Leon

León is such an amazing city with a rich history. Their gothic cathedral rivals the Notre Dame in Paris in my opinion with its incredible stained glass windows. One of our favorite visits in León is the San Isidoro Pantheon and religious library. There is a romanesque fresco that is one of the best preserved depictions of Christ’s life in the world. The library houses some of the oldest Bibles and illustrated manuscripts and it really puts into perspective why so many churches relied on sculptures, altar pieces, and paintings to retell stories from scripture because the books are massive!

The group was joined by another pilgrim in León and we got a walking tour from a Friend of the Camino Society member. He really broke down the importance of León in the Iberian Península especially during the Crusades and leading up to the unification of Spain with Fernando and Isabel. León was also Franco’s capital during the Spanish Civil War.

That evening our guide took us on a tapas tour where we ordered a drink for one euro and got a free appetizer with it. We made a meal out of it by trying several places and sampling their specialty appetizers. No evening in Spain is complete without delicious helado.