A XiXon Al Tostaderu

We've had some really good weather in the north lately, and have been laying out in the sun near the river. Sam even goes as far as to wear her bathingsuit. I break out shorts and a tank top and we inevitably get stared at. Really stared at. I've decided that the people in Leon don't dress for the weather, they dress for the season. So. Since it's not techically summer yet, they don't dare switch over their wardrobe and put on sandals and show a little leg. We had enough of the stares, so we chose a place where wearing tanktops or even a bathingsuit is considered pretty modest. In fact, we were overdressed at the beach in our bikinis. If you know what I mean. Here's a new sign near the pier in Gijon. We had to stand in line to get photos. Truth.

Here's Sarah collecting shell (fragments) and sand which she will attempt to illegally smuggle back into the US of A. I hope the TSA people aren't fans of my blog, or I just gave her away.

This is the bridge and the bay that turns into a mini river. This spot is called "El Tostaderu" in Asturian, and with good reason. The world means "The Toaster" and no matter the wind on the rest of the beach, this spot is always sun-worshiper worthy. Its mini climate is nearly always conducive to tanners as long as there is sun out. We had braved the regular stretch of beach for a while, but once Sam put her towel on top of her for warmth, we knew it was time.

This is about when I saw two lovely, well-dressed men walking towards Sarah and I from the other end of the beach. It was my very favorite Spanish man, Jaime, and his lovely boyfriend. I would have run towards them in slow motion movie-style, but if you've ever attempted to run on dry sand, you know it's no easy feat. So instead I jumped up and down waving as if they couldn't spot the American from a mile away. For some reason, I didn't think to get a picture with them, but I swear they were there, visiting from Finland (where Jaime is studying for the year). It was so wonderful to talk to them while we walked along the boardwalk. As always, the visit was way too short but so very worth it. The two are planning a big trip to the states this summer and I'm hoping to be their very knowledgable native speaker and one who understands what is the complex American culture. Hopefully my tour will be better than the half-remembered one in Paris... Overall a successful visit to Asturias, though I didn't get to see my Spanish family. I called my mother who yelled "Why haven't you been calling- you need to give me advance notice- now I'm going somewhere and I can't even see you! Que pena me da, que PENA me da!" And then my uncle called me later and drunkenly told me "HERMOSA, You need to call me, I'm the boss. If you call my mother, you'll never get a real answer. I want to see you and we need to cut out the middleman!"

I love Asturias. And AsturiaNs.