We left this travelogue, with me in a supermarket car park, rejoining my transport for the trip to Oviedo. While “avoiding tolls and motorways” has been the route choices, on this occasion we took the motorway as there is boulder in the middle of the N road apparently and getting round it makes your heart rate go to unacceptable levels!
We found a park up on the edge of the city and me a hotel close by and then set off for the city centre by train.
My first impressions of the city were very favourable, with lots of photogenic churches, parks and statues and that feeling stayed and was enhanced over the three days I visited it.
Churches. Spain being a catholic country has lots of beautiful churches and Oviedo was no exception. The first one that I came across was the Basilica of St John the Real. The current church was completed in 1915, but as with a lot of such churches there have been acts of worship in this place for many years and this site goes back to AD 862, when Alphonso III “the Great” built an alter dedicated to San Juan Bautista. So St John the Real refers to John the Baptist, not the writer of the gospel. As the photos show it is very ornate and the lights after dark are particularly effective in showing off the edifice.
The second great church in the city is the Cathedral of San Salvador or the Cathedral of Oviedo and I spent time both looking at from the outside over lots of different occasions and also took a tour of the church itself. It’s a destination for pilgrims and the architecture is in the image of the Jerusalem of heaven as per the Apocalypse. The area behind the main alter is made up of a number of floor to ceiling gold embossed scenes and they are remarkable both in their detail and the images they portray. The architecture of the outside is also stunning and can be viewed from many different angles and from across the city.
Parks. The main park in Oviedo is 22 acres in the centre of the city. The website says that there are 955 species and I’ll take their word as I lost count after a while!! That 955 is made up of 51 different species and 100 varieties. The oldest trees are 300 year old oaks and the tallest is a shade banana tree at 40 metres, although I saw a giant redwood that also looked pretty tall! It’s just bursting with nature is therefore just a great place to walk, think and have a go on the outdoor gym!
Statues. Oviedo has lots and of differing varieties, styles and size. Most are classical in subject, famous locals, animals and thought provoking images but they also include one of Woody Allen 🤷♂️. There is one of Malfada sat on a bench, who is there in part as a tribute to her creator, Joaquin Salvador Lavado Tejón “Quino” and is the twin of another statue installed in Buenos Aires. Finally there is one of some naked people which is better viewed from the back than the front!
I enjoyed my time in Oviedo and this is just a snap shot of my days there and yesterday i do know that a snap shot is meant to be brief!!
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