"Gijon? Where's that?" ....time you found out!

Advantages: location, comfort, relaxed atmosphere
Disadvantages: no hotel car park

...We spent two nights here last August during our second holiday in Asturias ("we" being my husband and myself and our 3 children then aged 5,11 and 12) and had a fantastic time. The idea was to see a bit of Gijon before heading into the hills for a week's self-catering in a former shepherd's home now converted and with all mod-cons. In fact it was the owner of the cottage-rental company we used who suggested this hotel. As it turned out we wished we had spent longer in Gijon as it is a super city with plenty to see and do. The hotel Asturias makes a great base as it is an easy stroll to the beaches, marina, headland, old fishing quarter, aquarium, museums and shops. Set in the Plaza Mayor (Main Square) we had wondered about noise at night from neighbouring bars but I can honestly say it was not a problem - and our rooms had balconies...

cep19 28.01.2008 (27.01.2008) · Read review
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Review of Asturias, Gijón

A Peek At The Peaks

Advantages: Pleasant weather, superb scenery and cheap flights
Disadvantages: None discovered

...Stelios has just opened up the peaks of Northern Spain to the Brits, and all I can say, is a big 'well done'. He has given us a holiday in which we peeked at amazing mountain peaks, and swam on beautiful beaches... this is the region of Asturias. WHERE IS ASTURIAS ? = The area is in the North West of Spain, with the port of Santander just beyond its Eastern boundaries. It borders Galicia on the West, and is a bit north of Leon and Cantabrica. HOW DO YOU GET THERE ? Santander is the obvious starting point if you are taking your car, but the ferry is not cheap, and you have a lot of driving ahead. Easyjet have just started flights this year from Stansted to Asturias airport. I was a bit puzzled as this airport also gets called Ranon and Oviedo.! The nearest vilage is Ranon...

trevorbrock 04.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Asturias (Spain)

City Centre Madrid Hotel On a Shoestring

Advantages: Very close to city centre and transport, Cheap.
Disadvantages: Can be noisy

...Me and my girlfriend decided to visit Madrid last summer. So being the students that we are we booked cheap flights on easyjet. That was the easy bit. The hard part came later when we had to decide on a hotel to stay in. We wanted somewhere close to the city centre as we were only there for a few days but we had to do it on a budget but wanted to go slightly better than a hostel, it was after all our first holiday abroad together. ::: Why The Asturias?? ::: We eventually settled on the Hotel Asturias because it fitted what we wanted. It is extremely close to the city centre which is what we wanted as we were only there for 3 nights. It is only minutes away from the Calle Gran Via, one of the main shopping streets in Madrid. It is also minutes away from two metro stations (in opposite directions, either Sol or Sevilla which will...

pigeon1986 15.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Asturias Hotel, Madrid

THE PLACE WHERE I LIVE

Advantages: all
Disadvantages: none

...First of all, I want to tell my english is not good. And I'm going to talk about Asturias, my county.It's in the north of spain, between Galicia and Basque country. The weather: it's similar than UK, hotter but similar. In summer, a maximum of 35 ºC. In winter, it snows, but only a little.(this year...snows a lot!!! about 2 weeks!!!!record XD) There's a lot of things to visit: Pre-romanic churchs, (Santiagos's way crosses all Asturias), The Jurasic Museum (there's a lot of footprint of dinosaur in our beaches!!), moutains, (Picos de Europa more than 2000metres.) Forest with animals..(the Bear's way it's possible to visit, ).. But I recommend to do this: EATIN'!!!!!! Everybody who come here have to try FABADA, beans with chorizo (sausage with red pepper excellent)., and drink SIDRA. (cider, but with a original serving...

raul_sariegu 30.07.2004 (23.03.2005) · Read review
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Review of Asturias (Spain)

matured in chestnut leaves

Advantages: good cheese
Disadvantages: bit expensive over here

...Cabrales is a Spanish cheese I sampled in Spain I have also had it in the French Pyrenees. It is made by a few family run farms in or near Cabrales in the region Asturias. Cabrales is a blue veined cheese with a black rind. This cheese is made of different milks cows ewes goats and is wrapped in chestnut leaves and matured for between 2 and 6 months in the limestone caves of the Picos mountains then it is smoked with juniper wood. We have stayed in the Picos deuropa so this is when we bought it. We would often take a chunk of this into the mountains with a loaf of bread for our lunch when we were out walking the mountains. The texture of this cheese is a hard moist, creamy and crumbly its taste a little sharp and tangy you would not need a lot of this cheese. It goes well with bread or cheese biscuits. Good with an apple...

mumsymary 01.06.2005 · Read review
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Review of Cabrales Cheese

A Top Pick

Advantages: Alpine beauty in warmer climate
Disadvantages: It is becoming a bit too popular with the Spanish tourists on holiday!!

