Time to return the rental car in the nearby town of Llanes.
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| Filling up before returning my little coche. |
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We pass through the town of Poo on our way to Llanes. We have gotten many juvenile chuckles out of the name of this town. We have see it written as above, as well as Po and Poó.
It was a rainy day but we thought we'd make the best of it and see what Llanes had to offer in the rain. Llanes is a popular tourist destination approximately twice the size of Ribadesella. There is a medieval town in the center, beach and harbor.
On the way to the tourist information center, in the medieval torre (tower), we found a few very interesting things.
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| These mannequins are a trip! We have the same ones in Ribadesella too. |
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| Complete with tongue stud! |
Next, the music school that we stumbled upon and into...this find changed our entire outlook on the rainy day. There was nothing to be lost by sitting in this practice room for an hour or so while August and Louis satisfied their cravings to play music.
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| finally, a piano....ahhh |
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| Louis' turn...August waits for another turn. |
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| Playing a piece with three hands. |
When August had gotten his fill of the piano, we moved on to find the tourist office and medieval town remains.
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| Gorgeous bougainvillea. |
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| Basilica de Santa Maria del Conceyu, the Gothic church dating back to 1240. |
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| Old meets ancient. |
A round-about trip and we finally found the torre and the tourist office, which ended up being of little to no help. Oh well...cool tower.
It was market day in Llanes so we make the circuit, wondering if we would find Clara, from our own market. She wasn't there but we did find some delicious fruit and nut tarts to take the edge off our hunger until the restaurants opened for lunch. When I was talking to the woman selling the tarts I thought she had a funny accent. I suspected and was correct; she is from England! At least I can hear when someone isn't a native Spanish speaker.
Time for lunch...
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| We've seen these two guys playing in Ribadesella on numerous occasions. |
Back to exploring the town after a big lunch, wine and coffee.
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| Louis' delivery truck. This "truck" is actually built around a scooter! This company also has a store in Ribadesella, which is where we like to buy Jamon Iberico (Iberian ham) from Juan Ramon. We love it. If you spoonerize his name you get Ron Jamon (ham)! Just a little bilingual word-play! |
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| "The cider" One of a series of plaques embedded in the streets of Llanes. |
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| "Los Cubos de la Memoria" (Cubes of Memory) by Agustín Ibarrola. Cubes of cement forming the port's breakwater were painted by Ibarrola, who calls them his most powerful work, changing the landscape of Llanes. |
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| No one on the beach today... |
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| Lighthouse and chapel of the guía in the distance gave me a goal to walk to. The boys were, of course, thrilled! Not. |
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| I always love a lighthouse! |
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| Rain-soaked path up the hill to the chapel of the guía. |
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| Charming private doorway, complete with wooden shutters. |
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| Capilla (chapel) de la Guía |
We walked in to see what the inside looked like. There was an elderly woman struggling to roll up a rug in the aisle. I asked if she needed help and August helped her finish the task. She was surprised and pleased. There had been a wedding in the chapel the day before so she was proud to show off the altar, still decorated with flowers. Just one more pleasant chance encounter in Spain.
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| Ceiling of the chapel |
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| The woman we met even turned on the lights around the virgin for us. |
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| The chandeliers in these chapels amaze me. |
Now it really was time to find the train station. But the sun was finally coming out and we couldn't resist dragging the boys up to the mirador for a walk along the cliffs. Really though, aren't they the ones with the young legs and endless energy?
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| A different take on Llanes with the sun shining. |
NOW, to the train station after a long day in Llanes.
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| Eating leftovers from lunch while waiting for the train. |
August was a bit sleepy on the way home....
While in Llanes we came upon a natural food store. The first we have seen in Asutrias. In fact the owner said there were few outside of Oviedo and Gijón. Along with some chocolate for Isabel, we bought a couple of German beers. Once home, we sampled them. Yum!
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| This one was my favorite. |
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| Hemp beer. Tasted like any other hop-heavy ale. |
