Leon is another large (about 200,00 people) metro area focused around the fabulous Leon Cathedral, roman ruins, an old town that exudes charm and the typical medieval narrow streets that we’ve become accustomed to seeing here in Spain.
We found a great apartment to relax in for the three days we’ll be staying here. However, there wasn’t a washing machine, so we had to trek down to a local laundromat to get our soiled clothes back to normal. The joke among the pilgrims here is that we are all wearing the same ratty outfits day after day.
The apartment is located in the busy old town, right around the corner from the Cathedral. We are close to several museums that we want to visit, especially the Gaudi Museum, just down the street. There are hundreds of options to eat and drink nearby, but our favorite neighborhood is called the Barrio Humedo (wet quarter), so named because of all the bars nestled together here. It’s the habit of these bars to serve an appetizer when you order a drink . If you wanted, you could go from bar to bar, ordering a drink, eating the free tapas and never have to buy dinner. We did! Here’s a picture of a sample tapa, drink and the bill. It’s just such a great deal. How do the bars make any money?
The bar we visited before this one gave us 2 slices of thin crust pizza and two glasses of wine for €5.20 ($6.25).
Being in Leon gets us just past the halfway marker in our journey. As I’ve mentioned, we are finding it difficult to find lodging in the locations where we want to stay. So we sat down with our guidebooks and I-Pads and booked out the remainder of our trip. It’s exciting doing this, seeing that we are inching closer and closer to Santiago. The last section of our trip takes us into Galicia, where we will see a different region, culture and climate, and be tested with more ascents.
Digital Postcards 