Long time, no blog!

Hola.

It's been a while, eh! Sorry about that. I've been slightly distracted these last few weeks, what with trying to be hostess with the mostess to a very hotly anticipated guest. On Tuesday 29th, I joined a school trip to a steel museum in a nearby town. It was, to put it bluntly, mind-numbingly boring. But I managed to power through thanks to the light at the end of the tunnel -  arriving back in Gijón just in time to race to the bus station to meet a newly arrived Dave. Unfortunately, all was not smooth sailing as a Spaniard had managed to take home Dave's suitcase instead of his own but we didn't let the prospect of 2 and a half weeks without a change of underwear put too much of a dampener on the moment and headed straight to a cafe for the obligatory Spain initiation of a cafe con leche and a hefty piece of tortilla.

It's amazing how much of this city I saw in a different light with a handsome fella on my arm, I can tell you. It's cheesy, I know, but it was like seeing it all for the first time again. (NB: for all those of you who are concerned about the subsequent state of Dave's underwear, let me allay your fears - his suitcase arrived the very next day, totally unharmed and delivered straight to our door). In brief (very brief) our time consisted of walks along the coast, trips to nearby towns and cities, a Sporting Gijón football match, a 4am dip in the sea, a taste of Spanish Carnaval, an aquarium, a train museum, an art gallery and mahusive amounts of fantastic food and drink. A personal highlight was our day trip to a nearby fishing village called Cudillero which supplied us with some of the most beautiful views and some of the best food that I've experienced in Asturias so far. Sadly the weather decided to be slightly less accommodating than the scenery and we spent most of the day wandering around looking like drowned rats, as if we didn't stand out like sore thumbs quite enough being two fair-haired, fair-skinned, English-speaking youngsters wandering around a village mainly populated by old fishermen and stray cats. Of course, being British, the rain didn't get us down in the least. We donned our stiffest upper lips and made the most of everything Cudillero had to offer!

On Friday 1st Feb we had a very special treat in the shape of a michelin starred restaurant called El Puerto. Following on from this experience, I'm considering a career as a food critic during which I'd travel the world and write reviews, publishing them in a blog called 'Michelin Stars for Muggles'. From our confused dithering over the wine menu to our cluelessness over what was garnish and what was food (edible flowers - I mean, seriously) it was clear that we were punching slightly above our weight. But the staff didn't let on that they knew we were impostors ... in fact, they were incredibly patient and attentive and wonderful. And it was undoubtedly the best meal I have ever eaten and the most enjoyable dining experience I've ever had. We went for the 11 course taster menu (as one does) and were treated to plate after plate of totally unidentifiable but totally delicious gastronomical delights. Clearly this won't be something we can make a habit of, but to mark a special occasion it was worth every cent!

Sadly having a visitor wasn't really a good enough excuse to skive off school but thanks to a very well timed student strike and an equally convenient national holiday, we were pretty spoilt for time. Carnaval was a surreal experience. It's a nationwide festival consisting of parties, parades and, most importantly, fancy dress and absolutely everyone gets involved. Walking through a square, we saw two old men casually sitting on a park bench with their walking sticks in their hands and werewolf masks on their faces. And sitting in a cafe, we spotted a couple dressed as elaborate clowns. The lady was pushing a pram and in the pram was a teeny tiny baby wearing a Ronald Mcdonald style red afro wig. They really do go all out. There was a parade on Monday evening which perfectly showcased just how much enthusiasm they have for it - even when hail started hammering down and temperatures reached Arctic lows, the floats kept rolling by and the men, women and kids involved smiled and danced and cheered unfalteringly throughout. Now, I usually take quite a lot of pride in my fancy dress efforts but when we headed out on the town on Monday night dressed as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, we saw some costumes that quite frankly put every effort I've ever made to absolute shame. This guy was a personal favourite:

Now, Dave's highlight of the trip (if not his life) occurred one sunny day when we embarked upon a long trek along the coast. It was a flippin' beautiful walk with statues and sculptures and general points of interest dotted all the way along the route. One such point of interest was a large metal sculpture which was designed to show the power of magnetism (I think... I zoned out a bit when I realised it was sciencey). Lots of people had thrown coins up onto the sculpture so we decided to mark our presence and add one of our own. Dave took a 1 cent coin, tossed it up into the air but narrowly missed resulting in the coin getting caught in some sort of orbit (again... science... I don't get it) and flying around the sculpture in almost in a full circle, landing back on the floor about a metre away from Dave's feet. Let me tell you, if I ever manage to prompt the look the sheer joy, excitement and wonder on his face at that moment I'll be a very happy lady.

It's been a fantastic few weeks and it was incredibly sad to wave goodbye. On Valentines day of all days. But I think I've been enthused with a renewed fondness for this city thanks to having to show it off to someone. And I'm looking forward to putting this positivity to some good use. Every cloud!

Ciao

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