Today a group of us decided to take a day trio to León. It was a 2 hour bus ride north. Some of the things we saw were
Gaudí's Casa de los Botines, and the old
Cathedral of Leon.
Santa María de León Cathedral, also called
The House of Light or the
Pulchra Leonina is situated in the city of
León in north-west
Spain. It was built on the site of previous
Roman hot baths of the 2nd century which, 800 years later, the emblematic king
Ordoño II converted into a palace. Its doors, its impressive rose window, the choir (one of the oldest in the country) and the delicacy of some figures, like the venerated Virgin Blanca presiding over the constant traffic of visitors, are some of the not-to-be-missed features of this cathedral.
The León Cathedral, dedicated to
Santa María de la Regla, was declared of Cultural Interest in 1844. It is known as the
Pulchra Leonina and it is a masterpiece of the
Gothic style dominating the mid 13th century, by master architect Enrique. In the late 16th century it was virtually finished.
Both were very interesting... We also visited
The Palacio de los Guzmanes.
It was interesting because Construction work on this 16th-century building was never finished.
It is the work of the architect Enrique Gil de Hontañón. Its shape is trapezoid. It has four towers, one at each corner. It also has a courtyard with columns. On its façades, of contoured stone slabs, there are several carvings. On the lower part of the building you can find large openings with solid grilles and corbels with the arms of the Guzmans. On the upper part there are balconies with projecting sills and iron balustrades. It was declared a National Monument in 1963. Currently the home of the Leon Regional Government.
After the tour we walked around and took a siesta.. as you can see the little old man down there was enjoying as well. It was a nice interesting place, not to mention the fact that they had BURGER KING!!!! I really enjoyed that.
