Undermanager
Veteran Member
Day 20 Oviedo - rest day
The cafe attached to the hotel does great food. Their €10 meal of the day was excellent last night. I had seafood soup, then fish in a sauce, and finally almond tart with a bottle of wine, all while watching Man United reach the Europa Cup. Hotel Favila Oviedo itself is an excellent choice. It's a good place to stay for a couple of nights if you need a bit of luxury. It's also 100 metres from the train station if that is important, and opposite a bus stop for busses to the old churches.
I got up about 9.00am (as a result of downing the entire bottle of red wine that came with the meal of the day), had breakfast in the hotel's cafe then stepped outside, crossed the road to the bus stop and hopped on bus A2 up to the old churches of Santa Marie del Navranco and San Mighual de Lille. There appears to be a flat fare of €1.20 for a bus ride. The trip takes about 15 minutes and is uphill all the way. Bus A1 brings you back. They aren't that frequent but the one going up was worth it. You could walk back easily.
The city views with the mountains in the background were great. There is an info centre a five minute walk from the bus stop, which has some good info and videos in English. You then walk another five minutes to Santa Maria del Navanco and another five minutes to the other one. One lady both sells €3 tickets and does the tour, in Spanish only, and it all seems to be at random times. It's worth a quick visit but isn't overly thrilling. There was a school party of kids when I was there so it was very noisy.
After returning to Oviedo, I went on a general wander for a few hours, round one of the big parks, which was near McDonalds in the commercial area close to the hotel, then round the historical old quarter. There is no shortage of statues, and they are fun, and the buildings are interesting in places. I went to the market, to try out samples of cheese, and had a few coffees in cafes but got unlucky with slow wifi, so gave up and went back to the hotel for a siesta, just as the rain started falling.
Oviedo is nice enough for an afternoon but no more, unless you like shopping! I looked up a few daily blogs for the Primitivo and have the outline of a plan to get me there in about 11 or 12 days, before striking for Muxio and Finisterre (thanks Peregrina2000). I will aiming for Cornellana tomorrow, depending on the weather. Thankfully, it hasn't been as bad in the last five days as it was suggested in weather reports, and is due to get even better from Sunday. The rest day was welcome, but now it is time for the third Camino!
The cafe attached to the hotel does great food. Their €10 meal of the day was excellent last night. I had seafood soup, then fish in a sauce, and finally almond tart with a bottle of wine, all while watching Man United reach the Europa Cup. Hotel Favila Oviedo itself is an excellent choice. It's a good place to stay for a couple of nights if you need a bit of luxury. It's also 100 metres from the train station if that is important, and opposite a bus stop for busses to the old churches.
I got up about 9.00am (as a result of downing the entire bottle of red wine that came with the meal of the day), had breakfast in the hotel's cafe then stepped outside, crossed the road to the bus stop and hopped on bus A2 up to the old churches of Santa Marie del Navranco and San Mighual de Lille. There appears to be a flat fare of €1.20 for a bus ride. The trip takes about 15 minutes and is uphill all the way. Bus A1 brings you back. They aren't that frequent but the one going up was worth it. You could walk back easily.
The city views with the mountains in the background were great. There is an info centre a five minute walk from the bus stop, which has some good info and videos in English. You then walk another five minutes to Santa Maria del Navanco and another five minutes to the other one. One lady both sells €3 tickets and does the tour, in Spanish only, and it all seems to be at random times. It's worth a quick visit but isn't overly thrilling. There was a school party of kids when I was there so it was very noisy.
After returning to Oviedo, I went on a general wander for a few hours, round one of the big parks, which was near McDonalds in the commercial area close to the hotel, then round the historical old quarter. There is no shortage of statues, and they are fun, and the buildings are interesting in places. I went to the market, to try out samples of cheese, and had a few coffees in cafes but got unlucky with slow wifi, so gave up and went back to the hotel for a siesta, just as the rain started falling.
Oviedo is nice enough for an afternoon but no more, unless you like shopping! I looked up a few daily blogs for the Primitivo and have the outline of a plan to get me there in about 11 or 12 days, before striking for Muxio and Finisterre (thanks Peregrina2000). I will aiming for Cornellana tomorrow, depending on the weather. Thankfully, it hasn't been as bad in the last five days as it was suggested in weather reports, and is due to get even better from Sunday. The rest day was welcome, but now it is time for the third Camino!