Gijón Girls Trip!
- Jessica Detwiler
- Mar 26
- 8 min read
Even with the notorious Asturian weather living up to its stereotype (VERY rainy and windy), Anna and I had an amazing time this past weekend exploring the coastal city of Gijón. Asturias is the autonomous community (state) that borders Cantabria (where Santander is the capital) to the west. Despite the proximity to where we're currently living, it was the first time either of us had ventured to Gijón and we had a lovely time learning about the rich history, taking some seaside strolls, and enjoying SO much delicious food.
Since we both have Mondays off from work, we designed our trip to span from Saturday to Monday to allow us to rest one night at home after a long week. We woke up to rain Saturday morning that would follow us from Santander to Gijón and stay with us all trip. The moderate/serve coastal event that was projected had arrived in force, but it provided the perfect backdrop for a cozy weekend in our Airbnb loft studio.
Last year I used the rideshare app Blablacar a lot to get to and from travel destinations, but I had not given it a shot in the north until this trip. Anna and I took her very first Blablacar on Saturday to Gijón and it was a great introduction to this way of traveling! Our driver Jose was so kind and he got us safely to the city ahead of the scheduled time despite the pelting rain.
One of my roommates last year, Sophie, had previously studied abroad in Gijón and she had recommended that we check out Panadería Manín for their superior nepolitanas (essentially the Spanish version of pain au chocolat). Since Sophie is the expert on chocolate desserts, I knew we had to give them a shot and WOW they did not disappoint!! Anna and I were completely blown away by the amount of intricate, flaky layers of pastry and the not-too-sweet chocolate interior.
After checking into our adorable Airbnb, I headed out for a training run at possibly the worst time I could have chosen....it was absolutely downpouring and the wind whipping the rain drops around made for miserable conditions. I had moved around my running schedule to allow for two runs in Gijón because Elena had previously told me that there was a robust running scene when she visited! I also wanted to explore some more of the coastline/outskirts of the city to get a better idea of the area. Thankfully, the poor weather didn't last the entire time I was out, but I still arrived home dripping wet and very ready for a hot shower.
Anna and I decided to get a salty snack to hold us over until dinner and to fuel our afternoon shopping endeavour. We went on an epic tour of the thrift and vintage shops in the old town and although we mostly struck out, it was a super fun way to spend time during the rainy weather. We gathered some groceries for breakfasts and a dinner in for the following night before heading to the coast for some sightseeing. We were treated to views of a rainbow over the sea and it was the perfect way to appreciate the full beauty of this famous beach and church.
With some time to kill before dinner, we decided to hop on planning our next (and more ambitious) adventure: the Portuguese route of El Camino. I have wanted to wrap up my time in Spain with the most famous walking path in the country and since it's always nice to have a buddy, Anna and I have been planning to spend about 12 days in June walking this route. We watched some videos and did some math (mainly kilometer to mile conversions...) to get a better idea of what is in store of us and how we can make it work logistically.
We rounded out our first day with an incredible dinner at an Italian restaurant a one minute walk from the loft that our Airbnb host recommended to us. The combination of roasted eggplant, pistachio pizza, and strawberry tiramisu was unbeatable and we left feeling extremely satisfied in our decisions.
Anna and I started out our Sunday slowly with a slightly cramped yoga routine followed by a home cooked (and protein packed!) breakfast of fried eggs, sourdough toast, yogurt, and fruit. We had a free day until a tour at four pm so we decided to do some café hopping to stay out of the rain.
In our pursuit of a coffee and a baked good, we stumbled upon the most precious café that had delicious looking pastries and a window nook perfect for people watching. Both of us knew instantly that we had found our new favorite spot and after ordering a slice of strawberry cheescake and a cream filled dessert called a reina, we settled into our window seats. El Jardín de Gloria fully delivered on both taste and views and we ended up returning the next day before leaving Gijón!
For our free tour of the city, we met up with our guide and four other tourists at the marina just a stones throw from our loft. I think the combination of it being a Sunday and the poor weather contributed to the small group size, but it ended up being the perfect way to learn all about the history and culture of Gijón. Our tour guide was a chipper transplant from Castilla la Mancha who was very enthusiastic about her new home base city.
