BlaringSmelly

Not to be confused with the Léon in France, Castilla y Léon was once Kingdom of Léon and now a quiet college town about 3-hour train ride from Madrid. After a week in the metropolitans, Léon was perfect for sensory overloaded traveler to rewind. And for once not to worry about getting robbed!

Taxi fare from train station to hotel was 4.5 euros. That really surprised me. Taxi rides I’ve taken in Barcelona and Madrid, the starting rate alone were more than that. Hotel rate was half what I paid in Barcelona; room and services were better in leaps and jumps.

Day 1

Dinner at a small deli near the cathedral, we had simple regional dishes – anchovies on a bed of pickled red peppers, blood pudding, lamb chop, thick slices of potato chips. And washed it down with a glass of refreshing cider. Cider I’m used to tend to be sweet, almost like juice. The cider here has a subtle fruity flavor, very smooth.

Day 2
This city wakes up at its own pace. At 9am, we were out about looking for coffee. Most stores were still not open for business.

Today’s agenda: visiting architectures of historical importance. Alone the way, we’ll do some cloth shopping. Léon is small, so small we walked around the town twice in 1 day.

Like the other architectural landmarks in Léon, Hostal De San Marcos is considered an important heritage for the building’s rich history as well as architecture styles. Now a state-own Parador, you can live in this medieval castle for $200/night. Or dine in the hotel restaurant for 20 euros like we did.

Actually hotel restaurant is only for hotel guests; hotel’s café bar area is open to none hotel guests. We followed a group of Japanese tourists into the restaurant. The restaurant manager let us come in for lunch even after we explained that we were not with the group.

Day 3
We took the 7am train back to Madrid. The best part traveling by train is the chance to see the countryside and be in an environment that tourists are the minority.

Indeed we got that exposure alright, actually a little too close. Halfway through the ride, a very strong scent of body odor woke us up from our state of relaxation. The train was quite empty. The only new traveler was a woman seating across the alley, whom joined us few stops ago. She was reading a magazine, she looked very tidy and clean. Could it be her?

The scent was overpowering. We couldn’t finish a conversation without being interrupted by the smell. It got worse when the train was making turns. I brought up the episode in Seinfeld when the scent of one valet parking guy marked his car. Betty got worried a little if we’d walk out of the train and still smell the scent. Oh boy, I need my Marc Jacobs perfume now!