Tripe, anyone?

Tripe, black pudding and octopus…just a few of the weird and wonderful things I have eaten over the past four days. Of course, when you use their Spanish names you can forget the slightly off-putting origin of these foods, for example, ‘callos’ sounds a lot nicer than cow intestine, doesn’t it? Anyway, for me these typical dishes will always be remembered as the highlight of my four day trip to León. A historic city, located three hours from Madrid, León is truly one of Spain’s gems. If anyone is planning on paying it a visit, I truly advise that you first find a couple of generous abuelitos (grandparents) to stay with, who can spoil you rotten with homemade chorizo and other such delicious delicacies.

On my first day in León I hit the town, well in true Spanish style of course. I was given a guided tour of the city at about 11pm and by 12 o’clock we were eating tiny dishes of fried chicken, patatas and the infamous callos. Tapas bars really are wonderful because they represent everything that a great night out should involve: good food, good drink and a good vibe.

This is just one of the beautiful sights I saw on my late night tour of León. The cathedral is also known as the house of light and from the photos below you can pretty much see why. With 1,800 metres of stained glass windows, the inside of the cathedral is flooded with colour as the light filters through the glass.

The next days involved a mix of sleeping in very late (really, this au pair business is a doddle!), eating delicious Leonese lunches, taking the girls to the park and exploring the city, camera in hand. On my last night in León I decided to pay San Marcos a visit. Now a luxury hotel, this amazing building has a pretty exciting history; from being a monastery, a hospital and even a prison.

Afterwards, feeling slightly peckish and desperate to try churros con chocolate caliente, I made my way into an empty cafe. Now, eating a deep fried pastry-dough based snack when you’re about to have an inevitably huge dinner in an hours time back at the ol’ abuelito’s abode, probably isn’t the best idea. However, did I care? Heck no – I’m on holiday! (I still consider being in a foreign country as the same as being on holiday, even if it is three months long).

So yesterday afternoon,  we packed up the car and started the three hour journey back to Madrid. It’s real good to be home, however I will never forget the beauty of León, the excitement of my first tapas bar visit but most significantly, the feeling of warmth I felt eating churros in that empty café….