Diane and I spent the morning exploring León; we managed to find the remains of the old Jewish Quarter and visit the town market in Plaza Mayor. Normally, I’d write a bit more about that, but we just got back from the Leyenda del Páramo winery, the site of our eclipse viewing session, and it’s after midnight, so the rest of the day will have to wait.

We had great (if very hot) weather, a perfect viewing site, and good conditions.

This is the third total eclipse Diane and I have seen, and I hope it’s not the last!

We spent the whole day in León, beginning with a guided tour. Our first stop was the Museo de San Isidro, which dates back to the 11th Century (with many additions since). It includes a basilica, a museum with many ancient artifacts, and more. They don’t allow photography inside the buildings, unfortunately.

Our guide took us by Casa Bontines, built by Gaudi to house the businesses of the Bontines family. It was not well-received by the population of León, but they’ve gotten used to it in the last century.

Our next stop was León Cathedral; we walked down the ancient principal Roman street (now today’s big shopping street) to get there.

León Cathedral is spectacular. They do allow photography inside.

After a long and complicated group lunch, we had the afternoon and evening free.

If you find yourself in León, I highly recommend this laundromat – it’s quick and easy, but doesn’t have a lot of machines (only 2 dryers). We timed it well and had the place to ourselves when we started – there was a line for the machines by the time we finished an hour later.

We finished the day with a long stroll through the riverside park.