León

 I had a rest day in Leon. Actually, it was a day and a half because it was a short distance yesterday, and I arrived before noon. I really needed this rest day more for my mind than for my body. The previous several days have been very uninteresting and long walks.

Leon is fabulous!! This was a Roman city before the Spanish took it over before the Moors took it over before the Spanish took it back. It was a Christian city, while the south of Spain was still controlled by the Moorish. 

You can still see many of the walls that surrounded the old city. Many of these you can still see the Roman foundations that the Spanish built on. 

The cathedral is smaller than the one in Burgos, but has way more impressive windows and glass. 

In case you’re interested, this is the Gothic style from around the 13th century. This is a period when Christianity was blossoming all over Europe.

There is also a basilica here, and you can see the architectural differences very easily. The Basilica does not have very many windows and this is due to the difference in architecture. 

Overall, this is a very beautiful old town center. The buildings have been restored beautifully and it’s just a gorgeous place to walk around.

This building was designed by Gaudi.

The plaza in front of my Hostel is a very popular meeting place!

My Hostel is in a very old building, which has been done very nicely

Edited to add: I have bumped into so many of my Camino friends here. It’s been a joy to see all these familiar faces again and see how they’re doing. New shoes? Leg ok? Lighter pack? When do you arrive? People loving people. It’s a great pick me up. 

I’m off to bed early as it will be a longer day tomorrow.