Stories from Spain: Touring Leon

BY Carlos - 2018 World Fellow

Having recently embarked over 20 hours of traveling, we were all very tired and jet lagged. It had been our first actual day in León. As the homesickness started to kick in, and the reality of us finally being in León after so much anticipation hit us, like a rocket. For months we spent hours doing research, and fantasizing about life in the city of León. However, none of that could have prepared us for what we had in store.

Since it was our first actual day in León, we did not know the city at all, it was all just a treasure waiting to be discovered by our adventurous souls. At first glance León may seem like a very big, scary, foreign city. However it is quite the opposite, it is a marvelous city full of different things to do, and the community is so amazing, everyone is just so welcoming, and our tour guide made us feel that much more welcome. It is so amazing walking through the streets of León and realizing that this city is thousands of years old. It is such and old, well preserved city. You can really tell that the people here really do care about their city, and you can see so much history simply by walking outside your apartment.

Something I found quite astonishing is that the Romans founded the city of León in the year 500 in order to protect their gold mines in the Medulas. I am also mesmerized by all the small architectural details all of the buildings have. Another great thing is all of the symbolism you can find in everything, in the grand plaza you can see a very old water fountain with two angels on it, that represents the two rivers that go through León. You can also still see the family crest of armors in many of the homes that used to belong to the wealthy people of León. 

Having gotten a tour of the city on our first day here was amazing, it helped us get comfortable with the city, and it definitely helped us find all the good places to eat. The instructor did such an amazing job at giving us a tour of the city, and his enthusiasm for the history of the city of León, grasped your attention, and I definitely learned many things that I will share with my friends and family back home.