León.

León.

Lion.

It is also the name of a city, which sounds similar to Lyon in France, which is also confusing.  

It is also very cold. 

I spent the morning there, after getting the 7am bus, on Saturday. The highlight is the old quarter which is half encircled by an original Roman wall. It also contains the famous Gothic cathedral, and its 125 stained glass windows; suffice to say I felt very small and insignificant. 

Another highlight I accidentally found was the Real Colegiata Basílica de San Isidoro. I didn't enter the actual church (see Santander for confirmed fears on this) but I did visit the Royal Pantheon which contains 12th century murals, which were stunning. I wasn't allowed to take photos for obvious reasons so peep the link: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=real+colegiata+bas%C3%ADlica+de+san+isidoro+murals&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=YkkLU-imC8Wi0QXBzYDIDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1304&bih=646 

They also have a library with medieval texts on display and a small museum with treasures such as a jeweled chalice, a silver plate, an ivory box and bits of oriental tapestries. A personal highlight was outside the church, upon a tall pillar on the other side of the square, were 2 storks were nesting. 

Other impressive buildings included the MUSAC, the art museum which consists of a building covered in rectangles of colour, I admit I preferred the outside to the inside content. Nearby is the impressive Hostal San Marcos that used to be a convent and now operates as a luxury hotel. 

The best view of the trip however goes to the bus journey which took us through the mountains: