July 4

July 4
Mansilla de las Mulas to Leon 19.1km
A little shorter day today because we arrive at the big city of Leon, with its population of 130,000. Life in the big city is very busy. Much more than on the camino. We had promised ourselves that somewhere around the halfway mark we would treat ourselves to a hotel. So, today was the day. Seemed like a great way to celebrate the 4th of July. We stayed in the Gothic quarter where we visited the Plaza Mayor and toured one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world with over 125 huge stained glass windows, it is known as the cathedral of light. We had a wonderful comida, does it seem like all we do is eat, with vegetable stew with fried egg and mussels in picadillo vinaigrette as a first course and squid and canneloni as a second course. I know that canneloni seems out of place, but it was an Italian restaurant, and that was its specialty.
After comida we toured the church of San Isidro and its pantheon and museum. It was much more interesting and beautiful than it sounds with many exquisite relics. We rested in the El Cid park, he was born here, and then visited a Gaudi building. It was the first monumental building that was not built for the church. We also visited a palace with some really cool gargoyls. We returned to enjoy a private bathroom, private shower, and peace and quiet.
The city is interesting for people watching, sign reading, and trend watching, but its really noisy compared to our camino pueblos, and like most cities, not nearly as friendly.
Buen camino