...I've mentioned the Picos in my overview of Asturias, but this area deserves its own review. I'm fascinated by mountains and have seen what Switzerland and Austria offer, the French and Spanish aspects of the Pyrenees and some of the Andes in Peru. The Picos have been called the Spanish Switzerland, but in all honesty, they do not really match up. But it is a fantastic area, that I highly commend. THE FACTS The area is a national park, on the lines of the Lake District. It is Spain's largest national park, and is well signposted throughout. The park ranges in altitude from 150 metres to 2,648 metres. There are areas only enjoyable if you go on foot, obviously, but if you are car-bound there is still plenty to see and do. There are mountains, lakes, rivers and valleys with a whole range of activity provided...

trevorbrock 08.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Picos de Europa (Spain)

Ole Leon

Advantages: Architecture, history and authentic Spanish feel
Disadvantages: A long road from home

...León is a city and district in Northwest Spain, far from being typical English tourist territory. But this is where the Spanish tourists from the South of Spain come ! They know what is good for them! GETTING THERE = The only port you are likely to use from UK is the port of Santander, and you will have a day's drive to get to León. Airports that will speed you to León are Oviedo or Bilbao. You could drive up from Madrid, but even the Spanish do not seem to relish that length of drive. We drove from Oviedo in Asturias, where we were staying - reviews already written on Asturias and Picos De Europa. It was a pleasant jaunt on the motorway - about 2 hours drive. MAIN ATTRACTIONS = The CATHEDRAL dominates the skyline. The darkness at door level, leads into a massive space inside which is...

trevorbrock 12.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of León

Desire

Advantages: :D
Disadvantages: Uffffffff

...Hello! I´m new here. I´m spanish (of Asturias) and I don´t know too english... excusez moi if my english isn´t perfect. I´m poet and wanted to show you one of my poems that I translated the English... I hope that you like and your commentaries: DESIRE ...................... You will not be able to separate plus your eyes When this one night you understand all along stops for us desire is intensified of this one way When the lights are extinguished I am lost for find you With the lantern of a body that burns With the caresses that you are able to give me I will make you understand what is true desire I will make you shake With the flavour of a single kiss With the flame of my fingers When the lights are only extinguished I want that our bodies dance That the passion realze With each...

The_Pari 29.01.2004 · Read review
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Review of Poetry

Car for Europe from Europcar

Advantages: Good car, good service and good price
Disadvantages: A wee bit of confusion at check-in

...The days of taking my own car on holiday to Europe are over. No, it is not a question of my age or driving ability. Yes it is about cost. Ferry travel from Belfast is simply too expensive. It is cheaper for 2 people to fly and hire a car at arrival airports. The Pick-up I had ordered this car through the online travel agent when I booked my tickets. Asturias airport was totally foreign to me and I did not want to risk getting around by other transport when I arrived in the late afternoon. We arrived in Asturias airport care of Easyjet, a little bit late and I expected a few problems getting the car I ordered - a VW Polo. There was a bit of a queue and the very fussy might suggest that an extra clerk in the office at arrival times, could have been an improvement. But really the wait was not too long. I had...

trevorbrock 24.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Europcar

our national drink

Advantages: taste
Disadvantages: none

...This product is by far the best that we export from scotland, it comes in many sizes from small to large, such as a can which is 330ml and costs 50p, then a btle which comes in a 730ml, then you have a 2 litre bottle which only costs 99p at the moment its on special offer at the moment. Colour ------ Its a kinda rusty orange kind of colour. Taste ----- The taste is absolutly brilliant, it tastes of diferent things for different people, the taste for me is like a dry fruity orange flavour. I prefer this drink to be served chilled. It is most popular in scotland, i took it to spain with me to asturias and gave the locals a can of it and they said yuck. Its only us scots that apreciate this drink, it must be in our blood to like it. Other properties ---------------- Ok this may be a myth, but this is a really good...

eminem_icp_killer 23.01.2003 · Read review
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Review of Barr Irn Bru