Appliance Adventures

We are very comfortable in our little apartment in the old part of Oviedo. The building is actually quite modern – we think it was built in the 1980s. It has been a challenge to learn how to operate the appliances in the apartment, however. This is both because they are much more up-to-date than the ones we had in our old house in New Hampshire and, of course, they are European models. We can use most of them quite well now, but a couple remain mysterious.

Refrigerator

We have a modest-sized “Smeg” model, with the freezer at the bottom. When we first arrived the refrigerator compartment was producing puddles of water under the produce bins daily, which resulted in glaciers growing in the freezer. We did a little online sleuthing (the frig was the only appliance not to have a manual here in the apartment) and adjusted the temperature settings and cleaned out a drainage tube – it has been dry ever since. No problems.

Stove

We have an induction range! We did not even know what that was until just before we left the States, when we were staying with my husband’s brother and wife in New Jersey. They were flooded in Hurricane Sandy and had a beautiful, new kitchen installed – with an induction range. They predicted we might have one in Spain, since they are becoming more and more common in Europe. And we do! But we did not know you need compatible pots and pans, or that there are some slight adjustments to cooking methods. At first I first tried to scramble an egg in a pan that made the range say “F” – the egg was quickly scorched almost black. Now we are quite adept at using the “1-9” heat settings and know when to add a kick with the “P” (= Power) setting. We haven’t seen the “F” (for Failure?) recently.

Oven

This seems like it will be a nice unit, although we haven’t used it very much. I am a bit intimidated by the NINE “available cooking functions.” I am used to a plain old oven where setting the temperature and the rack positions are the only variables. It may be quite some time before I figure out the differences among Grilling, Thermal Grilling, and Full Grilling. At least I have a helpful (?) Baking and Roasting Table! I am so happy to know the right settings for a Victoria sandwich, a hare, and sea bream – not to mention “whisked recipies.”

Microwave

This has been pretty straightforward, although we haven’t asked anything very complex of it. You have to do all the settings (power level and time) with the door open, then you shut the door, and press start. But we don’t know what the symbols below the clock mean, or what the two buttons just below are for.

Dishwasher

The dishwasher (also a Smeg!) has definitely given us the most difficulty. But there is a real reason for this – the digital display at the far left is faulty, and we can’t tell what numbers or symbols are displayed. So we have been guessing. So far, when something that looks like a backwards “F” shows up, that seems to yield a good cycle that will clean our dishes. But look at our choices! There appear to be 12 cycles, albeit only with 8 numbers. We hope we have been doing something like cycle 4 = normally soiled pans and dishes. But I’m fond of cycle 6 = very dirty pans and dishes, even with dried-on dirt; and also cycle 8 = dishes that need “freshening up.”

Washer “& Dryer”

The washer works wonderfully. It also has innumerable settings, but there is a good manual and in this case the symbols on the knobs are quite easy to interpret. But…. we thought we would have a dryer, too. It’s next to the washer, right? You don’t need to look very hard, however, to see we can’t open the door due to a big, built-in shelving unit in the utility room. It appears never to have been used (blue tape still in place). So we are managing just fine with a good drying rack. Oh, well. I’m sure we are saving lots of energy.

Beeps

And one final “note.” All of these appliances beep A LOT: when cycles begin, when cycles end, when desired temperatures are reached, when something is wrong, when something is right, and whenever you push a button or change a setting. It can be quite alarming, and it can take a moment to figure out which of our new friends needs attention.

Museum of the Jurassic in Asturias (MUJA)

One of the best things we did soon after arriving in Oviedo was spend an afternoon at MUJA, the Museum of Jurassic Asturias. We had rented a car for our first week so that we could do errands more easily and buy any big things we needed (a TV, for example). We also made a couple of sightseeing trips, including MUJA.

We had no idea, but Asturias is one of the richest areas in the world for dinosaur footprints! Just the thing Amherst College professor Edward Hitchcock studied in the mid-nineteenth century from examples in the Connecticut River Valley (see the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College). At MUJA, he is duly noted on a paleontologist wall of fame!

The museum is located near a seaside site with dinosaur footprints (Playa de La Griega). The clearest prints were of a large, herbivore sauropod.

 The actual beach with footprints

An information sign with footprints marked

The museum itself is perched atop a cliff, overlooking the beach. It is a gorgeous setting. We were there near sunset, which made it even more dramatic. The grounds feature several life-sized recreations of dinosaurs – seemingly prowling the Asturian landscape. 

 Jurassic Asturias

Under attack

The museum has a striking, tri-lobed shape, meant to mirror a three-toed footprint of a theropod. Inside the museum, the first lobe covers the Triassic period, the middle deals with the all-important Jurassic age, and the last with the Cretaceous.

The tri-lobed museum at dusk

A huge dinosaur skeleton dominates the center area of each lobe (although they are replicas). In the Cretaceous lobe, quite amazingly, two dinosaurs are shown in what the brochure delicately calls “a courtship ritual,” in other words, tyrannosaurus rex sex! I don’t think that is something that you would see in the United States.

Why Oviedo?

 Campo de San Francisco

The new regional hospital outside of Oviedo

As with many things, there is not a straightforward answer to this question. Since the late 1990s, we have made a few trips to Spain, both for my husband's archaeological projects (in Catalonia and Andalucia) and also just for exploratory visits. We are very fond of both the Mediterranean coast and green, northern Spain.

For the residency visa application, we had to choose a town. Our first inclination was Barcelona -- but it is pricey, and even back in the spring we were aware of the rumbles of the independence movement and wondered if that would have an effect on our application. Then we looked hard at Valencia, but while one reason to move to Spain was for better weather, we got cold feet (hah!) about how hot it gets in the summer.

In 1999 we had traveled the length of northern Spain, from Bilboa to Santiago, but didn't stop in Oviedo. We eventually visited Oviedo (for less than 24 hours!) in April 2008 -- it's funny, but it was pretty much love at first sight. It is almost a Goldilocks city -- a good size (220,000); a great combination of old and new (a quite small old town, all pedestrianized -- where we are -- and a bustling new zone, also with several pedestrian areas); and it has several lovely parks (main one is Campo de San Francisco).

Also there is a big, venerable university (27,000 students, founded 1574); an orchestra and several theaters; and a brand new regional hospital (HUCA).

Not that this figured into our plans, but Woody Allen loves the town, too, and set part of his film Vicky Cristina Barcelona here. He has said it's a "delicious, exotic, beautiful, clean, lovely, tranquil and pedestrianized city. It's like it doesn't belong to this world... Oviedo is like a fairytale."

But, of course, it is real, and not perfect, but we like it a lot so far.

The bigger picture of retiring to Spain is a complex matter, too! We have said we would for several years now, and after the worrisome events of 2016, the time seemed ripe.