Leon Rest Day

Leon is by far the biggest city we have walked through but it is an elegant city with charm and a sense of presence as an historical city of substance and importance. It has been beautifully maintained and developed. It is worth a visit for a few days with the churches, museums, historical architecture and so many choices to sample the wonderful food.
We moved from our first night albergue, just outside the city wall, after doing a full load of washing of everything in our bags, a cup of coffee and tostadas! We moved to the centre of town, 50m from the Cathedral into Albergue Leon, the 3rd story of a buildings overlooking the main mostly pedestrian road. After dropping off our bags we went off to see the sights, starting with a building by the famous “Gaudi” of Barcelona fame and a photo sitting next to his statue.

We stepped into the Santa Maria de Leon Cathedral - a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance in style - and were immediately mesmerised by the many stain glass windows (1800 square metres of glass), 125 in total - set high in the walls that shed a lightness of touch to the interior (different to so many of the other churches which are rather dark). One of the chief functions of the medieval church was to instruct the illiterate and give them pictures they could understand, to show them the story of the Gospels and the legends of the Saints. Many chapels are placed all around the sides, each beautiful in their own way. The choir is a masterpiece on its own with one of the best organs - one day we hope to be back to enjoy a recital.

It was Siesta time so everything was closed so we went into Barrio Humedo, area, renowned for their tapas, for lunch and a beer. We then had a quick shower and arrived at Saint Isadora church and museum as they opened. We had a guided tour showing us a snapshot of its varied life over 2 thousand years, firstly as a Roman fortrace, then during early Christianity, the period it was under Muslim control and finally when it returned to Christian rule in the 11th century. During the tour we saw some restored frescoes and she told us how they did it too. Quite ingenious. We saw a library full of books, hundreds of years old and a bible with illustrations and footnotes in perfect condition from the 12th century. Then through the cloisters and into the palace where there were ceiling paintings of the life of Jesus in original condition from around 1200. They were stunning and are know as the Romanesque Systine Chapel. A great visit.
We then went to mass at the Cathedral and had good intentions of going to the Cathedral museum but were “museumed out” by then so we joined a few friends for drinks and then all went out for a fabulous dinner. They brought us large share plates of cured meats and cheese, garlic prawns, salad, cod in a spicy sauce , oxtail which was a highlight and then rare beef steak on a sizzle plate. We ended with a “herbal liqueur”. It was great seeing everyone in a relaxed state after a day without walking. Before retiring for the night we saw the Cathedral all lit up for the night - another impressive sight.Read more