Reflections on Oviedo

It's been about a month now since we said goodbye to Oviedo. From Oviedo we spent a few days in Barcelona, several in Alsace, and also in Paris. I'll do some quick posts about that soon. But I wanted to jot down a few more detailed reflections about our time in Oviedo before too much time passed. It's been a bit hectic since getting back to the US, so I've already been delayed more than I had hoped.

In total, we lived in Oviedo for about two months. We knew when we went that it was a medium sized city in the northern part of Spain. We thought we had a decent apartment in a good location, and we thought we'd be able to live pretty comfortably in Oviedo. All of this was true. All of it and more. It was a delightful place to live and work. I'm very sad that I don't know whether we'll ever have a chance to return again. I sure hope we can figure out a way.

So what was it about Oviedo that we loved so much? I think the easiest way to summarize the many many things we loved about Oviedo is to say that it has the feel of a quiet small town with the amenities of a big city. We were fortunate to live in a pedestrianized area of the city. So cars were rarely around. The LL could walk all over the place with little concern about traffic. Even outside the pedestrianized zone the traffic was very calm. This in itself helped the place to feel very peaceful and comfortable. But there were so many things to do as well.

One of our favorite things in Oviedo was the San Francisco park. This was about 10 minutes from our apartment. It was a beautifully manicured and maintained park. It had beautiful grass. It had a great playground. It had a duck pond where we saw baby swans born over the course of the summer. It had a cafe. And it had plenty of paved walking paths. It was a great city park, and we used it all the time. It was so wonderful to have that park nearby.

Another favorite for us in Oviedo was the central market, where the LL and I went about every other morning to get at least some small item. They had fresh milk from local cows. They had great cheese. They had fabulous meats. There was an olive stand (olives are a favorite of the LL, and she always got a good free sample at the olive stand). The fruits and vegetables were abundant. The seafood was amazingly fresh. And, best of all, we were always very well treated at the market. Our meat and cheese store was called El Campu la Llera. This was probably our most common stop. The lady running the store (Mercedes) took an immediate interest in the LL. On our first visit, she let the LL have a sample of jamon iberico de cebo (low grade iberico but still the best I had ever tasted, and not cheap). The LL loved this, and Mercedes took note. Whenever we visited, the LL always got a small portion of some sliced meat to take along. Mercedes loved that the LL enjoyed her products so much, and greeting Mercedes at least every other day became one of the rhythms of life in Oviedo. On our last trip to this stand, we let Mercedes know that we would be leaving the next day. It was amazing. She began to cry, saying that she had hoped to see the LL grow up. We'll be able to connect on Facebook but it won't be the same. That sort of connection is special. And we will miss it.

The LL with Mercedes at the Cheese and Meat Stand

And then there is just the general atmosphere of Oviedo. The city is comfortable. It is very proper and the people are polite. Not always nice, but always polite. The streets are swept multiple times per day (or so it seems). There are no trash dumpsters. A service puts out trash cans at 8:30 and picks them up at 11 every night. The old section of town is incredibly quiet and beautiful and full of fantastic architecture. The newer parts of town are modern and well-designed. Every place in town seems like it would be a convenient place to live, with schools, stores, restaurants, and playgrounds nearby. It is a proud city, full of cultural celebrations. The museums are free, and very nice. Not world class, but very good regional museums. The restaurants are good and plentiful. There are plenty of terraces to sit and enjoy a drink or a meal. It is downright pleasant.

Would I put Oviedo on the top of a bucket list for tourism? No. But it is a great place to live. Many great tourist destinations are described as good places to visit, but bad places to live. It is just the opposite with Oviedo. We had a wonderful apartment. We were able to live very comfortably and inexpensively. Child care was abundant and easy to manage. The LL found plenty of fun things to do. It was a happy place to live for a couple of months. While I'm sure the weather during winter would be much less enjoyable, it was a great place to spend part of a summer. We'll never forget it. And I really hope we can make a return visit.