11.02.23 — Travel

From Madrid to Gijón

My last blog post saw me down for one last visit to my auntie and uncle’s place before they sell up and move back to the UK, but I’m already back with another little trip. This time I’m headed to the opposite side of the country, up north and to the coastal city of Gijón. I mentioned before Christmas that my friends Bogar and Javier were in the last throes of organising their move up to Gijón, so this trip was going to be my first chance to see them in their new home!

In order to reach the city I rushed out of work on Friday and sped up to Moncloa, a transport interchange just ten minutes walk from my office. There I was picked up by Juan, who was the driver for my car share up to Asturias. I got chatting to another passenger on the way up who told me how he’d worked in a theatre all his life, first as an actor and then in set design and production. It reminded me of my days back working at Burnley Youth Theatre, where we were always up to all sorts of stuff.

We arrived in Gijón much earlier than expected which caught Cami, my hostess with the mostess for the weekend, completely off guard. I unpacked the few bits I’d brought with me whilst she finished off organising, then the two of us grabbed a taxi up to the beach in order to meet Bogar and Javier for a meal.

After some drinks at the bar, the four of us were given a table and the shenanigans began. I’d had a very long day between work and the long journey up and I knew that Bogar and Javier had to run some errands the next day, so I’d naturally assumed that it’d be a quiet and early night. Boy, was I wrong!

Once tipsy off the natural sidra (cider) which is typical of the region, Javier mentioned that we should go out partying as the plans they had for the next day had been put on hold. We’d had some great food, drinks, and laughs, so it didn’t take much convincing for us to end up in a bar that Javier knew the owner of. There we enjoyed some delicious frozen raspberry daiquiris before heading out to boogie at a couple of clubs.

My favourite bit was the huge marshmallow on top.

Needless to say that I did not get the early night I had envisioned, but we had an absolute blast. There was some great music, great drinks, and it was so nice to have Cami meet Bogar and Javier now that the three of them live together in the same city. The downside of all this was that the next day me and Cami were absolutely exhausted, so we stayed around the house pretty much all day besides a quick trip out to grab some pet food for Luke, Cami’s dog.

On Sunday we were right as rain once more. We headed out in the afternoon to Bogar and Javier’s place, a gorgeous flat near the beach that the two of them moved into back in December. After a tour around, we wound up in a nearby bar for an afternoon tipple which soon turned into a long afternoon of bar hopping.

The next day was a Monday and so I found myself back at work, only remotely from Cami’s living room. I managed to snag an hour for lunch and Cami and I tried out a sidrería near her house. The word sidrería means somewhere that cider is served, but it’s common for the restaurants in the region to be named as such. After all, it is Asturias: cider is served everywhere!

After a delicious meal of chicken soup, barbecued meats, and rice pudding, we headed back home so that I could finish off my working day. Once I’d signed off, Cami accompanied me down to a nearby car park where I said my goodbyes as I hopped in the car share back to Madrid.

I must say I had an absolutely fabulous time up in Gijón with Cami, Bogar, Javier, and friends. We were quite spontaneous with our plans, which I think is always the best way to take on little trips like this. I have to thank Cami for graciously putting me up at her place once again and I look forward to crashing at Bogar and Javier’s place at some point just as soon as they have the guest room up and running!

Now back in the capital, I’ve been back to my familiar routine of work, swimming, and socialising. As I haven’t really stopped recently, I’ve decided to take a few weekends off from travelling or making big plans. This weekend all I seem to be doing is cleaning the house and organising myself a bit, which is fine by me for the time being!

Here’s a vanity selfie of me enjoying the sun whilst suffering the cold.

This means that things will probably be slow here on my blog, but do not fear, as I’ve a few other posts in mind that I’d like to put together to share some other photos and stories from the recent past. Stay tuned!