Ancient and Modern: Lovely León, Spain by da-AL

Photo of da-AL at León book fair. — Rain can’t dampen the beauty of León’s historic district — especially when it’s got a late night book fair!

I love Spain! It’s no accident that one of my soon-to-be self-published novels is called, “Flamenco & the Sitting Cat.”

A dream to sightsee on foot, León, Spain, was the next to last stop of a fun-filled vacation that my husband and I began with a weekend in beautiful Barcelona and then a stop in wonderful Huesca. We crossed the French border into pretty saint-jean-pied-de-port, enchanting Espelette, and phenomenal French Basque Country cities Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne, and Biarritz. Upon our return to Spain, we enjoyed delicious food and seaside dogs in San Sebastián, and then the breathtaking city of Bilbao.

Photo of statue of pregnant Mother Mary.

Statues of a pregnant Mother Mary are rare.

Photo of art within Santa María de León Cathedral.

Interior of Santa María de León Cathedral.

Santa María de León Cathedral

León, founded in 29 B.C., has so much fascinating architecture that the two days we visited weren’t enough to see everything. León’s gothic Santa María de León Cathedral was constructed mostly during 1205 to 1301, its north tower and cloister during the 14-century, and its south tower in 1472. Ever see Mother Mary pregnant? (Tap on photos to see them bigger and their captions.)

Shops in historic León, Spain.

Footsteps mark the way along religious pilgrimage route El Camino de Santiago.

Seashells mark the religious pilgrimage route El Camino de Santiago.

The historic district of León features quaint parks.

It’s an important cathedral on The Way of Saint James (El Camino de Santiago) religious pilgrimage route.

Inside Casa Botines is the Gaudi Museum.

Photo of Casa Botines by Dantadd of Wiki.

Photo of da-AL's husband sits with statue of Antoni Gaudí.

My husband enjoyed chatting with Antoni Gaudí.

Architect Antoni Gaudí welcomes company. He’s best known for Barcelona’s Sagrada Família Cathedral. In León, he designed Casa Botines from 1891 to 1892. In 1929, it became a bank but has since reverted to its original appearance. Downstairs featured a display of Francisco Goya’s political cartoons.

Photo of da-AL with employee and Susana, owner of 'a comer' restaurant. — Susana and her employee cook with love — ‘a comer’ restaurant is a must-eat-at!

Spain’s homestyle food (unlike typical restaurant fare most anywhere) is loaded with delicious veggies. I swooned when we happened into a tiny eatery that cooked like I was visiting someone’s gourmet granny — we ate there twice! Every single morning, ‘a comer’ take out restaurant owner Susana shops for the best of what’s in season, then cooks a new menu from scratch — thank you from the bottom of my stomach, querida Susana!