It was a bit misty and overcast as we made our way to the outskirts of Leon. At Virgen del Camino we stopped for breakfast overlooking the industrial outer suburbs of Leon. The Tortilla patata was rich and the coffee smooth. Both would give us energy for the walk ahead. On …
A rest day provided time to visit the laundromat and to walk around photographing the delightful city of Leon. Who knew that Hogworts was here in Northern Spain? The Casa de Botines was designed by Gaudi in an exaggerated Gothic style like a Disney caricature of a medieval castle. It …
“Dos personnes para Leon, por favor Señor” – and with that, we had two tickets – thanks to the Translate app from Google. We were at the bus station in Burgos, with half a dozen other pilgrims planning to skip the Meseta, each for their own reasons. We had done the maths: with …
We visited the Museo de la Evolución Humanes – the Museum of Human Evolution. They told us that, being a Tuesday, Atapuerca was closed today, and tomorrow’s tour was already booked out. ‘Besides’, they said, ‘the tour is all in Spanish and the artefacts are all here at the museum’. …
We departed Vilamayor del Rio before dawn, aiming to reach Villafranca Montes de Oca. The streets were deserted and the light made stark contrasts, giving the buildings an unearthly cast. It was slow going, mostly uphill until we were able to take a break for breakfast at Belorado. Belorado is …
We departed Azofra after dropping off our bags at the Municipal Albergue for despatch to Santo Domingo de la Calzada – home of the rooster and chicken. We quickly found that our headlights are not adequate to the task – while new batteries might help, I suspect we will ultimately need …
After a sparse breakfast, (I’m beginning to wonder if the Spanish DO breakfasts!) we had a delightful walk through light woodlands, with a few short steep climbs. The light through the trees is wonderful. Welcome to Basque country We walked to Viscarret/Guerendiain (the latter being the Basque name) for lunch …
We arrived early at Gare Montparnasse – scene of that famous photo from 1895 where a steam train failed to stop and crashed through from the upper floor. You can read about that incident here And here is what it looks like today – that platform behind the glass front …
We got out early to catch the gregorian Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral. It was breathtaking – and very moving. We noticed the font in the front of the cathedral with the words: ‘I am the way, travellers are looking for’ – translated into several languages – including Spanish – for …
