Where is Oviedo?

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matrixana_80

The city of Oviedo is situated in central Asturias at the foot of the Naranco sierra. It is a prosperous urban area with a rich, historical heritage. Oviedo is the capital of the Principality of Asturias, one of the 17 self-governing communities constitutionally forming the Kingdom of Spain, and the political, administrative, cultural and commercial center of the region. Most of the cityâ€™s Old Quarter is zoned for pedestrian traffic only, making it ideal for exploring on foot. Asturias is situated in the far northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The Cantabrian Sea forms its northern border and the Cordillera CantÃ¡brica its southern border. The climate is basically an Atlantic one, with mild temperatures and abundant rainfall all year round. There are three distinct regions within the principality. First, there are the mountains within the Cantabrian system where peaks rise to 8,000-foot summits in the Picos de Europa national park. A second area is one of inland sierras, narrow valleys, meadows and woodland descending from the mountains to the coasts and the third is the coastal area, with its rocky cliffs, beautiful beaches and estuaries. The area is a natural paradise, with opportunities for numerous outdoor sports, including sailing, biking, hiking, canoeing, horseback riding and skiing. Asturias has a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants, unevenly distributed throughout its seventy-eight concejos. The cities of GijÃ³n, Oviedo and AvilÃ©s are the most densely populated; GijÃ³n, a seaside resort with beautiful beaches, boasts 260,000 inhabitants. Oviedo has a population of 205,000.

ed_livingspain

easyjet now fly to Oviedo from London and and it is the capital of Spain's cider country.
In the centre of the old town one of the most popular rituals is ordering a bottle of sidra natural and having the waiter pour it, arm raised aloft, into a glass at knee level. Itâ€™s amusing to watch and great fun to try.
Etiquette demands that drinkers share just one carolino or glass and pour only a small quantity of cider into the glass so it froths up nicely, being sidra natural, itâ€™s not carbonated.
The secret is to stare nonchalantly at some vague point in the distance, never looking down at the glass, which is quite a feat in itself. It gets progressively more difficult, the more cider you drink, naturally.
On special occasions known as espichas the cider is drunk direct from the barrel; the knocking out of the bung producing a torrent of cider which is then caught in a glass.
The best places are easy to spot, look for the word sidrerÃa, they should be heaving with punters, with seriously overworked waiters and waitresses running around, mopping the sweat from their brows. Ideally, and this is of the utmost importance, your shoes should squelch as you move around the place. A very reassuring sound indeed!
You should try to visit as many sidrerias as possible in one session, so that bar owners pepe, paco and pepita all get a piece of the action. Well that seems to be the excuse for an extended bar crawl, as if an excuse is needed to prolong this extraordinary and unique experience.

PotBoy

in ASTURIAS somewhere in between cantabria and galicia

tranka007

asturias between cantabria and galicia.

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