Coaching for Pizza: A Wandering Wednesday in Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

On my Facebook feed I get several posts from a site called simply "Villaviciosa . . . . . . . Gijón."

This site consistently posts beautiful photos from various cities in and around Gijón, often from the small, apple growing village of Villaviciosa.

With that in mind, I decided to make the journey to Villaviciosa about 30km/18 miles east of Gijón by bus.

But first, a reminder . . .

. . . "SIMON tinto de verano sabor

LIMÓN" is a wonderful adult beverage

Of course I was checking out

the architecture on my walk

Before starting my roadtrip, I headed to the downtown library to drop off a book and pick up my permanent library card.

I arrived about five minutes before the library opened so I . . .

. . . ducked into the open

church across the street

The Basilica del Sagrado Corazón is an absolute beauty!

When the library finally opened, they accepted my book return but my permanent library card was still not ready for me to pick up.

UCLA blue is a nice color

I had time before my bus left, so I entered

this bar across the street from the bus

station in search of nourishment

Bar downstairs, restaurante upstairs

The restrooms were upstairs as well.

Rule of the Road #1: Never pass on a free restroom.

I still had time to kill before my bus departed, so I explored.

Looks like we have one of those

axe throwing bars in Gijón

An interesting . . .

. . . award winning . . .

. . . butcher shop . . .

. . . with a virtuoso of a butcher it appears

They also sell produce

This bakery was tempting but I

somehow resisted

My bus awaited

It took us about 30 minutes to reach Villaviciosa via a highway that took us near beautiful wooded valleys.

We arrived at our destination that

is known for its apple production that

leads to a fine sidra industry too

"Hola amigo, how do I get back to the bus station?"

"Look for the green buildings."

"What green buildings?"

"Oh . . ."

Villaviciosa's Hall of Justice

There are lots of old buildings

in this pastoral village

Kids must love to play in this park

that today was taken over by . . .

. . . a Flea Market

Sketchy

These all looked like packages that were shipped to buyers but somehow did not reach them.

Addresses were blacked out and while you were allowed to hold and squeeze the contents, you could not open them before purchasing.

As I said, it all sounded a tad sketchy to me.

I did not buy one.

I could have purchased a used

saxophone though

If you need socks, I know a guy

Chestnuts or Ohio State Buckeyes?

Asturian sheep dogs, I believe

They were both friendly

Nice surroundings but you know

what, they may not be sheep dogs

Colors

What are these trimmed trees that

I see all over Asturias?

Cattle farming was big here once

The back of the Ayuntamiento

or City Hall

Peaceful

A beloved local painter

The Apple Trail

If you follow these arrows that are spaced at discreet distances, you will see all that Villaviciosa has to offer a visitor.

I started at this hat . . .

. . . full of, what else, apples!

Cool little fountain

Sidra pouring at its high altitude finest

The Ayuntamiento

Great city crest on an official vehicle

The inside of the Ayuntamiento

was as ornate as it should be

El Mercado

A beautiful building with a large open space inside but not much was for sale.

Still . . .

. . . the mushrooms looked good

These red fish caught my eye too

Iglesia de Santa María

dates from 1743

Crest mania continues

The Iglesia was gorgeous

in its simplicity

The Virgen de la Covadonga

side chapel was exquisite

A Holy Week Penitent . . .

. . . and a young one at that

Mary of the Immaculate Conception

Dr. Jose Pando y Valle

1860-1926

From Villaviciosa, he was one of Spain's greatest medical university teachers.

I have to leave before sundown

when this fellow comes out of hiding

If you keep driving east from Chicago,

Route 66 will bring you here it seems

I almost stopped in here for dinner

I had a hard time saying "NO"

The town is in the foothills

Once again, the Camino de Santiago's

beautiful symbol

A Pilgrim's Albergue

I have many fond memories of staying in albergues like this one when I walked the Camino de Santiago's French Route in 2010.

More chocolate temptations

Interesting marble statue turned

necklace display

Hola, Vanessa!

An OLD plaza

Emperor Carlos I of Spain as well as

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

1500-1558

Apparently, he spent some time here in Villaviciosa.

Cool looking building across from . . .

