Day 23, Rest day in León

I have to say goodbye to Luisa this morning. I already said goodbye to Paul yesterday. I hadn't anticipated how tough it would be to keep having to say goodbye to people along the way...

I left the albergue Unamuno at 8, intending to drop off my backpack at the Parador and return later to check in. When I arrived, though, they had a room ready for me. I'm on the 4th floor with a balcony. The room key weighs as much as a bottle of water. This is very nice. And the WiFi is free, with no password.

I plan to walk around and see Leon today - walking without a pack is so easy. After a short break in my Parador room, I walked along the river in a beautiful park and then wandered through Leon back to Plaza Mayor for the Sat morning market. I liked that the McDonald's had a drive-through labeled McAuto.

The market encompassed the plaza plus several side streets focusing on clothing or antiques. I saw some nice things, but nothing I was willing to ship home and/or carry for another 2 weeks.

I am currently sitting at a cafe table having agua con gas y limon (fizzy water with lemon) and trying the free sausage tapa that came with it. It's very common here to receive a small bite with the drink.

For lunch today, I want to get La Mary, which was recommended to me as an excellent restaurant. I'm sure it was meant as a dinner, rather than lunch, suggestion. It will be open from 1:30-4pm for lunch and then 8:00pm-later for dinner, so lunch works better for me. I'll let you know how lunch goes...

I arrived at La Mary after getting lost in the twisting streets. I used my map, but with few street names, I had to use the GPS and it had trouble finding my position, even with the locator turned on.

Anyway, I sat in the rear terrace of the restaurant and was impressed with the variety and prices on the menu. I had aubergines with aioli sauce, followed by Thai chicken and then a creamy, chocolatey ice creamy dessert. Yum. It was all good and less than 20€. Other restaurants often only have the "pilgrim's menu" for less than that and this food was much better - no fries!

After lunch, I strolled back to the Parador for a break. There's a nice inner courtyard here, with gardens and statue.

This evening, I attended a 7pm pilgrim's mass at San Isidoro church. To be able to participate a bit better than last time, I downloaded a Spanish mass with side-by-side English. So, I was able to follow really well, although, of course, I still don't know what the readings or sermon were about. Then there was a blessing and a hymn. Very nice.

Now I'm having some mussels and agua con gas, since I ate lunch at 3pm. With bread to dip into the sauce. Yummy.

Splurged on the fancy Parador

Prayer and hymn from mass

Parador interior

Parador courtyard

My room

My balcony

Heavy room key

Leon park

Leon park

McAuto

Market

Cathedral