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Weekend in Gijon: Sip Cider, Stroll, & Swim!

Gijon is the largest city in Spain’s beautiful northern autonomous community of Asturias and was a key stop on our weeklong trip to region. The city is not exactly jam-packed with sights – I’d say there is more to do in Oviedo, but don’t tell that to someone from Gijon because the 2 cities have some beef 😜 – so I’d say a weekend in Gijon will do just fine! However, Gijon does have beaches – which you can’t say about Oviedo – so you may want to make time for that too, although we didn’t get to hit the beach when we visited.

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Weekend in Oviedo: Cider, Art, and Mafalda!

weekend in oviedo

I highly recommend a weekend in Oviedo: we spent 3 nights in Oviedo during our week-long trip to Asturias, an autonomous community in the north of Spain, in late August of 2020. We used Oviedo as a base for day trips, including a visit to Covadonga and a quesería on our way to have lunch in Lastres. We then set off to the picturesque towns of Cudillero and Luarca on our way to our next stay in Gijón. We got great weather in our trip, although Asturias and the north of Spain are generally known for the rainy weather. However,  summer temperatures are mild even on sunny days, so Asturias is a nice summer spot if you don’t want to be sweating all day! 😝

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Half Day in Cudillero and Lunch in Luarca, Asturias

half-day in cudillero

Our half-day in Cudillero was a delightful part of our week-long trip to Asturias. We visited Cudillero after leaving Oviedo, on our way to spend a few days in Gijón. Colorful Cudillero is one of the best known, oft-visited, and most-Instagrammed towns along the coast of Asturias, but it is still well worth a visit. In fact, I found that the town preserved a lot of its quaint fishing-village charm. After a morning spent climbing up and down Cudillero, we visited the nearby town of Luarca for lunch! Continue reading “Half Day in Cudillero and Lunch in Luarca, Asturias”

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Day Trip to Llanes, Asturias: A Cozy Coastal Town

day trip to llanes

We took our day trip to Llanes, with Gijón as our base, during our week-long trip to Asturias. Llanes is a popular summer destination among Spaniards, but I was particularly interested in visiting because my great-great-grandparents, the parents of my Cuban great-grandfather Manolo Fernández Blanco on my maternal grandmother’s side, were from there! They likely emigrated from Llanes to Cuba in the late 19th century. It was exciting to see this little slice of my Spanish-Cuban heritage! Continue reading “Day Trip to Llanes, Asturias: A Cozy Coastal Town”

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Lunch in Lastres, Asturias: Cider and Seafood at La Rula

lunch in lastres

Lastres, or Llastres in asturiano, the Asturian language, is one of many picturesque towns in Asturias, a northern autonomous community of Spain.  Be sure not to overlook this town, though – lunch in Lastres was definitely one of my favorite experiences during our week-long stay in Asturias.

Before eating lunch in Lastres, we set off from our hotel in Oviedo and made a worthwhile pitstop at Covadonga, home to a striking 19th-century church set among the mountains. The site commemorates the Moors’ first defeat in Spain at the hands of Pelayo, an Iberian Visigoth turned Asturian king, which marked the beginning of the Reconquista in 722 AD. Near the church is a small cave with a shrine to the Virgin Mary, who, according to legend, appeared to Pelayo and his men before the battle.

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