• Trip to Italy and Spain
    The Leon Santa Maria Cathedral has beautiful windows throughout.
    There are several of these large windows called Rose Windows.This altarpiece has 5 of the 12 pieces of art from the original in the 13th century.Another of the Rose windowsThe handcarved choirThe other side of the choir. Phil in his yellow coat down front.Santiago the apostleView from the cloister or covered walkway on the church.The restaurant where we ate was recovered using new and old materials.Overhead beams of the restaurantPhoto of what the restaurant looked like before restoration.Phil's steak, peppers and friesHere's my stuffed Hake. The sauce in the cup is a fresh tomato sauce with oil for breadPhil's cheesecake with Quince preservesMy chocolate mousse

    Leon, Tuesday, April 15

    April 15, 2025 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    It was a quiet night. We watched one procession on TV as neither was slated to come by until late. I must have fallen asleep before either came by because the noise of the bands did not wake me. That is one thing about Spain as people stay up quite late! Lunch is almost never served until at least 1:30 pm and more often between 2 and 3 pm. Supper is at 8 pm at the very earliest.

    We've tried to stick more to our regular US mealtime, but that is because we can cook in our apartment most of the time. Today, we decided to have a splurge meal out in Leon at 1:30 pm. We went to the restaurant Racimo de Oro (a bunch of gold) for lunch.

    The waiter explained the specialties of the house (a soup with cod, spinach, and garbanzos or a baked suckling lamb stew). I opted for a Hake stuffed with a seafood medley, and Phil got a steak. We looked at the rest of the menu and decided against pigsfeet, duck with sweetbreads, and a few other less familiar dishes. I am sure it was all good, though, as we saw people tucking into all kinds of plates at other tables.

    For desert, I had a chocolate mousse, and Phil had a cheesecake with quince preserves. We are finishing up our time here in Leon. One more procession again tonight, but it will be cold, so we may watch it on TV again. Our train leaves tomorrow at 3:15 pm. We go back to Madrid and make a transfer to another train for Zamora.

    We also toured the cathedral today. We got the "senior" discount. You could listen to the audio tour on your phone, and Phil was able to Bluetooth it through his hearing aids. Beautiful Gothic Cathedral from the 13th century. Some architectural issues along the way, but it was saved from collapse in the 1800s and fully restored.    Read more