...I stroll around Oviedo, have breakfast and shock the waitress by ordering churros, hot chocolate AND a coffee
...I find the shell symbols from the Camino de Santiago even on the sidewalk in Oviedo. Nice!
...I find a charming motto on one of the cider bars: La sidra es la sangre que bombea la vida memorias y alegría (Cider is the blood which pumps life, memories and joy)
...I consider going for an Altamira cave visit but since many years only a replica is available to tourists. And they have a system where every Friday 5 visitors are let into the real for 37 minutes on a lottery basis. Small chance of that :)
...I visit a local supermarket and am overjoyed to find 3 types of mandarines, local (!) Asturian kiwifruit, loose strawberries (no such thing in Belgium!) and a chocolate alfajor, which is packaged but which you have to weigh (!)
...I am continually confused by the rules of use of the deferential vs. informal "you" in Spanish (tu vs. usted). People randomly use either while talking to me.
...I drive to the Somiedo natural reserve. Technically 1 1/2 hour drive from Oviedo but I get somewhat confused in the city and outside too. In the end after some more confusion, including making a U-turn at a divided highway in the mountains, I arrive in Somiedo after 3 hours.
...it's a little late so I take some brochures and head to a local swimming pool. Water is chilly at 24C but swimming makes it nice.
...the village has a spectacular setting so I drive a couple km down the road and hike to Asturia's largest mountain lake. It's a short trail (2h return) and the lake isn't very big but it's a good warmup and the views are exquisite.
...I return to the village and check into my hotel. It's a weird one: the staff try very hard and it looks pleasant but the room is smelly, the bathtub is in the room, behind a curtain, the minibar is half empty, the internet very slow, I keep hearing some cow bells outside all night, the food is pretty bad and best of all, in the late evening as I'm in bed some confused guest unlocks my door and gets in with a suitcase using HIS key. Oh well, on the plus side there's a toilet brush, for the first time on this trip. And there are real keys, also for the first time, after all those keycards.