Tues. & Wed., January 7-8, 2025
This was supposed to be a fun post about my long set of flights to Spain and would have been until I got word from Laurie about another set of wildfires in Southern California driven by fierce Santa Ana winds.
Although we had a calm, smooth drive to the airport early on Tuesday, Laurie sent me a text message when she got back home that the Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas were all ablaze.
When I finally arrived in Gijón, I dashed off a text to Michael D'Antuono to make sure that he and his wife Susan, who we had brunch with on Sunday and have a beautiful home in Altadena, were safe from the fires.
Soon after, I got the a message back from Michael that they were both safe but they had lost their home in the firestorm.
Absolutely devastating news which hit hard.
Their now lost home of about 50 years was beautiful and held memories many wonderful soirées.
Heartbreaking.
As for my trip . . .
My first flight to chilly
Philadelphia was on time
This five hour and nine minute flight was a good one overall until we landed.
My legroom was livable
I had my usual aisle seat and was fortunate to have the middle seat unoccupied.
I only had a one hour and 27 minute layover before my next flight to Madrid took off.
Our plane arrived a bit early but as we got just a hundred yards from the gate we came to a halt. A disabled plane and several planes pulling away for takeoff were blocking our path.
We sat on the tarmac for 38 minutes. Once cleared to move, we were at our gate in less than a minute.
Then the cabin started to unload as slowly as possible making my connection tougher by the second.
Like those old O.J. Simpson Hertz car rental commercials where he ran through airports, I moved as fast as I could to my new gate aided greatly by the use of the many moving sidewalks in the airport.
I MADE IT!
An aisle seat with MUCH more legroom
This flight lasted six hours and 54 minutes and led to another sprint through this time the Madrid Airport for my next connection.
I had a 90 minute layover and memories of a long ago slow bus ride from one terminal to another at this airport worried me.
Little did I know that in the intervening years a high speed underground rail service had been added to the scene making the terminal-to-terminal trip much more efficient.
I got to my gate with plenty
of time to spare!
Nice architecture in Madrid's airport
Absolutely NO legroom on this flight
The two pluses were that no one was in the middle seat again and it being only a one hour and 15 minute flight.
As a final bonus, my one large suitcase that voyaged in the three different cargo holds made the transfers successfully with me.
Kike Prado Alonso, the Gijón Mariners President, met me at the airport and whisked me off to my new apartment.
After dropping off my bags, we walked about two short blocks to a great restaurant for lunch.
Tierra Asturias was the call
Traditional Asturias sidra bottles
turned into green ceiling lamps
It added to the authentic Asturian ambience of the meal.
Queso Cabrales is not for everybody
This local cheese favorite is best described as bleu cheese on steroids.
I loved it!
Great meal, GRACIAS KIKE!
Now as for my new neighborhood . . .
My apartment is on the ground
floor in the middle of this building
My apartment faces this beach
Nice weather for a walk today
Art at the beach is a nice touch
Boat like buildings
Back in the day, our beach area was a mecca for boat building, thus this architectural tribute to the area's history.
minutes from my apartment
An interesting artsy train engine
structure in front of . . .
. . . the Train Museum of Asturias
This site is only a five minute walk in the opposite direction of aquarium.
Cool building that houses the
Alimerka, my local supermarket
Arcades give clues to local
weather patterns
I have found over the years living in Europe that they signal a city in need of to cover for pedestrians from rainy and/or snowy conditions or from burning Summer Sun or both.
A good touch regardless of the reason.
A Clam Shell in the sidewalk
A reminder that the Northern Route of the Camino de Santiago runs through Gijón.
Located in the corner of my
apartment building
I will be trying it out tomorrow morning for a café con leche and a slice of tortilla Espanola.
As for Gijón Mariners doings . . .
The local newspaper ran this
article on Tuesday
It must have been a slow news day locally.
I had a good video phone call with the Mariners LB Coach Iván Canto in the evening in preparation for Thursday night's practice. It was a crucial talk as this is . . .
. . . GAME WEEK!
Rather sudden, but we open the 2025 Spanish Division I season at home this Saturday against the Coslada Camioneros from the Madrid area.
Things happen quickly around here!
Reading Is FUNdamental!
A fascinating read juxtaposing
Guglielmo Marconi's experiments
in wireless communications and a
gruesome murder in London
This was another great book recommended by Michael D'Antuono.
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