Asturian-American Migration Forum

Bob's right. Even at the airport, you'll get a better rate using an ATM than you will going inside a bank or to a money exchange. And it's easier because you just walk up to the machine on the street. Most of them have instructions in English.

On my dad's last trip, he insisted on getting Euros here in the US. That was VERY expensive compared to using an ATM in Spain.

But be sure to alert your bank to your trip and take your bank's telephone number in case there are problems.

No, many restaurants don't accept credit cards. Of course, if you go to five-star restaurants, I'm sure you could. I don't think grocery stores accept credit cards. But other kinds of stores tend to accept credit cards without problems, even small souvenir shops and music stores, as I recall.

Hi!

Just one remark to your list, Art.

The good cachopo is served at Casa Paquín, Perdones (Gozón).

And here are another two for your list:

Restaurante/Asador El Poeta: C/ La Estación, 10

They now offer what they call "the crisis dinner menu" on Thursdays night. 5,00€ for a breaded steak, with fries and eggs, and a caña (beer).

Nice, isn't it?

And opposite El Poeta we find La Tasca el Matu (for tapas).

There's no need to make a reservation during the week, neither for lunch or dinner. But on weekends is advisable to make a reservation, as you can find yourself that there's no place in restaurants. No need to make a phonecall. Just pass the day before or the same day before lunch and talk to the bartender to say you want to make a reservation for X people.

Regards,
Ana

Thanks, Ana!

El Poeta's "crisis dinner menu" sounds like a heart attack in the making! (The breaded steak, with fries and eggs, and a caña of beer has a lot of protein and fat.)

Okay, call me paranoid!

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¡Gracias, Ana!

¡El menu de la "crisis" parece tener todos los ingredientes para un ataque al corazón (El filete empanizado con papas fritas y huevos, y una caña de cerveza -- tiene un montón de proteínas y grasas.)

¡Muy bien, llámame paranoico!

Hey! That's why they call it "crisis dinner menu". The more you go to have dinner on Thursdays, the sooner the crisis ends for you

No, seriously. For me, that is an ordinary dinner. I mean: the steak with fries or the eggs with fries. No beer, thanks. And I swear I'm not fat. It depends on what you get used to. At my parents we usually had vegetables and legumes for lunch (plus a second course, which I never was able to eat) and steak with fries, eggs with fries, an omelette or the kind for dinner with salad, or fish.

And I still continue to do it that way.

It's one of those good news/bad news things. This bad news is that we are all going to die. The good news is that we are going to die anyway, no matter what we do, so we might as well enjoy life while we still have it. Personally. I'll take chorizos instead of steak with my fried eggs (glorying in the flavorful orange grease), and I prefer fresh crusty bread to fries (to soak up the fat from the chorizos). Not every day, of course, but whenever I feel like it.

Very few of us say on our deathbeds "I wish I had enjoyed life less." If my last dollar, my last breath, and my last chorizo coincide in time, I'll know I have done it right.

For more information on Biagio Merendino and the Spanish consulate, see http://books.google.com/books?id=qi8aAA ... #PPA445,M1

You will have to scroll through quite a few pages, but it is there. My guess is that since he served in the Italian consulate in West Virginia, he was hired by Spain to serve the needs of Spanish immigrants as well. It was a less expensive option that paying the salary of a full-time person.

Bob, I'm sure one of us could arrange to appear at your death bed to carry off the last of your chorizos and pennies!

My concern is more that I live fully and healthily because I don't enjoy being ill. I've already had enough of that. Besides, eating healthy foods is interesting in itself. It's not disgusting, but I suppose it is different and I do miss some of the flavors.

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Bob, estoy seguro de que uno de nosotros podríamos aparecer al lado de tu lecho de muerte a la última hora para llevar los restos de tus chorizos y centavos!

Mi preocupación es más un vivir plenamente y sanamente porque no me gusta estar enfermo. Ya he sufrido suficiente. Además, comer alimentos saludables es interesante en sí mismo. No es desagradable, pero supongo que es diferente y echo de menos algunos de los sabores.

You can have the last pennies, but you will have to pry the last of the chorizos out of my snapping jaws.

More seriously, my point is that decadence in moderation can be compatible with good health. It's just a matter of balance and common sense. When I eat chorizos, I don't limit my intake to half of a small one - I may have two with an egg or two fried in the rich, garlicky grease - but I don't eat them every day or even every week. I share your dislike of feeling sick.

If I worked as hard, in the physical sense, as my parents and grandparents did, I would probably have chorizos more often. Then again, I don't feel like having them more often, probably because I have a very sedentary job. It's important to pay attention to what our bodies and appetite are telling us.

Ha, I can imagine that, Bob! Funny image.

On a slightly more serious note, I wonder if we should start "The Order of the Longaniza," "The Order of Chorizo," or something similar, a not-so-secret society for Asturians. Here in the US, we could place a chorizo and bottle of cider in the coffin of our members and play the gaita at their funerals. I mean this to be partially humorous, but I'm really joking. We could do this.

I can imagine Bob being our first Prince of Chorizo.

What do you all think?

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Ja, me puedo imaginar eso, Bob! Qué imagen tan graciosa.

En una nota un poco más seria, me pregunto si debemos iniciar "El Orden de la Longaniza", "El Orden de Chorizo", o algo similar, una no tan secreta sociedad de asturianos. Aquí en los EE.UU., se podría colocar un chorizo y una botella de sidra en el ataúd de nuestros miembros y tocar la gaita para sus funerales. Quiero decir que esto es por una parte humorística, pero en verdad no estoy bromeando. Podemos hacerlo.

Me Puedo imaginar que Bob sea el primer Principe de Chorizo.

¿Cómo os parece?

Hi, Art and others!

Actually, in Avilés there is a kind of gastronomic Order called "La Cofradía del Colesterol". My father is member of it.

They promote the asturian gastronomy, but in a healthy way, and gives prizes to important people in the health and gastronomy world, like cardiologists, chefs, etc.

http://www.cofradiadelcolesterol.com/

One suggestion:
Don´t go to "La Tasca el Matu". It used to be a good place to eat, but in last two years it has changed a lot. It has a bad service and the food is far worse than it used to be.

Thanks for telling us about la Cofradía del Colesterol. It looks like a fun and useful group. I had to eat very differently from my usual diet when I was in Asturias this summer and was wondering if anyone else was concerned about cholesterol!

I also noticed this summer that people are begining to buy American-style frozen heat-and-serve junk food to eat for la cena. It's easy to fix and tasty, but really fattening. Crap like this is one reason for the high frequency of obesity in North America.

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Gracias por informarnos sobre la Cofradía del Colesterol. Parece un grupo tanto divertido como útil. Tuve que comer de manera muy diferente de mi dieta habitual cuando estuve en Asturias este verano y me preguntaba si había otras personas preocupados por el colesterol!

También este verano me di cuenta de que la gente está comenzando a comprar y servir para la cena comida porquería al estilo estadounidense, cosas congeladas que se puede calentar y servir rápidamente. Es fácil preparar y sabrosa, pero nos engorda mucho. Chatarra así forma parte del porqué de la frecuencia alta de la obesidad en Norte América.

This thread went off on a tangent and we never did hear how Charolettes trip was. I would like to hear how it was.

Our trip to Aviles was wonderful beyond all expectations. We all loved every minute of it and my husband and I plan to return to Aviles in 2011.
I hoped to be able to find buildings, the house where my Grandmother lived and the building where her parents had a business, or graves.
I was not able to find any graves and the place where my Grandmother lived and her parents had a business is now the Toyoto building. However, I found a third cousin and that was even much better.
We really loved the area and all the people.