Day 23 - Leon to Villadangos del Paramo

Our day and night in Leon was a fantastic change to the small villages that we have been in most of the trip.

We wondered around the city taking photos, then checked into the Parador San Marcos. 

The same hotel as in the movie, "The Way".

Sadly, we did not get the room wit the bathtub and champagne, or the room large enough to accommodate three friends and a bottle of Spanish Grappa. Nor could we find the room service menu to order the Roast Lamb and Rioja.

Notwithstanding these small deficiencies, we both loved the hotel, particularly the ambiance of the building which is over 900 years old.

Vicki particularly liked the built in sound effects that came with the ancient floor boards.

After checking into the hotel and changing, we wondered the city some more and then had a fantastic late lunch, or was it early dinner (anyway, it was 4pm) at a small restaurant called Mercado De Varillas, which is located two blocks from the Cathedral off the main street.

We shared a platter of Leon cured meats and hard cheeses followed by a shared plate of traditional chicken and vegetables cooked in a clay pot, all washed down with some Rioja Crianza. Very nice.

Vicki then toured the Cathedral while I had a back massage. The back massage was fantastic and Vicki said that the stained glass in the Cathedral was fantastic as well.

No photos of the Cathedral as the sign said they were prohibited and therefore Vicki did not take the camera. Everyone else did, ignored the sign and snapped away.

We then caught up with some Irish friends (and a Bavarian) for drinks before doing some window shopping.

Vicki nearly brought a bag for Amber (our long lost daughter), but since Amber, who is at Summer Camp in Canada, has not emailed for four weeks, Vicki decided not to buy it. 

Hint hint Amber.

We then brought a bottle of Leon wine, Peregrino 14 Tinto Prieto Picudo Crinza 2008, and watched the sun go down, before an early night.

Breakfast at the Parador was what you would expect from a quality hotel. A very good spread with a wide range of hot and cold choices. We especially liked the bottles of red wine and champagne that were available, which we did not sample.

We then set off for Villadandos del Paramo around 8:30am.

Most of the morning was spent walking through urban Leon or satellite towns surrounding Leon.

Although this was not as enjoyable as walking in the wilderness, we at least had an unlimited supply of coffee shops, of which we stopped and tried two.

Our progress out of Leon was hampered by traffic lights, bad sidewalks, roundabouts, and coffee shops. This made the 20km hike from Leon a little longer than we expected with an average pace, door to door of 5.0km/hr.

With the urbanized nature of our walk today, photo opportunities were limited, therefore we decided to snap some of the roadside wildflowers to share those with our blog viewers.