Day 26: Romans, Chocolate & Cathedral

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The first day it really felt like fall. Cafe con leche in the plaza (with a waiter who was already DONE with customers)

Museo Romano. Learned about the Roman garrison here, seeing some artifacts such as pottery, glass, tombstones, coins, etc. Later, we saw ruins that had been unearthed - even a mosaic floor! and open to the public to see.

Walked out to the walls of the city, from which we could see the Meseta
Found a pizzeria for lunch - anchovy, tuna, and green olives! With sparkling white wine - yum - and a server (the owner) who was so happy to be doing his work. He tapped the table (twice!) each time he brought something.

Walked down to the Museum of Chocolate, but it hadn't opened for the afternoon yet, so we revisited the train station. A school group of teens (from Germany?) was ahead of us at the museum, so we mostly latched on to their tour which was in English. There used to be 50+ chocolate factories here (now there are 6).

On the way back up the hill to the area our hotel is in, we hammed it up with some wooden cutouts for photos.
Colasa and Perico –the most popular 'maragatos' (the name for the local inhabitants) in Astorga – strike the hours on a large bronze bell of the city hall on our plaza.

When we saw the Gaudi palace and the Cathedral, we knew it was our chance to visit. We'd seen the Gaudi on our last Camino in 2022, so we wanted to see the Cathedral this time. AWEsome!! Originally built in a Romanesque style mid 11th century, and developed in the 14th & 15th centuries on.

We left as the sun was setting and stopped in at a Gadis supermarket. I was so thirsty, we got 3 1.5L bottles juice! Headed up to our rooms and shared our crackers, chips, and juices while debriefing from the day. What a great day!

Tomorrow, we plan to walk some of the Meseta on the Camino.Read more