Another wonderful sleep in, this time in a spacious deluxe room with a very comfortable firm double bed that actually seems more the size of a King size bed. We took our time heading downstairs into yet another separate big dining room for breakfast. And what a smorgasbord of food there was! Cereal, toast, hot foods like eggs, bacon, sausage, cheeses, cold meats, yogurt, juices, fruits, cakes, churros, crossiants…. it was too much to take in! And all included in the accommodation price. You could even order a cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs or omelette for no extra charge. So I ate till I was bursting. Mr D ate till his belly was below his knees again. The strange fellow was there getting his breakfast & had company of a lady friend whom he must of met on the Camino.

Mr D’s lumps were spreading & he was trying to work out what the cause is, he is getting quite worried about it. We scheduled a walk in the morning to run some errands, lunch then back to the Parador. Mr D got stronger cream from the Farmacia for his lumps. We went to the bank, found a replacement iPhone charger lead as one had stopped working. Then he found another pair of socks which brings his socks count to 6 pairs. He admits his ‘sexy socks’ are not so good & the Camino had thrown a test at him back then & he had failed. Lesson: Do not be sucked in by a pretty young lady with a sexy husky voice. I bought a pair of windproof gloves that I hope helps keep my fingers warm as the days are getting colder & Mr D needs his ski gloves back! Then I also stamped our Pilgrim passports with the stamp in the store.

Doing well, I followed Mr D around to the 3 music shops in the city. He had no luck finding what he was after. A Lute. Then we stopped in the main laneway again to people watch & eat. Only I was still full from breakfast. Mr D asked for pasta bolognese & coffee & I just wanted a coke. Well two plates of the pasta bolognese came out! Mr D said “I don’t know how that happened!” So I ate it but didn’t enjoy it as much,  it was pasta with sauce through it. Some meatballs added to the dish would have made it nicer! Unfamiliar Pilgrim faces started arriving in the city as now we will be joining a new batch of Pilgrims for our final journey. We were both tired by then so we headed back stopping at the supermercado for Mr D’s favourite salted almonds & another bottle of vino. lucky we had an extra day to get all organised then!

Then it was time to kick back at the Parador. Mr D had a siesta, I relaxed, massaged my poor tired feet & aching shoulders. Then I finished off the planning for our final stage into Santiago. So close yet still so far! We enjoyed our room with our glasses of vino before heading off for dinner.

Our last night in Leon, so we decided to return to the hub of tapas bars / restaurants. Walking down we were passing a unisex hairdressers shop & Mr D had been procrastinating about getting his hair cut. The Spanish hairdresser man inside saw us lingering & waved for us to come in. So it was a done deal & Mr D had his fuzzy hair cut short resulting in his new distinguished look! Mr D feels very self conscious with his new grey haired look but it matches his grey facial beard & moustache growth. Very becoming! We had the challenge of finding dinner early as the Spainish eat late. We bumped into the German couple also looking for a meal. We were like ‘You were supposed to have left today!’ But the woman still had shin splint pain so they delayed leaving until tomorrow. So we continued looking & spotted Irish Ray sitting & talking with another fellow. Mr D wasn’t keen to chat as the other night, Ray had been drinking & turned aggressive having a go about ‘us Aussies’ towards Mr D that turned him off chatting any more. So we kept looking & found a gem. We got served delicious steaks, Mr D’s steak he cooked on his own stone plate & was soooooo good! Even the chips passed the test, the first proper crunchy well cooked fries! Well we rolled out of there, our bellies now touching the ground, & all the way back to our little paradise room. Couldn’t have done any better!

It would be easy to spend a week here, but we gotta keep on moving! The third stage of the Camino is known as Spiritual awareness. Some say you die in the Meseta & are reborn in this stage. I’m looking forward to the amazing change of scenery as we head back into the mountains & further on into Galicia. This part is not going to be easy & I’m sure the Camino will throw more challenges our way…….