Gijon

 

Gijon (pronounced Hee-hon) is on a very large and secure harbour in northern Spain. Part of the bay near where the cruise ship is docked is very industrial. Luckily there is shuttle bus into the center of town. 

Colleen and I were on different tours today. Hers left quite early, and mine was in the afternoon. So I had a relaxing start to my day, going up to the buffet for breakfast for the first time, then into the Art's Cafe for a cappuccino. It was rather foggy this morning, so a lot cooler, but by afternoon it was about 22C.

As my afternoon tour was mainly to the outskirts of the city, I decided to take the 15 minute shuttle into town. There is a lovely harbour promenade, and several large marinas. Because it's still morning most of the shops and restaurants aren't open. There are some lovely old buildings, and the Old Town has lots of narrow winding streets, and the buildings are mostly nicely restored and are apartments, restaurants or bars.

Cider is very popular here, and there is a "tree of life" made out of cider bottles on the promenade. I had a good look around, and really enjoyed the walk along the promenade. Then I took the shuttle back to the boat to change and have a quick sandwich before heading out on my included afternoon tour. This took us back through town, and along the beautiful beaches that I hadn't seen earlier. There are a few people in swimming, as it's turned into a beautiful day. We then drove up to a view point for a great view of the harbour, the city and the surrounding countryside. (this used to be a military site). We then drove to the Universidad Laboral, Spain's largest stone building. It was built in the mid 20th century, originally as an orphanage, and then as a school. Poor mining families could send their sons here for a free education so they could find a better life. (Franco had been having trouble with rebelling miners) It's now a University for tourism and economics. A very beautiful building.

That evening 5 of us went for dinner in the Silver Note, which is like a Jazz supper club. The menu has all smaller dishes, so you can try many things. The waiter suggested 4 choices and so I complied! A really lovely dinner with great conversation and music. We stayed until the singer stopped singing.









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