Feelings of the Day: You can make all the plans you want, but eventually you have to yield the floor to chance. Not every establishment has accurate reviews nor do impressive looking places shine 100% of the time. Go with your heart and your gut. Find something out of your comfort zone and have fun.
Full Day’s Events: After some travel diary work, and a nice shower, I walked down five flights of stairs for a super huge breakfast at the hotel buffet. Extremely happy about the choice on offer and the machine spat out a decent cafe con leche (half coffee and half milk).
Met up with RJGM for a walk to the historical Saint Isidore Basilica. Founded as a monastery for Benedictine nuns in the early 900’s, it was rededicated to Saint Isidore of Seville and a deal with the Muslim ruler of Seville allowed the Saint’s remains to be brought to Leon. The Court of Leon, Europe’s first parliament, was held inside the monastery in 1188.
The church service just ended when we got there. Although the inside was sparse, what they did have inside was great Romanesque architecture and an impressive altar. The biblical stories depicted on it could be determined from the back and close up the artful brushwork was impressive.
After leaving the Basilica we were directed to leave the area in front of it by the police. Not knowing what was going on, RGM and I decided to enter the museum that was inside a large portion of the monastery while J went back to where they were staying to rest and relax.
No pictures were allowed inside the museum so instead I took copious notes for my own reference and research. There were a multitude of items inside that I had never seen before. Highlights were the library with many centuries old works and lavishly decorated bibles, an exhibition of several dozen books of days owned by many important rulers of Europe with embellished images, a room of textiles from the 800’s CE onwards, walking on the Roman era wall, the intricate chalice of Dona Urraca, and the Pantheon of Royal Tombs with Romanesque paintings untouched by restorers as it was only discovered less than 25 years ago.
One very odd thing was an ivory reliquary in the shape of a corded fist that contained not one, nor two, but four reliquaries: fragment of wood from Jesus’ cross, fragment of Jesus’ garment after he was crucified that was gambled away by a Roman Soldier, hair from Saint Peter, and a piece of bone from protomartyr St Stephen. This reliquary was made for the Bishop of the Basilica because he didn’t like men and women touching in church. The ivory fist would be placed on a stick and during the time of the service when people shake hands and kiss cheeks, they would instead have to kiss the ivory fist. What a downer.
During our time in the museum we discovered why the police were directing us away from the entry to the Basilica as there was a special ceremony in the cloister of the monastery. Once we finished in the museum, and I was flipping through a guidebook, I came upon a chapter explaining Saint Isidore day in Leon on the first Sunday after April 20th…which was today! They were wrapping up their final part of the ceremony, outside the Basilica, when we left the museum.
Now we started a quest to find a place to eat. Normally it would not take long, but because of Saint Isidore day many eateries were full up. After trying five places we settled on a more traditional establishment, frequented exclusively by the honoured elders of Leon: Restaurante Rincon Real.
The decor was functional and the staff were professional. The platters of food that came out to us were top notch examples of local seafood and staples of yesteryear, done well. It is unfortunate that we were all so hungry that I didn’t get any pictures of the food except as afterthoughts of documentation that were on my plate. Trust me though, good solid food is served here.
After such a big meal, a long walk was required along the riverside parkland. European cities that have incorporated unused industrial lands into public space certainly know how to make their population happy. As a bonus we walked under and on a 16th century bridge. The fresh air and limbering of our extremities were good for the body.
Heading back to our accommodations I split off to have a video chat with my wife after I saw an alarming message from her. At 3am, her time, she was awakened by fire trucks at a residence on the street behind us. When she was conversing with a neighbour, a policeman came up the driveway and told them to grab what they could and evacuate. By the time she had corralled the cats, grabbed some things, and was about to get the cat carriers the police returned and said there was no longer any danger. When I called her she had just woken up later that morning so we spoke about the incident. When I saw the photos she sent me I was very glad the fire department responded as quickly as they did. It could have been so much worse.
Rejoining my friends, we were on our way to the famed cathedral of Leon and stopped on the way to admire Gaudi’s early work of Casa Botines. Built in 1891-92 it is an example of Modernista architecture and built with a fabric warehouse in the basement, offices on the ground floor, owners residence on the first and second floors, rental accommodations for the third and fourth floors, with storage and caretakers home on the top floor. This style of urban residences influenced Gaudi for future projects and is one of only three buildings that Gaudi built outside of the Catalan region. In 1929 the building was bought by a bank and in 2017 it was converted to a museum. I like this structure and if I return I would very much like to visit the museum.
We reached the cathedral and, after heading inside, we were told it was closing. We checked our watches, read the outside sign, and found that yet again the interwebs in Spain are not accurate with opening/closing times.
Instead, we took a walkabout around the cathedral and viewed the buildings in this oldest area of Leon. The structures, and paving stones for the streets, were wonderful to walk around and see. They are as much a part of the city as its famous and popular sites are.
That is when I saw it. Others were nearby, but few knew what to do. Some walked around it. Others took pictures with it. I took action to deal with this beast attempting to ascend from the sewers beneath Leon. Approaching it from its back, I pushed down hard on its head while taking control of its nose. The effort exerted was immense and it managed to move its mouth enough to nip at my hand, but I persevered. Unfortunately the sewer hatch was faulty and I had to release it. Fortunately the bronze lion appeared stuck so we left it as it was, so that the city could properly take care of this menace to society.
Food was required after such an excursion, but like lunch it took a couple of tries to find a less touristy place with decent prices and selection. Without luck the suggestion was to eat where RJGM ate for breakfast: Entreversos Vinos y Tapas. It was frigg’n fantastic with many local and regional specialities for low prices and friendly service. The mixed meat and cheese platter and the lamb burger were standouts.
After the meal was done it was time to rest and sleep. 11.6km, 23 flights walked, and one bronze lion fought.
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