HIRE ME!

If anyone in Veguin or Oviedo area sees my friends the Chus brothers Please tell them TO GIVE ME A JOB in Asturias. I will work for Cider and Empanada from Casa Ortea!

Si alguien en Veguin o Oviedo ve a uno de mis amigos, los hermanos Chus que les digan que por favor ME DEN UN TRABAjO en Asturias vendiendo electrodomesticos. Me pueden pagar en sidra y en empanada de Casa Ortea!

Con Goyo y Luis en Bueño.

Navidad con mis Primos 2010

With the arrival of Autumn, I am starting to get homesick again for my adopted home Asturias. I love the cozy feeling of winter in Northern Spain. The constant rain brings more people indoors to the bars to socialize and the bars offer a different fare in winter.  Hot wine served with fig, caldo de la casa,(soup of the house) and roasted or boiled chestnuts to name a few. I miss the smell and homeyness of a coal cook-stove warming the kitchen where everyone gathers.I miss my many cousins, uncles and aunts. This is a photo taken last Christmas Eve/Day in Bar Corea with my husband Miguel, cousins Vicen, Berto, me and Jose Luis.

Niños de Veguín

 In 2007 my son Tanner had a wonderful summer hanging out with his amigos from Veguin. Before he left for the United States the kids presented him with a Nike soccer ball signed by his new friends. He has it still in his bedroom reminding him of his Asturian amigos more then 5,000 miles away.

En el año 2007 mi hijo Tanner pasó un verano inolvidable con sus maravillosos amigos de Veguín. Antes de que se marchase de vuelta a los Estados Unidos, sus amigos le regalaron un balón de fútbol Nike firmado por todos sus nuevos amigos. Tanner tiene este balón en su habitación y siempre le recuerda de sus amigos asturianos a 8000 kilómetros de distancia.

¡Qué calor hace en Kansas¡

Words can not describe just how hot it is here in Kansas right now. Day after day the actual temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with the heat index as high as 118 F. I simply can not describe just how eff-ing miserable life is here. People of Asturias Spain be thankful for ye wondrous climate, for it is good. -Photos: San Lorenzo Beach, Gijón, Asturias, Spain-

Palabras no pueden describir el calor que hace aquí en Kansas ahora mismo. Llevamos varios días con temperaturas alcanzando y sobrepasando los 40 grados, con sensaciones térmicas cercanas a los 50 grados centígrados. Es imposible describir el calor que hace. La gente de Asturias debe de estar agradecida por su maravilloso clima. (Fotos de la Playa de San Lorenzo, Gijón, Asturias, España)

Un paseo por Bueño

My very good friend Goyo picked me up in his Citroën after breakfast yesterday. Our mission was to seek out a cider bar that was in a Spanish movie filmed in this area. The movie is" Ashes from the Sky".....anyway we never really found the actual bar but we DID drink a lot of cider! I am so glad I remembered my camera, as you can see from the photos below... you don't walk through villages like this every day!  

Monjas en la Playa

San Lorenzo Beach in Xixon

Gulpiyuri Beach

If you ever get a opportunity you will not regret it. Pull your car off the asphalt road on the way into Llanes and hike the 100 meters or so through the fields...just follow the smell of the sea, and make sure you have a camera.

no para la venta !!

bueno pinchos, malo camareru

The first time I visited this so called sideria I liked it. I ate grilled sardines fresh from the sea and my waiter , after discovering I was American wasted no time in proclaiming "Bush fucked you good, yes?" I felt an immediate fondness for this waiter as he talked. And Talked. And Talked....I did notice however that he refused to pour my sidra opting instead for a mechanical device saved for tourists. OK that irked me a little .... I don't pay taxes but I don't consider myself a tourist.
On my second visit here I noticed again that the locals were all drinking glasses of wine, but as I loooove sidra so much I ordered a bottle. Yet again I was given the stupid mechanical device shaped like a plastic apple and powered by a battery to squirt sidra into my glass. Unlike my last visit I now found him full of hot air, shit and himself. On a positive note..... this place has awesome pinchos and tapas! Unusual morsels like dates stuffed with almonds and wrapped in bacon. Mussels cooked a variety of ways, hot and cold seafood tidbits....This summer I do plan to patronize this bar again. I hope that the waiter in question has moved on to another vocation in life. No matter I guess there is an excellent chance I too will be drinking wine like the regulars.

Catch of the day

My husband Miguel took this photo and I love it!
Fisherman unloading the day's catch in Aviles Spain.

Menu de Comida Asturiana

So you find yourself in Asturias and have a craving for fresh seafood! I recommend the coastal village of Luanco. Not as touristy as other coastal locals, you can get fresh seafood as cheap as anywhere I have seen before. The prices listed are in Euros, tax included and Spanish waiters do not work for tips like we do in the USA.

