I thought the Metro was just a Boston thing so imagine my surprise when I found this in Oviedo:
PIC TO COME
Bonus: I could actually read it, so I did.
7-15: hiked to Sagrado Corazón de Jesús August 14, 2008
This is a statue that is on Naranco Mountain. From the street, it doesn’t look so hard to get to, but then you realize that this is what you’re working with:
Note how there is no sidewalk and that drivers are insane. It was frightening, but totally worth it. We hiked for roughly 2 hours until finally, we climbed about a 70 degree incline and… were still not at the top. We had to cross through this park:
Finally…
7-13: went to Semana Negra’s carnival August 14, 2008
Semana Negra is sort of a cultural fair held in Gijon. Gijon is roughly a 20-ish minute bus ride from Oviedo. Gijon is right on the water and it is this adorable little town. In addition to the literary stuff that goes along with Semana Negra, they also have a carnival with rides and cotton candy. The haunted house has the best name ever:
Temple of Bad
I didn’t go in because I am a wimp and afraid of the dark, but I hear it was horrible. I did go on the ferris wheel though:
This is the view: 
It is nice to know that even Spain has carnies.
7-12: inadvertently crashed a wedding August 14, 2008
In Spain, there is a church roughly every ten feet. I was inside one church (this one to be exact: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Cathedral) looking around and feeling peaceful when this wedding started. WHAT??? There was no warning or anything. So I scooted to the side and hit the road, but not before taking this picture:
7-11 bonus: saw Sex and the City August 14, 2008
I am sure you will find this hard to believe, but I had never seen Sex and the City until this evening. The movie came out here, so a few of us went. It was in Spanish, so I am not sure I got everything, but I got the gist (jist? I never know.) How could I have missed out on this cultural phenomenon? Easy- I didn’t have HBO at the time and by the time I got it, the show was already in its last season so what’s the point of picking it up then. That said, I did enjoy this movie even if I had no idea what the backstory was. I hated the ending though, which I won’t tell you about just in case you haven’t seen it and plan to, but I understand that if you were a fan of the show, you might feel differently about the ending. BONUS: They sell beer at the movies in Spain! Party! 
7-11: screwed up my blog August 14, 2008
See previous entry regarding this issue. Note: I did write and email myself all of these blogs while I was in Spain, I just wasn’t able to post them.
7-10: L’auberge espagnole August 14, 2008
This is a Spanish movie set in Barcelona where a guy from Paris comes and moves into this crazy apartment. It is quite entertaining and I understood quite a bit considering that even the subtitles were in Spanish. Check it out if you get a chance.
7-9: Telepizza August 14, 2008
First let me state that the delivery drivers zoom around on scooters with pizzas on the back- awesome. Secondly, I must tell you that I did not get delivery but I did watch with amazement as they drove off down the sidewalk. I got a chicken and ham pizza which sounds weird but was actually quite delicious. We also ordered a cheese pizza and were surprised to discover that it has blue cheese on it, which isn’t bad, but does shock the senses if you aren’t expecting it. Telepizza is what I equate to the Spanish version of Dominos. I understand that they have Pizza Hut in Spain, but have yet to see one.
7-8: drank Mahou August 14, 2008
Of course being the idiot that I am, I requested a “Ma-H-ou” completely forgetting that the “h” is silent in Spanish. The bartender had no freaking idea what I was talking about so I had to do some gesturing and pointing. He politely told me that it is pronounced, “Mauw.” Now I know. It is pretty good, but the beer here is so heavy and so strong… I am jonesing for a Bud Light! haha As I was looking for this picture, I came across a Japanese dictionary website which lists the word mahou as meaning:
1. sorcery, magic, or witchcraft
2. magic
You learn something new every day. Now I can count to ten in Japanese and also say, “magic!”
