Oviedo continues to taunt us with grey skies that hint at sunshine. We finish our breakfast foods and tidy up the apartment before hitting the road south to León. Instead of taking the motorway, we opt to meander through the mountains, considering a possible stop at a system of caves in the Reserva de la Biosfera de Los Argüellos. And are we glad we did!
After driving through grey and gloom to about 4000 feet above sea level, the skies cleared and we were treated to beautiful sunshine on a spectacular landscape. It took forever to do the relatively short drive not just because the twisty roads required slower speeds, but also because we kept stopping to take pictures of one beautiful scene after another. The road was a dream for Frank – or would have been if he was driving a Porsche rather than our 3-cylinder Fiat. Twists and turns up and down the mountains eventually brought us to the cave entrance where we met one of our worst nightmares: a bus load of tourists! Spanish tourists to be sure but a flag following, chattering hoards nonetheless. They had taken all the tickets for the next tour so it would be an hour before we could go underground (where it was 7 degrees year round!) and take a tour entirely in Spanish. We decided that neither our dress nor our knowledge of Spanish was up to the task so we continued our drive through the mountains until we reached León.
Here we would not be living like locals – unless they live in posh Scandinavian-style digs with teak and glass everywhere. We parked in the underground garage (using the car lift!) and got the bags sorted before exploring the city. As it is Sunday in a very Catholic country, we did not expect many things to be open. And we were correct. Cafes and bars were busy though and we found a lovely place to get some salads and a bottle of local Albariño. Yum.
Then to the main event: the cathedral. (Notice the theme here? 😂). And holy stained glass Batman! The church was AMAZING. We took 2 or three pictures before realizing that nothing we did with our iPhones could do it justice. So we admired, compared, and just reveled in the beauty and workmanship. We could have followed the audio guide but that would spoil the awe and wonder of just being there. We took multiple laps around the main part of the church to try to take in all the glass. I even bought two books to explain all the details that I can read in my own time – with professional photographs of the windows. Yay!
We figured it would be hard to top that building but decided to see if Gaudí was up to the challenge. Casa Botines is one of the few buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí outside Catalonia. We learned all about the architecture , the building challenges, the design features that provided air and light to the large, imposing edifice. Several floor housed works by Spanish artists so we w got our culture on with sketched by Goya and Dalí. All in all, the perfect answer to gothic stained glass.
Back to the hotel for some R&R before our penultimate night out in Spain. Our post hotel has a spa with a small pool, sauna and steam room so we opted for an hour or so of self care time. We had the whole place to ourselves and enjoyed every wrinkled finger and toe. Our evening meal involved huevos fritos snd patatas with different protein options. I chose chorizo; Frank chose seafood, including prawns, squid, and what we would later figure out was baby eels. 😑 He declared them delicious and I was happy to take his word for it!
Daily musings:
- For people who are not religious nor schooled in architecture, we spend a LOT of time in churches. I think that’s my fault.
- Google maps doesn’t do a very good job of describing complicated intersections like those you find in old Spanish cities. And the nasally American pronunciation of Spanish street names is appalling.
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