Day 21 – León

July 9, 2019 – So today did not start out so great.  Wayne has some minor intestinal bug and is still not feeling great, but on the mend.  Our doctor had given us some meds in case either one of us got something so Wayne took some meds to try to kill thing.  We slept in so he can rest a bit.  There was rain and a pretty good thunderstorm overnight.  We love listening to that and don’t mind when it wakes us.

I bought some things the night before so we had breakfast in our room before we headed out to explore León .  Our first stop was Gaudi’s Casa Botines.  Gaudi’s friend and patron, Eusabi Guell, (remember we visited Park Güell in Barcelona?) recommended that he build a house in the center of León. Simón Fernández and Mariano Andrés, the owners of a company that bought fabrics from Güell, commissioned Gaudí to build a residential building with a warehouse. The house’s nickname comes from the last name of the company’s former owner, Joan Homs i Botinàs.

With the Casa Botines, Gaudí wanted to pay tribute to León’s emblematic buildings. Therefore, he designed a building with a medieval air and numerous Neo-Gothic characteristics. The building consists of four floors, a basement and an attic. Gaudí chose an inclined roof and placed towers in the corners to reinforce the project’s neo-Gothic feel. To ventilate and illuminate the basement, he created a moat around two of the façades, a strategy that he would repeat at the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona

Gaudí placed the owners’ dwellings on the first floor.  The upper floors housed rental property to assist with the cost to build and the lower floor contains the company offices.

In 1929, the savings bank of León, Caja Espana, bought the building and adapted it to its needs, without altering Gaudi’s original project.  Today it is a museum.  We wanted to take a tour, instead of walking through ourselves, because the tour included access to the towers and areas that we would not be able to see otherwise.  The only problem is that the tour is only in Spanish.  We are getting pretty good at picking out words and trying to figure out what people are saying.  Our tour guide also paused a few times from Spanish and explained some things to us.  At the end he gave us a quick rundown of all the places we visited and highlights of the tour.  At the end of the tour we were free to walk around one of the upper floors that had some great artwork.

Our next stop was the Basilica of San Isidoro de León located on the site of an ancient Roman temple. Its Christian roots can be traced back to the early 10th century when a monastery for Saint John the Baptist was erected on the grounds. 

Following the Muslim conquest of the area from 938-1002, the first church was destroyed and the area devastated. Before the devastation, with the agreement of the Muslim ruler of Seville, Isidore’s relics were brought to León where they could be interred on Christian soil. León was repopulated and a new church and monastery were established in the 11th century by Alfonso V of Leon.

In 1063, the basilica was rededicated to San Isidoro – who was the archbishop of Sevilla, and the most celebrated academic and theologian in the period preceding the Muslim invasions. The basilica is one of the most outstanding Romanesque architectural ensembles in Spain for its history, architecture, sculpture, and for the Romanesque luxury objects that were preserved. The tomb of the saint still draws many visitors today. An equestrian statue of Saint Isidore dressed as Santiago Matamoros is visible, along with many other sculptures, high on the facade.

Next we saw the old convent of San Marcos.  It is one of the most famous and stunningly beautiful buildings in León. It’s made up the convent itself, which is now a luxury five-star hotel; a church consecrated in 1541; and a fascinating archaeological museum. It was a gift from Fernando the Catholic to the city of León, and today is considered to be the most important Spanish Renaissance building in the country
Our next stop was the grand Plaza Mayor, surrounded by colonnade arches, beautiful architecture and buildings painted in crimsons, mustards and rose. It was originally constructed in 1672, although there were some later additions in 1677. The original name of the square was Plaza Pan, or Bread Square, because it was home to so many bakeries.

The Palace of the Guzamanes sits right next to the Casa Botines and is a grand renaissance building that is the seat of the provincial government of León. It was built in the 16th century and was designed by the architect Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. He was ordered to build it by the wealthy Guzman family, one of most influential in the area at that time.

After visiting the palace and walking around and exploring León’s old town charm, we decided that we were pretty hungry.  We were also dying for some protein so we went in search of a place.  We decided to eat in Leon’s barrio area which is known to have good restaurants and a good place for local people watching.  The Barrio Húmedo is the name given to the city’s casco antiguo, or old town. It translates as the ‘wet district’, because it’s where the city’s biggest concentration of bars, pubs and taverns is located. The restaurant was nothing more than a couple of tables on a patio, but it was crowded and inviting.  Our server was an older woman who spoke no English, but we are getting really good at Spanish.  We asked about the “Menu del Dia” which is a set menu of (a choice of one of two) starters, entrées, bread, a large bottle of water and a bottle of wine.  The meal also included a choice of 4 different desserts. This meal was 13 euros each so we decided to go for it.

For my starter, I chose Asturian Stew with Clams, which is white beans in a tomato and cream-like sauce and little chunks and a few whole clams.  The bowl was huge so Wayne got to enjoy 2 starters…lucky!  Wayne’s starter was Pasta Au Gratin, which was also a huge plate.  We also had the bread, so I really could have been done at this point.  Next, our entrees came out and I had chicken cutlets and Wayne chose beef sirloin cutlets.  They were simply spiced and delicious.  Wayne got to have one of my cutlets as I was getting stuffed and wanted to leave room for dessert…there is always room for dessert, right?  We decided on the flan and lemon curd mousse to share.  The whole meal was outstanding and the wine was great as well.

We were very uncomfortably stuffed but we waddled ourselves over to the cathedral only to find it closed for siesta, so we thought it best to head back to our room for siesta as well before Wayne started work.  During Wayne’s lunch hour, we went out for a walk to take some sunset pics and enjoy watching family and friends gather for conversation.  Neither one of us was hungry for dinner since our lunch was huge, so Wayne enjoyed a small cigar while we explored.

When we got back to the room, Wayne worked while I blogged, until quitting time.  Our plan was to check out the cathedral before leaving Leon.

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