Thursday, March 27, 2025
What a busy, fruitful and rewarding day in beautiful Gijón, Asturias, España!
It all started with a brisk stroll down the La Playa de Poniente boardwalk and marina for an interview about life with the Mariners in 2025.
We both loved the Poseidon markings . . .
. . . on these two boats in dry dock
These fish are "Happy to Compete"
Hopefully, the Mariners (1-6) will be too on Saturday at home against the Osos Rivas (4-3).
Gaudi-like mosaic art
Breakfast art
We were about 15 minutes early for the interview, so we ducked into a café two doors down from our meeting spot for a quick shot of café con leche courage.
We entered the WAX (Work Arena Xixón) Co-Operative Work Center at precisely 11:00 a.m. as scheduled.
My interview was with Paula who is a dynamo of energy with deep ties to the Gijón Mariners.
Paula was the one doing
the interviewing with . . .
. . . Alberto her boss on the left and
a few others recording and watching
Paula's expert grilling of the subject
WAX is one of the many businesses in Gijón that financially supports the Mariners' project.
We went on for about an hour before this initial and truly cordial interview ended. We covered all things possible with the state of the Mariners' program in particular and with what the future may hold for American football in Spain in general.
One of the men watching our interview writes for a newspaper in Madrid. After Paula's interview was finished, this reporter asked if he could interview me as well with some related questions that came to his mind that had not been asked of me yet.
After ten more engaging minutes of interaction, our morning round of interviews was finally at an end.
Paula asking co-workers at Wax
to attend Saturday's game
After our round of interviews, Paula wanted me to meet with another of the Mariners' sponsors.
Crooklyn specializes in selling
repurposed athletic clothing . . .
. . . including NFL jerseys
He gave us some excellent insights into what he believes the Mariners need to do in the future to grow in a positive direction.
No, I did not buy that vintage Rams' jersey that I was holding.
Once finished with Mariners support issues, we were going to lunch. Paula said that she had a great spot for us to try.
So we did.
Along the way we spotted architecture . . .
. . . in mixed conditions
This was the spot,
Ciudadela
The Menú sounded good to me
Their carta, listing all that they
had to offer, was extensive
Before leaving us to attend yet another meeting, Paula, who of course knew the owner, asked him if the two of us could dine in the impressive cavern below the restaurant today.
"Sí."
All but one other customer remained upstairs in the main dining area to enjoy their delicious lunches.
The Serene, Rustic Cavern
It had lots of nice touches
Laurie was excited to try their fish
It would be the Menú for me
The caramelized onion and
meat starter was amazing!
So were our two wines
This wild boar meat stew was
as good as I hoped it would be
Laurie was over the moon
for her grilled fish dish
My fall-off-the-bone main dish was
INCREDIBLE!
Light playing with my wine
Ciudadela's food, drink and ambience were all top notch.
Our waiter was equally as good in turning a simple meal into a remarkable memory, especially with his . . .
. . . wine suggestions
We needed to walk a tad more to allow our digestive systems to do their work.
Egyptian art in Gijón
Start EVERY day with a Croissant
No argument here.
If it had wine,
Laurie was ALL IN!
Gijón architecture never bores me
Nice name for a digestive drink
In the evening, it was back to work . . .
The schedule for the final week
of the 2025 Serie A season
As always, the Universidad Laboral
de Gijón standing guard over
our practice field
Post-operation OT Moha
was IN THE HOUSE!
It was great to see him in such good spirits after breaking his leg in our Las Rozas Black Demons game two weeks ago.
A light turnout for our Youth Flag team
We had a really great practice tonight
with our Senior Tackle eleven
It was our final hard practice of the campaign with only a light one hour walk-through practice scheduled for Friday night.
Despite all of our problems this season, the mood was upbeat, competitive and a true joy to experience.
It was Thursday which meant, with sadness, that it was also our last post-practice dinner gathering with Kike . . .
. . . and the ever hilarious Edu
Tonight we ate at a great place with
over 50 years of history serving great
hamburgers to the citizenry of Gijón
The burgers were TOP-NOTCH!
I wish that I had known about this great little hole-in-the-wall spot back in January.
When we got back into Kike's car with Gijón historian Daniel Castañon, a.k.a. DaCa, riding shotgun, I asked the simple question as to where exactly the famed statute known as the Monumento a la Madre del Emigrante or the Monument to the Mother of the Emigrant.
DaCa said that for his money this is the best, most meaningful statue in all of Gijón if not Asturias.
Why tell us where it was located when we could just drive to it?
Good logic, Kike.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
there were may sons and daughters who
emigrated to the New World from Asturias
This sad Mother of one of those
emigrants bidding a sad farewell
The odds were that she would never see her child again.
This statue overlooks the sea
and has a pocket that is replenished
with fresh flowers by random people
It made me think of what my two great-grandmothers, who I never met, must have felt when their beloved Evaristo and Catalina decided to emigrate to Cuba in the 1920s.
The view of Gijón that this statue
observes 24/7/365
We then drove farther up the hill
to see a recently rediscovered trench
from the Spanish Civil War days
The bunker on the left is believed to date back to the Spanish War of Independence from Napoleonic France (1808-1814).
What an AMAZING Day
with so many GREAT people!
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