The Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago, The Way of Saint James, starts in many different places throughout Spain, France and across Europe but all the routes end in one place, at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compestela where the remains of Saint James are buried.

This has been a route for pilgrims for centuries and millions walk hundreds of kilometres and spend many weeks and months in order to reach their destination. We were about to start our Camino de Santiago in León and we were on the correct motorway going by the sign on the motorway in the photo above.

And yes, in León there is a lion or at least a statue of one.

The central part of of the city where we were staying overnight was very pleasant and quite spacious.

We had booked into the Parador, the Hostal San Marcos, for our stay.

The Parador was built in the 16th century and is now a 5 star hotel which is a virtual museum.

Our room was spacious and elegant...

...and the balcony looked out over the gardens...

...where the gardener was obviously into topiary.

The cloisters provide shade and have a wonderful calming effect.

Even the bar is a pleasure to be in...

...and we were looking forward to having our evening meal in the restaurant.

Outside, in the enormous square, there is a statue of a pilgrim so I joined him for a while.

He's obviously walked a long way today so he is giving his feet a rest.

Margaret also sat next to him for a while but being out in the sun had made him very hot indeed.

León contrasts the old and modern buildings, just next door to the Parador is the town hall.

The back of the Parador has some interesting features though.

Our room was at the far end of the corridor.

The meal started with some very tasty aperitifs.

Margaret had tuna and orange salad with honey and mustard dressing which was made by the waitress at the table.

I chose the cream of courgette soup with pieces of cod, crema de calabacín con bacalou. Delicious!

The wine to go with the meal had to be "Peregrino", "Pilgrim", and very nice it was too.

Roast lamb with potatoes for me...

...and pork kebab, brochetas de solomillo de lomo con salsa de roquefort, for Margaret.

This was followed by 3 different sorbets for Margaret...

...and chocolate cake and ice cream for me.

He's doesn't seem too sure about the food here but we are!

After the meal a stroll around the building...

...which resembles a museum in every respect.

These maps were drawn before Australia and New Zealand were discovered.

An incredible start to what promises to be an experience of a lifetime.