Leon to Benavente

Over the last nine years Duke and I have stayed at 92 of the Paradors in Spain. There are currently 99 Paradores and 97 of those are currently open. Tonight we are at the Parador of Benavente, our 93rd Parador.

This morning before leaving Léon we walked all over the historic center.

Before we started on our exploration Duke took a picture of Jo Ann, Brian and me on our room’s balcony.
We walked by the Roman wall
The Gaudi Museum in Léon is in a Gaudi designed building, Casa Botines. It was closed this morning so we couldn’t go in.
We had coffee and tea waiting for the cathedral to open
While we were having our drinks we saw this interesting dog.

Léon Cathedral is one of my favorite cathedrals in the world. I think the open feeling and the stunning stained glass is what make it so special. They provided an excellent downloadable audio guide. The Cathedral was built in the 1300’s when Léons population was only about 4,000.

Leon Cathedral
Inside Léon cathedral

We explored some more on our way back to the Parador.

The Plaza Mayor was being rehabilitated
Plaza de Grano
I love this statue of a Léon lion coming out of a manhole

Once we finished our walk we drove about an hour to the Parador of Benavente where we are tonight. We had our welcome drinks and played cards.

Playing cards in the tower bar of the Parador,
Benavente Plaza Mayor
Restaurante Mesón El Pícaro for dinner
Our anchovy and sardine salad
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Author: marionvermazen

I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.

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