An Eating Trip to Spain: Arzak, Etxebarri, Lufthansa 747-8 J, Swiss A220 Y / 777 J

[yflyer]

On the way back to Oviedo, we stopped for lunch at El Mirador...



...a restaurant perched on a hill overlooking the seaside town of Lastres...



Large glass windows gave diners a panoramic view of the scene below...



Wine to start...



Mrs yflyer and Miss yflyer no.2 were both fans of strong blue cheese. Me? Not so much. But one of the well known speciality cheeses in Asturias was Cabrales. This was a blue cheese made with milk from herds of cows or goats from Asturias...



They thought it was good, but very sharp and pungent, even by their standards...



We tried their seafood soup, served from a large tureen...



Grilled sole...



...as well as more Fabada...



...which really hit the spot!

Rice pudding and fritos de leche for dessert...



What a nice spot for lunch!

[yflyer]

The next day, we took a private tour to the Covadonga Lakes in the Picos de Europa mountain range.

This was a scenic drive up a winding, mountainous road...



"See the yellow poles?" our guide said, "They are there so you know how how the snow is in winter..."

We finally arrived at the Covadonga lakes, which were a pair of glacial lakes set amidst the beautiful peaks of the Picos de Europa...


Pictures did not do this place justice. It was cold and windy, but the sun was out...


We went right up to the water's edge...



It felt quite wonderful to be walking in such beautiful surroundings...



There were many great spots for photos and selfies...



On the drive back down, we also visited the Basílica de Santa María la Real de Covadonga...



...and the nearby cave and grotto, known as the Holy Cave of Covadonga...

[yflyer]

That evening, we headed to Cocina Cabal, a restaurant well known for its version of Fabada. There is an annual competition, now in its 12th year, for "Best Fabada in the World", and Cocina Cabal was the winner in 2022...



But Fabada was just one of many dishes in this popular restaurant, which served very imaginative cuisine in a very refined setting, quite far removed from the rustic origins of Fabada...



A bottle of Can Sumoi rosé wine, from Penedès in Catalunya, to go with our dinner...



A delightful amuse bouche of cold pureed cream & vegetable soup...



Calamari tartar...



Fabada is traditionally eaten as an appetiser, although in terms of portion size, it could easily be a main course...



This was served in "deconstructed" fashion, with the requisite ham, chorizo, pork and blood sausage served separately from the bean stew. We put these ingredients into the stew and shared this portion between the 3 of us...



Yum, this was quite delicious, with lovely texture of the large beans in the stew, enlivened by the occasional bites of ham and sausage.

As our main we had the pitu caleya, or free range chicken, which was presented 2 ways...

First the comb of the chicken, in a dumpling, on top of rolled white meat...



...then the huge thigh...



Our next main was the pierna delantera de cochinillo, or front leg of piglet...



This was wonderful as well, with crisp skin and tender flesh...

Complimentary fruit dessert to end dinner...



We were very impressed with the cuisine at Cocina Cabal...very refined and imaginative, yet rooted in Asturian tradition.

[yflyer]

Oviedo was a lively city with a lot of history.



While there were many routes on the Camino pilgrimage, the route starting from Oviedo was the original starting point of the Camino route to Santiago de Compostela, with this original route starting from the 9th century. The route was marked with scallop shells in the pavement (We saw these scallop shells elsewhere on our as well, including Portugalete and Guernica)...



It was a very walkable city...



...with a beautiful cathedral...



...and many archeological remains currently still being excavated and preserved...



We spent time at the sidewalk cafes...



...drinking the local cider...



...which was dispensed using a pump-like contraction in order to aerate the cider, rather than by pouring it from the bottle from a great height.



We were now a region of Spain called Asturias, where one of the regional specialities was Fabada, a dish made from beans, chorizo, ham and blood sausage...



The DIY version of this dish was on sale in shops here, but we did want to sample this dish in restaurants here as well.

[yflyer]

The bathroom...



WC and bidet...



Toiletries...



Shampoo and shower gel in large mounted bottles...



Wardobe...



Welcome cookies...



The hotel had a restaurant / bar (No complimentary breakfast for Marriott Platinum though...)...



...with an outdoor terrace...





One quirk of our hotel room was that we despite our best efforts, we could not set the air conditioning to be cold enough for our liking, so we ended up spending the night with the windows open, to let the cool air in...



Overall we thought this was a decent, if unexceptional, place to stay.

Positives were the great location near the train and bus station, within walking distance of the old town.There was also a supermarket next door, and several cafes nearby. As for the hotel itself, the rooms were ok but fairly basic, and nothing exceptional. Negatives included the lack of breakfast for Marriot Platinum, and the difficulties with the air-conditioning.

That said, we had a very reasonable room rate, and earned both Marriott points and status nights for our stay, so overall I would rate our stay as satisfactory.

[yflyer]

We arrived in Oviedo on time, at 2.20pm in the afternoon.



Our hotel was the AC Forum Oviedo...



...which was located above the Oviedo train station, and walking distance from the bus station...