This museum that was, yet again,

free to enter

A model of the Emperor's fine sailing vessel

I would look so good in that period

correct outfit in the middle

It was a small exhibit but still worthwhile.

The Spain House is now a hotel

I just liked the look of this old bakery

Known as the Chapel Building

Known as Moss

I wonder how old this sign might be?

I entered this Mesón for a

thirst quenching beer

Chocolate seems to be hounding me today

The city's performing arts theater

La Manzanera

It was hard to see in the sunlight, it is a statue representing a young peasant woman carrying apples.

At the base of La Manzanera

we find several nice details . . .

. . . including another crest . . .

. . . and another young peasant woman . . .

. . . with uncomfortable, traditional

wooden shoes

In case you wondered about Villaviciosa's

elevation as compared to sea level

in Alicante

Iglesia de Santa María de la Oliva

This simple church dates from the 13th-century and is said to be the crown jewel of Villaviciosa's attractions.

It is considered to be architecturally transitional between the Romanesque and the Gothic styles.

Thousands of pilgrims walk right past it every year as they walk the Camino de Santiago's Northern Route.

Beautiful entry arch with . . .

. . . faceless saints on the left . . .

. . . and faceless saints on the right

The missing faces did not look to be weather eroded but rather direct act of violence.

I wonder if this happened during the non-clerical times of the left wing Republic in the 1930s that included the bloody Spanish Civil War?

Cool church wall carvings

Santa María de la Oliva's altar

The cross definitely stood out

These side door carvings were in tact

So were these

I found this nearly 800 year old church to be quite inspiring.

While sitting a pew in quiet Iglesia Santa María de la Oliva, I checked the bus schedule to see when the next bus back to Gijón left the bus terminal.

The answer was 2:00 p.m., just as the church bell rang twice.

O.K., when does the next bus leave?

4:00 p.m.

Time for more exploration.

It looks like this Fundación has

something to do with the apple

growing industry

I ventured out to the edge of the city

which was rich in beauty of itsown

Another Asturian fixer-upper

overlooking the river

To the right is the road to Infiesto,

the city where my Grandfather Evaristo

was born and raised

A reminder that I was getting

both thirsty and hungry

On an elementary school building

I believe it to be Miguel Primo de Rivera referred to on the plaque. He was a powerful, right-wing military and political leader in early 20th-century Spain.

His son, Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, was himself a strong right wing leader in the 1930s who founded the Falange Española Party that wanted to bring fascism to Spain.

How about lunch here?

They only had bocadillos, i.e., small sandwiches and I wanted more.

Passed this well mustached lion

as I continued my restaurante search

A banner about the Holy Week hoopla

museum in Villaviciosa that was closed

today when I walked past

This place looked good

Their menu of the day had

good options

I started with this traditional Asturian

bean and three meat soup called Fabada

It was delicious and warming on what was turning into a cooler late afternoon as rain clouds threatened.

The menu of the day included a bottle of locally produced sidra which is an apple based wine more or less.

The menu also offered me three choices for a first course, which was my fabada, as well as three options for a second course.

I opted for the chicken cachopo, which is a breaded chicken breast stuffed with cheese that also came with a side of French fries.

Dessert was included and an apple flan-like affair with whipped cream was the call.

I topped the meal off with a café cortado for the road.

As for that pesky bottle of sidra, I did not finish it but I did considerable damage!

The total cost of this sumptuous meal was 12 Euros, about $12.50 USD.

This sidreria was great!

Spain, WHAT A COUNTRY!

By now I had also eaten up most of the two hours before the next bus left for Gijón, it was time to amble back to those sedate green buildings near the bus terminal.

I ran into this "Ode to Cattle"

I arrived at the bus terminal

with about 15 minutes to spare

The 4:00 p.m. bus took a different route home through rich, lush, verdant valleys full of dense forests, contented farm animals and loads of quaint villages.

It took us about 15 minutes longer to get home than the more express-like route the bus took earlier today but it was well worth it in my opinion.

I learned long ago from photo taking guru, Jason Johnson, to not waste time trying to take photos of the countryside while in a moving vehicle, so you'll just have to take my word for it about the gorgeous landscape that we passed, sorry.

Back in Gijón, it was raining and I had to walk past the left-wing Socialist Party HQ building again to get home.