Playa de Toro, Llanes, Asturias

"It doesn't smell like summer" grumbled the old woman in the elephant-print trousers as we are our breakfast.

"Last year the whole of Spain had one month, no, forty days of suffocating heat..."

Heat or no heat, I walked down to the shops and town hall and decided on the way back that it was warm enough to warrant changing into shorts. We headed along the coast past San Vicente, towards the town of Llanes and its thirty nearby beaches. On arrival, we took the first directions to a beach and ended up at Toro, which reminded us simultaneously of Switzerland, Scotland, Spain and Cornwall. Very green, very rocky, very low key.

We had a coffee but decided not to lunch at that cafe, because they announced the orders by loudhailer! After walking around the bay and on the beach, we chose the fancy restaurant with a rooftop terrace and views over 'Scotzerland" and the sea. The menu del día was limited, but a cut above our usual in terms of both price and quality, so we were well pleased. (I'm always happy when I can see the mountains, I've realised.)

The weather having changed, and a breeze sprung up, we got back in the car. It's a relief that we can now operate the SatNav and the iPod connector! The town of Llanes has done very fancy looking Art Nouveau buildings and some mediaeval ones, but we merely drove through, because parking would have been difficult.

On our return journey, we stopped at another beach, la Playa de la Franca, which was less rocky and not as mountainous as Playa de Toro (which should have an accent on the final o) but was beautifully situated and sheltered, with fine sand, and the scent of pine resin on the air. I'd definitely like to go back there on a sunnier day.
I'd left my phone in the car when we got out, so there are no photos. Just memories (a bit like the beach at Loch Morar, maybe, with an added restaurant or two).

Back at the hotel, I am chilling and thinking about buying yet more water and Coke before we go to the airport to pick up TML and Immy. TML must surely be in the running for the blipmeet award of 2017! I've been thinking about an interactive map-app, that could show when and where in the world blippers are meeting up. BlipMeetMap, maybe. Now, anyone care to design it?