Leon - Rest Day

Although it's a strange sensation to wake up and not go anywhere, it's a day we really need.  We didn't have breakfast until 9 a.m., and then enjoyed an incredible buffet breakfast in the hotel.  Diane had to almost drag me away!

First, let me provide some images of the place where we are staying, the former San Marcos Hostal and now the Parador Leon hotel.  The hallway leading up to the elevators...do you see Diane?

The ancient floor, where it isn't carpeted...

The ceiling of Knights Templar crosses...

The statuary in the inner courtyard...where's Waldo, I mean Diane?

A hallway along the inner courtyard...

Another amazing ceiling intricately carved out of wood in one of the lounges...

And an ancient confessional I decided to try out, though there was no one on the other side and admittedly I don't look terribly repentant either!

We left the hotel to explore the old city, though the weather was not great - intermittent showers and sunshine.  This photo of a building designed by the world famous architect Antoni Gaudi (our daughter Jennifer especially will be familiar with his work) was a must because of the knight slaying a dragon - that's especially for our grandsons...

The rest of the building...

And a picture of Bert beside a sculpture of the architect Gaudi - his odd posture is due to the fact that the bench was wet with the recent rainfall, and a touch of bursitis in the left arm (ouch, that hurts!)...

Let me change position; ah, that's better.

The cathedral in the city's main plaza, a 13th century Gothic structure whose most outstanding feature as far as we were concerned was its multiple stained glass windows...

It's a popular place to visit, obviously, and there were many tour groups there as well as a class of young school kids neatly lined up and being served a bag lunch by their 2 teachers.

As we walked along we met many familiar faces we had met along the Camino, so lots of hugs along the way, as you feel like you're meeting family!  One girl, Johanna from Germany, stayed for the day to rest her poor blistered feet.  The pic below is not an unusual sight among pilgrims...

On our way back to the hotel Diane replenished her medicine cabinet: moleskin and Compeed for blisters, ear plugs for her husband's snoring (what, me snore???), and Ibuprofen to cover a multitude of aches and pains!

Because of our late breakfast, we decided to skip lunch and spent the afternoon resting and reading in our room.  On the way back to our room, we lingered over many of the old paintings on the wall, this one below a particular favourite of Diane...

All in all, this former Roman military garrison and base for its 7th legion (the name Leon is derived from the word Legion) is a beautiful old walled city with parks and green spaces everywhere, a great place for a rest!