Asturias. It has a nice bite, but it's not too bad. Drank in "shots," it added a nice local touch to our dinner.