Oviedo is a city of about 225,000 people in the province of Asturias in northern Spain. Oviedo was settled around the 8th century and soon after a rich architectural tradition began with the construction of palaces, churches, cathedrals, monastery’s and the like.
I flew from Biarritz, France to the Asturias airport (via Madrid) about 50km from Oviedo. I found the taxi to be a bit pricey at about 60 Euro but did not have many options. Weather was sunny and warm about +23c, the drive was scenic with rolling hills, valleys, lots of lush green vegetation, dotted with towns along the route.
I stayed at a small, stylish boutique hotel The Princesa Munia in the heart of the city which was an ideal location. The room was small but I was in an old building and in the city centre so I was not expecting a huge spacious room. The hotel is literally a few minutes walk from the Oviedo Cathedral which is known as the Cathedral of San Salvador, and plaza area which contains numerous heritage buildings, monastery’s, convents, churches, along with small cafe’s, tapas bars and sidrerias (the place to drink cider…I will get to this later) and of course lots of shopping.
The Cathedral of San Salvador was founded by King Fruela I of Asturias in 781AD http://catedraldeoviedo.com/en/
I have seen a lot of Cathedrals in many countries and although they are all impressive considering their construction, the Oviedo Cathedral ranks high on my list for classic gothic architecture in addition there also remain earlier romanesque relics in various locations of the structure. The building is also a UNESCO world heritage site. Probably the most famous relic held inside the Cathedral is the Sudarium of Oviedo. “Sudarium” is a shroud and this particular piece is supposed to be the shroud that wiped Jesus after the crucifixion; there are no images on the cloth but stains are visible that have been analyzed to be blood https://www.shroud.com/guscin.htm
As I walked around the cluster of buildings near the cathedral I saw a number of weddings both in the afternoon and the evening. Two ceremonies I passed were going on inside the old cathedrals in one of the side chapels so although the doors were closed, there was still enough of an opening to peek through and see what was going on. Others I passed as the wedding party was coming out of the churches walking down the stairs or into a plaza filled with tourists and members of the wedding party (I guess I could have been a wedding crasher but decided against it).
I had read a number of things online about the Cathedral and cluster of buildings and came across a number of comments about the Monastery of San Pelayo http://catedraldeoviedo.com/ which is a cloistered convent for the Order of Benedictine nuns. Apparently these nuns have made CD’s of gregorian chants and have amazing voices. They have vespers (evening prayer) each night which is open to the public and they sing vespers. So I decided to check it out. As Oviedo is along the camino trail enrolee to Santiago de Compostela I expected a horde of pilgrims but there were only about 10 of us and no-one looked like a hiking pilgrim. We sat in the front chapel and a few minutes before 7pm a sister came into the chapel and asked us to come to the back area behind the chapel where there were two levels of wooden seats lining each side of the room, and the sisters sitting towards the back on each side, and whom I assume was Mother Superior and another senior nun, sitting at the back facing the whole room. We sat on each side towards the front. It reminded me a little of an old British courtroom, not sure how else to describe it. I could not take any photos inside.
They began to sing and I must say it was pretty amazing. I am guessing, but I would say the average age of the 20 or so nuns was about 60 years old but the sound of their voices had me guessing again.
It lasted about 30 minutes then I went on my way, passing another wedding group just coming out of a church, musicians playing outside in the plaza, a few tourists wandering around and the locals starting to come out for coffee and maybe think about eating dinner which is usually not until 9pm or later. The Rialto pastry shop was open http://www.confiteriarialto.com/en and very busy and I could not resist getting something sweet. I think it was a Carbayone and it was worth it. It was worth it just to gaze at the window display which was full of pastries and sugary things made into ants of various pastel colours carrying pastries – very unique.
As I continued my evening stroll I came upon a sidreria which is a cider bar. Yes, from the convent straight to the bar!
Asturian cider and especially in Oviedo, is well known for these establishments and the manner in which they pour it. When one goes into a sidreria one does not order a cider and sit and sip it. Oh no. There is a whole ritual involved.
I ventured inside. Still early so there were not too many people. Ordered a cider…..a bottle with about a liter of cider is placed in front of me. Oh no, I say….poco poco I was only planning on a little bit. Nope. So he pours me a glass – you get maybe a few hundred ml per pour and you have to drink it all. Immediately. I guess it’s part of the aeration involved in the pour. No problem, I’m a small town girl I can down it in one drink. Nice and cold, tasty and only a few percent alcohol so I would be able to make it back to my hotel! But the best part of the whole cider experience is the pour. They lift the bottle in one hand and stretch their arm high above their head, and in the other hand is the glass, held with the arm stretched below their waist. And they pour…into the glass….from about 4 feet (depending how tall your bartender is 🙂 ). It’s great just to watch them!
The next morning was back to the airport and then onwards to Santiago de Compostela as I continued my journey westward in the north.
Hasta luego amigos!