Leon, Tuesday, April 15

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