Parrocha= Sardines

Chipirones= Whole Baby Squid

Calamares= Squid

Mejillones=Mussels

Pulpo= Octopus

Gambas Plancha=Grilled shrimp

Almejas= Clams

Fritos Bacalao= Fried Cod

Llampares= Goose neck Barnacles

Navajas=Razor Clams

Bigaros= Ocean Snails

Every year I tell myself that this will be the year I finally try snails! ........ to date I still haven't tried them yet. My plan is definitely set for 2009.....

My friends of Veguin

Please meet some of my friends that I spend time with every summer. I can tell you that I am always so happy to see these people and it is always sad to have to say good-bye.

Starting from the left is Almodovar. He is an auto body painter, loves all foods and plays cards almost every evening in Bar Corea with the same partners.

Berto is in the middle. Berto and I have 2 things in common , food and drink. We have long conversations about Spanish and American wines. Berto loves seafood but does not care much for meat and hates cheese!

Yoli is a co owner of Bar Corea. Kids adore her and vie for her attention. Yolie is one of my most curious friends about life in the United States and endlessly asks questions about my life here. She is usually Almodovar's card partner and Berto and he wait patiently while she pours cider and draught beer for the bar patrons in between hands. Unlike me Yolie hates Sidra.

Somebody drink a sidra for me because I miss it sooo much!

Puxa Asturias, Puxa Veguin!

Somewhere in Asturias....

The village blacksmith talking on his cell phone.

Guapa

Hola everyone, its me. Jannis.

May is an incredibly busy month for our family here in the Estados Unidos. Between all of us we go to five different schools, that's chaotic itself without all the end of school parties, ceremonies, tests, field days and so on and so fourth! School is almost over here in Kansas. Exactly five more days.YEE-HAW!!!!!!

I have been busy making final preparations for our stay in France. I found two reasonably priced hotels in Paris. My god that seems to be an expensive city. I even went all out and got rooms with private bathrooms. I am staying in this hotel in Julyhttp://www.1-hotel-paris.com/ and this hotel in June http://www.hoteldenevers.com/. I have purchased plane tickets , train tickets and bus tickets. Now I need to get busy and start working my second job waiting tables. Or I will be washing dishes in Paris if I want to eat! I am working this weekend, I figure it being mothers day weekend I should be able to cash in on tips with my fellow mothers!

By the way, this little bonita stole my heart in Oviedo Asturias Spain when I spied her at a fiesta trotting down the street clicking her castanuelas. I asked her papa if I could take her photo and he replied " If you can catch her!"

Asturian Casa/ Asturian Horreo

On one of my many hikes through Asturias over the years I came across this little gem of a home. How handy to have your barn sitting right on top of your house. I cant say I have seen this before or since!

I remember the day I saw this I wanted so badly to meet the family that lived there. Maybe this year I will summon the courage to knock and introduce myself.....

Something tells me that a large /overweight sweaty Americana grinning like an idiot will not impress this family! I will let you know.

The Life Solitude

My cousin Lobo is so cool. He is one of those rare guys that everybody likes! Lobo knows every hidden mountain path, every creepy cave, every lonely beach and most importantly every wonderful wacky bar. I love going places that few people get to visit. The top of this mountain was just that place. I remember that the sun was shinning strong at the base of the mountain and when we finally got to the top it was raining and so cc cold! In the distance I saw a mountain man milking a cow and I thought what a life of solitude, I would at least need a small village to socialize with.

La Paloma Cafeteria, Oviedo Asturias

Vermouth, its whats for breakfast in Spain. Keep in mind that Spaniards don't get up as early as Americans. (as a rule) But somehow Spaniards do not sleep near as much as Americans. I guess that there is just to much to do and when you live in Spain you can sleep when you are dead. This is my most favorite place in all Asturias to drink mid morning vermouth. La Paloma. I have been coming to this bar for Five years now and every day its the same two men tending the bar. I wish I knew their names. They are the most efficient and happiest workers I have ever met in my life. I am sure that these men are the reason customers pack this bar several times a day standing shoulder to shoulder . It is here that businessmen and businesswomen come out of their offices for a mid morning vermouth and a tapa of Spanish tortilla, snails, mussels or giant deep fried shrimp. The barrel in the right foreground is where the homemade vermouth is poured for the thirsty customers. Several years ago Miguel and I purchased a bottle to bring back to Kansas. Its loooong gone, but I still have the bottle to look at when I get homesick.......... OK I'm officially homesick!

This is home

Once again I am sorry for my absence. I am sure that all three of you that read my blog missed me! Today's post is the best that I could come up with. My adopted home. Asturias Spain. (Green Spain) Its roughly the size of the State of Connecticut, with a population of a bit over one million. Asturias is one of the last remaining Principality's of the world. My friend Candid Karina is from Portugal next door. (Karina , please show me/us where you are from)

This summer my husband and I plan on spending a few days in either Portugal or Southern France, both are pretty close. Where would you go?

Wordless Wednesday