I have wanted to explore the north of Spain for a few years, since it has been one of the many places that is still a blank slate to me. I was looking for a place that was off the beaten path a bit, not so touristy and famous and hopefully a little smaller. Well I when a friend recommended I consider Léon — I took a look and liked what I saw after doing some research on accommodations and my initial impressions of the town.
It’s very historic with a lot of old buildings and monuments to famous knights that gives it a romantic quality. Ancient walls and this famous cathedral sit at the heart of its city center which is so small that it’s quite charming. Only 130,000 people live in Leon and I have no idea why it isn’t a larger city. It was founded in 74 AD by the Romans – making it nearly 2,000 years old. Since that time its culture and personality have changed through each of the time periods that succeeded.
Even though the city is small and historic there is an artsy feel to it, a sort of creativity that you can feel walking through the streets. It also feels very small towny, with nice parks, trees and fountains in many places. A weekend street market was a bustling event where all sorts of
I was working a lot the entire time that I was in Léon unfortunately, more than 70 hours each week. I had a cold during some of the time as well owing to my poor sleep. The good news is that the weather cooperated very well and more than half of the time I was there it was cloudy or rainy — ideal conditions for working too much and being sick 🙂
My favorite part of my visit to Léon was the Airbnb apartment that I stayed in. I made a decision this time to stay in a shared apartment that I wouldn’t have completely to myself, but only a single room with a shared kitchen and bathroom. I don’t typically do this because I like to have plenty of space to work from so having an entire apartment is often the best for me. But I wanted to try and get to know the town better and also improve my Spanish, so I chose to stay in a shared apartment where other people would be coming and going regularly and I would have the opportunity to speak spanish every day. And I did!
The owner of the apartment is Erica and her dog, Pipa became my two favorite parts of the city very quickly. Even though I was cooped up, sick and working the entire time I was staying in Erica’s flat she made it feel like a true home. We cooked and shared meals together and she volunteered to show me around the city, giving me a guided tour and even took Pipa and me on a hike about an hour outside of the city to see a truly beautiful forest — something out of a fantasy story.
I was happy to have stayed two weeks in Léon, as usually I will only spend a week or less when I am visiting a place for the first time. But two weeks felt short this time. I certainly lucked out to have stumbled onto the ideal apartment situation blindly. I’m already hoping to return to Léon for longer next year to visit Erica and Pipa and live like a local in Léon.