The lobby of the AC Hotel...



The AC brand is positioned as a modern, stylish mid-range business hotel brand within the Marriott family...



Our room was setup for triple sharing...



I thought the room design was decent, but fairly basic and unexceptional, which was fine as the rate we paid was very reasonable..



Wall-mounted LCD TV, and small round work/dining table...



From our room, we had a view of the railway tracks and nearby bus station, as well as hills in the distance...

[yflyer]

This bus even had an entertainment system, with a passable selection of movies and music...



USB charging port...



A/C power...



There was even wifi available on the bus, although it was slow, so I stuck mainly with my local 4G SIM (Purchased in Bilbao) and hotspot.

The bus ride was long, but very pleasant...



...with lots of great scenery enroute to Oviedo...

[yflyer]

Our car brought us back to Bilbao, to the Bilbao Intermodal Station, a modern transport hub in central Bilbao. From here, you had access to buses, trains, taxis, as well as a fast rail connection to Bilbao airport. We were here to catch our bus to Oviedo, a 4+ hour bus journey.



The spotlessly clean underground bus terminal...



We scanned our e-tickets at the gate...



...and headed to our bus gates...



...with all arrivals and departures clearly indicated on digital signage...



Our bus was a double decker operated by ALSA, one of the major regional bus operators here.



This was a very new and comfortable bus...



We were on the upper level...



...which was spacious and comfortable...



LCD screens showed camera views of the luggage hold when the bus was parked, so you could see luggage being loaded and unloaded at each intermediate stop (And also be assured that your luggage had not been accidentally taken by someone else).



Seat pitch and recline were not great, but perfectly tolerable for a 4 hour bus journey.



There were also some seats on the lower level, but the upper deck definitely felt brighter and more open...



There was a toilet onboard this bus, which was very convenient (Not all buses have toilets, though).

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

After our lunch at Etxebarri, we spent the night at in Axpe, staying at the tavern, Mendigoikoa Bekoa...



I awoke early the next morning, just as dawn broke...



We had pre-arranged a car transfer from the tavern back to Bilbao at 8am.

Breakfast was included in our room rate, but we would be leaving the tavern too early, before regular breakfast hours. The previous evening, when the staff heard about this, they kindly offered to prepare an early breakfast spread for us.

The next morning, they opened the restaurant early, at 7.30am, just for us to have breakfast before we left. Talk about going above and beyond!



And what a lovely breakfast it was, too, with apple juice made from apples in the garden, yogurt, fruit and a selection of cheese and cold cuts...



We thanked the staff profusely for taking such good care of us, and for our wonderful stay, then headed out to our waiting car for our ride back to Bilbao.



A final look at the tavern, bathed in bright morning sunshine, before leaving...



For anyone planning to dine at Etxebarri, we would highly recommend booking a stay at Mendigoikoa Bekoa as well. It is the perfect spot to stay in Axpe, and you would have a great time exploring the area before and after your meal. For us, staying at this tavern in Axpe, was part of the wonderful experience of dining at Etxebarri.

[yflyer]

Amazing TR!
Thank you for sharing the trip with us, yflyer.

Thanks for reading, StarG! More to come shortly!

[StarG]

Amazing TR!
Thank you for sharing the trip with us, yflyer.

[yflyer]

In the remaining time before sunset, we took a long walk around the area...



...taking in the wonders of nature surrounding us, and reflecting on what had gone before...



Eventually we retired back to Mendigoikoa Bekoa, where we sat in the outdoor garden with drinks from the bar...



...and watched the sun set over Axpe...



To be continued!

[yflyer]

For dessert, smoked ice cream...smoked, can you imagine! With beetroot sauce...



Amazingly delicious!

Then the chocolate souffle...soft and delicate...



The cheese flan was very tasty as well...



What an amazing meal...



We had begun at 1.30pm. It was now 6pm...a 4 1/2 hour lunch...a new record for us I think, but somehow the pacing of the meal felt just right.

Apart from the 16 courses, we had downed 2 whole bottles of wine, plus an initial round of glasses of Cava...



This was the view as we stepped out of the restaurant...



Chef Bittor Arguinzoniz's vision, our meal, and the setting all combined to create something quite special, magical even...

An unforgettable experience, and one of the most memorable and delicious meals of our lives...

[yflyer]

Finally, the beef chop...

The aged Galician beef chop was presented on a large platter, sliced, together with the bone, for us to share...



What a beauty...



We were not asked how the beef was done, this was the way it was prepared here: charred on the outside, red on the inside...in other words: perfection...



This was absolutely delicious...smoky, deeply flavourful, with a very fine, delicate texture...

[yflyer]

Fresh anchovies...



Delicate, almost mousse-like in texture...and tasting of the sea...

Chorizo tartar...this was warm, lightly cured (raw?) chorizo, picked up and eaten like a sandwich...



This had lovely texture, and an intense, spicy flavour...I could have eaten a lot of this...

The chorizo tartar was the perfect prelude to what was to come...