There are so many historical sites to visit in Leon, but you can’t see them all. A couple of our favorites were the Gaudi designed building called Botines, now a museum filled with art, and next door to it the Guzman Palace, noted for its stained glass courtyard windows. Both buildings were well worth visiting.
Astorga is another old city rich in history. There are Roman ruins, another Gaudi designed palace, a dominant clock tower in the Plaza Mayor, where two characters dressed in traditional Maragato garb strike a bell on the hour. It’s fun to watch and hear, but a little annoying when your hotel room faces the clock! When we arrived in Astorga we were greeted by cooler temperatures and a thunderstorm spitting bits of snow, an ominous sign of the mountain trails ahead of us.
Astorga is also known for its chocolates. According to Wikipedia (so it must be true!), Astorga is the birthplace of chocolate in Europe. Mexican cacao was brought in around 1528, and quickly introduced to other parts of Europe along with other trading goods that helped Astorga thrive. There are chocolate shops scattered around the city, and there’s even a chocolate museum. We sampled as much as we could.
Tomorrow leave Astorga and head into the mountains. This is the last section of our journey. We have booked out lodging for the next 12 nights, which will get us to Santiago. We will be challenged with steep ascents, long mileage days and maybe lower temps than we have seen. Here is a snapshot from our guidebook for the day:
Digital Postcards 