Last week we needed out. We came back from Rome and reality hit us like a ton of bricks. Cooking. Laundry. Homework. The library. The morning alarm. We were getting down on Madrid, down on Spain, and needed to do something about it. So Zoë worked her vacation-planning magic and got us a great deal on a room at the
parador in León. For those of you who don't know the
paradores, these are state-run hotels in historical buildings. Some are better than others, and we had been told that the one in León was spectacular. Indeed it is. It's basically a luxy hotel in a sixteenth-century monastery with a killer breakfast buffet. And kids through 12 years of age stay free at the
paradores, so in our case the price can be quite comparable to that of a lesser hotel where we have to pay for the Kid's extra bed. So we rented a car and took off to León, a provincial capital in northern Spain that is surprisingly close to Madrid when Zoë is driving.
León is the perfect place for this sort of getaway because there are really only two things to see there, but they are both spectacular, so you're not overwhelmed with sightseeing, but you're still happy to have made the trip. We zipped up there, checked in, had lunch at a promising restaurant that ended up being a dud, and then went to check out the cathedral. It's known for having the most stained glass of any Spanish gothic cathedral, making it more like its French models than its Spanish cousins. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but you can get a sense of it at their
official website. That's where I got the picture at right.
That evening, the program consisted of lounging, reading, and watching several episodes of
Amazing Wedding Cakes, the current TV obsession of Zoë and the Kid. The next morning, breakfast at the amazing buffet, and a trip to the
Basilica de San Isidoro, León's other major attraction. Here the big to-do is the Pantheon, the crypt constructed by the kings of León as their burial place. It preserves almost intact an amazing collection of Romanesque ceiling frescoes. We couldn't take pictures inside, so here's a pic from Wikipedia so you can see what it was like. I was thrilled to share these two sites with Zoë and the Kid. I'd seen them both on a visit to Spain many summers ago, and think the Cathedral and the Pantheon in León are two of the most beautiful things in Spain.
After the Panteón, back in the car. We zipped back in time for a late lunch/very early dinner at our favorite pizza place in the neighborhood, rejuvenated and excited about Spain once again. We needed it, since we had visa red-tape to deal with . . .