One of the first stops was a structure that Anna and I had noticed earlier in the day and referred to as "the Christmas tree". Turns out, it is in fact a "tree" but it has nothing to do with any religious holiday. The structure is completely made from reused sidra (cider- the most typical Asturian drink) bottles which are identical in size, shape, color, and material. The only distinguishing feature on the bottle is the label from the various sidrarías across the region. The Árbol de la Sidra (Tree of Cider) was constructed in 2013 by the company in charge of maintaining the cleanliness of the city and although it was intended to be a temporary instalment, the citizens liked it so much that it has stayed ever since!
We continued our walking tour around the old town of Gijón, known as Cimadevilla, right past our loft (we really found the perfect spot to stay!!). On the way, we stopped to see one of the two spots you can see Roman ruins in the city (the other is the Roman thermal baths that have been converted into a museum). Although it is almost certain that there are more ruins beneath the streets and houses, they have yet to be discovered because the citizens of Gijón want to preserve their historical city the way it has been for centuries.
In the old town there are some examples of houses that have maintained the original style of the era from when they were built. These homes are all painted different colors and our guide told us that this was done purposefully so that fishermen could find their way back even in a thick fog. Typically, the color of their boat matched that of their house!
One of the most surprising tidbits of information we learned was that Gijón was known for whaling back in its hayday. We stopped at the top of one slanted street, called las Ballenas (the whales), which is popular today for people wanting to share a drink outside with friends. However, back in the day, this street was used to drain the blood from the sea mammals that were caught and slaughtered in the city...learning this definitely changed my perspective on the relatively quiet street we were looking at.
We braved the strong winds and showers as our guide took us away from the city to a small grassy area at the very tip of the peninsula. Now a park, this green space has lots of military history dating back to the revolutionary war in Spain. There is even a large excavated area underneath the walking trails that was once a military bunker and storage for ammunition.
The highlight of this park was the large concrete structure known as Elogio del horizonte that was built in 1990. The designer, Eduardo Chillida, chose the rounded shape so that if you stand in the center, the sound of the waves below is amplified. We were lucky enough to get to experience this part of the sculpture and it sounded like a very loud version of the noise created by holding a shell against your ear.
We finished our tour with a quick description of the church Anna and I had been dazzled by the day before and some recommendations for places to try some typical Asturian cheese and cider. The two of us decided that a cheese board and drink would be the perfect way to dry off and round out our Gijón tour. Following the recommendation we were given, we headed to La Tabacalera and enjoyed a very large spread of six different cheeses, jam, and nuts.
After making the best dent we could, we headed back home and warmed up by trying (and failing) to learn a line dance to a song that had been stuck in both of our heads all day. We cooked a lovely dinner of tortellini and roasted broccoli and tried to decide whether or not we were going to get piercings the next day.
Our last day in Gijón started with a run (not as rainy this time!) for me and a cold shower for both of us...for some reason the Airbnb didn't have any hot water. Anna made us a quick breakie and we hit the road with all of our stuff after calling to make sure the piercing place had availability!
Anna got her nose pierced and I added another earring to my left side since I didn't want to have to deal with having to heal both ears at the same time. It didn't hurt as much as I remember and overall it was a great and very professional experience.
We finished up our time in the city with an amazing brunch at a café called Catlove and another pastry at our all time favorite spot. Anna and I both ordered a bagel with pesto, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, and arugula on it that really hit the spot! The food we had in Gijón was truly second to none and I am excited for the chance to return with my parents in late April!
Our travel back to Santander was smooth and we met the coolest Blablacar driver who was so accommodating with where she picked us up and dropped us off. She showed us some her own music that she has published on Spotify and we chatted the entire way back home. I have since listened to a podcast recommendation of hers and I have to say I'm hooked! You really never know who you're going to meet when you choose to travel this way!
This upcoming weekend I am taking my first ever solo trip to the city of Burgos that is inland from Santander in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. I am really excited (and a bit nervous) for the chance to travel to a new spot by myself! It is also the second to last weekend before my life here goes from a normal pace to turbo-mode. That being said, I am going to try my best to post updates on a regular basis, but there is very little time in the entire month of April that I will be in Santander.
I will be bouncing around from Basque country Spain to Belgium to Galicia to Basque country France all in under a month with friends from home, my parents, and friends from here! It will be a lot of moving pieces but there is no better way to spend my last few months living abroad than full of fun plans with my favorite people <3
Looking forward to seeing and eating in Gijon! Great write up Jessica!