Mama Tere, one of the more than 600 bars in the city of León.
It exists in Lion a difficult mystery to unravel, even more so than finally finding out if the Chalice of Doña Urraca de San Isidoro is actually the Holy Grail or not. It is about that disdain towards what is ours that we have already told you about on occasion in Traveler.
We practice it innocently when we assume that everything good in the city is not so good simply because It's about 'normal'. But, from the distant and objective perspective (okay, maybe a bit nostalgic) of those of us who live abroad, we can assure you, who are lucky enough to live in León, that the way of understanding life and the way in which day to day passes in the city of Bernesga It is neither so daily nor so habitual.
For this reason, so that we never again need the gastronomic capital of 2018 to come to remind us that León eats wonderfully and that our local product is an inexhaustible pantry of quality ingredients, here are a series of Reasons why León is the best city to live in Although it is a bit hard for us to believe it.
Cathedral of Santa María de Regla de León, known as the Pulchra Leonina.
1. BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED A MOBILE PHONE TO STAY
If you are before the millennial generation, it is likely that you have spent part of your adolescence waiting – at the time agreed the day before – for each and every one of your friends to arrive on the clock of Santo Domingo or sitting in the windows of BBVA or on the benches of La Pícara. But no, I am not referring to that, but to the current moment, to that of the mobile phone and instantaneity.
In León it is almost certain that on your way home from work, when you stop to buy bread, if you are going to visit your grandmother, to take the dog to the vet or if you have arranged to go shopping with a cousin, you end up trapped in any of its more than 600 bars ** drinking something without even proposing it.
There will always be someone, an acquaintance, a friend, a neighbor, a second cousin, a boss, an employee, an enemy... to invite or be entertained by at 'time' for wine, that space-time hole that others call an aperitif and in which you start with a glass of Prieto Picudo or a short beer and finish… you finish as you finish: eating or having dinner reluctantly at home because you don't dare to confess that you've already eaten five or six tapas before. Which brings us to point 2.
In León it is not necessary to meet in the Plaza de Santo Domingo to end up having a drink in a bar.
two. BECAUSE YOU CAN EAT WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY FOR IT
Tapas in the city are free with drinks. And in this case the time period covers from breakfast to drink time. You wake up with the mini-croissant from Paris, with the montaditos from Flecha, with the tortilla skewer from Los Caracoles (Rincón Conde Rebolledo, 13) or from the bar of the Colegio de Médicos and say goodbye to the day at dawn accompanied by the gin and tonic, as well as with music , with a sweetness of sliced ham parading on trays by the Luna 9 cocktail bar.
For lunch or dinner you can opt for the most traditional and sought-after tapas in the capital, such as the spicy potatoes at Flechazo, the croquette at Rebote (Plaza San Martín, 9), the pizza at Competencia, the garlic soups at Camarote Madrid or the sausage of Entrepeñas. Or let yourself be tempted by other more elaborate ones like the ones offered El Palomo, a family bar – tucked away at number 8 of the charming Escalerilla alley – that usually surprises with its varied preparations, from a vegetable lasagna to a gratin mushroom.
El Palomo, a family bar that always surprises with its elaborate tapas.
But do not get confused, that we like to play it safe with traditional dishes does not mean that the restaurant sector in León remains immobile or anchored in the past.
Practically every month the city receives with expectation the opening of a new place that comes with a lot of desire and designer decoration to liven up our bars and tables: Kamado Asian Food (what does an Asian like you do in a city like this?), KOOK Premium Beer (premium beers with an international flavor) or La Bonita (and his charming treatment).
Thanks to Kamado Asian Food in León you can try oriental urban cuisine.
3. BECAUSE THE DEGREES OF SEPARATION ARE REDUCED TO THE MAXIMUM
If the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon dictates that we are all a maximum of six degrees away from the Mystic River actor (I, due to my job, am two, so my friends, my family, or anyone who knows me, therefore, it would be three), imagine how small the distance between the Leonese themselves is... We are like a microFacebook (which has reduced the number to three and a half) or, rather, like Iceland, where (due to the small population and short distances) two is the maximum degree existing among the inhabitants of the entire country.
Okay, this that may seem negative a priori in the case of cheating, infidelity or unfortunate or malicious comments, is actually the foundation of welcome communities, those where people meet, support and help each other.
Without going any further, a couple of months ago the news appeared on social networks that two teacher positions were going to be lost due to lack of student enrollment in the Higher Degree Training Cycle of Artistic Stained Glass at the León School of Arts and the response was so immediate, gimmicky and effective that, two days later, the minimum quota was covered. The pity is that we do not realize the value of our things, as in the case of this course, the only one of its kind nationwide, until we are about to lose them.
The León Art School offers a peculiar and attractive Artistic Stained Glass course.
Four. BECAUSE THE DISTANCES ARE SHORT
In less than an hour walking you can cross the city from end to end: from Mariano Andrés to the Michaisa crossing, from the Crucero to the Candamia. And although for this reason the use of the taxi may seem useless, the truth is that they are appreciated when it is -10 ºC on New Year's Eve or we want to return home at dawn after having started taking shorts at 'time' wines from the day before.
Yes indeed, don't waste your time raising your hand Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City to stop one, because in León you have to go look for them at the official taxi ranks. oh! and try to carry cash, since there are many who do not have a device to charge with a card.
It will take less than an hour to walk to Candamia Park from anywhere in León.
5. BECAUSE IT IS MUCH MORE THAN A CROSSROADS
The Romans were experts at setting up their camps in strategic locations. And from those dusts of the Legio VI Victrix and the Legio VII Gemina come these sludge. It is always alluded to that Leon It is close to the Asturian beaches, halfway along the Camino de Santiago or headed south along the Ruta de la Plata.
This is what the people of León tell me, to whom I ask the reasons why León is the best city to live when they, lucky all, have a few meters from their home one of the few Gaudí works outside of Barcelona: La Casa Botines (1893). We must begin to be aware that León is not great because it is close to or on the way to other great places, but because of all the artistic, architectural, cultural, gastronomic and natural heritage that we have.
In a 2008 book published by the then Caja España, today Caja España-Duero (the financial entity that owns the building and manages it through the Fundación Obra Social de Castilla y León), and entitled The Gaudí de León Casa Botines building, various architects and connoisseurs of the Catalan modernist artist's work describe the building as "genuinely Gaudinian", "the perfect symbiosis between structure and form". They also ensure that the Gaudí of Casa Botines is "the most architect Gaudí".
Casa Botines was initially conceived as a residential building and a commercial textile warehouse.
There are people who travel to Spain from Japan, China or the United States just to see Gaudí's work up close. And we Leonese have it one step away! Also, since last year it is already possible to visit the building, declared a National Historic Monument and renamed the Museo Gaudí Casa Botines.
Or you can also get to know him Leonese style, that is, starting with his bar, just because, a little over a month ago a velvety champagne bar has been inaugurated on the semi-basement floor of the building called El Modernista that recreates the nineteenth-century art nouveau environment.
To this unique building we must add, of course, the ** Gothic cathedral and its enviable and outstanding collection of medieval stained glass windows, ** the Pantheon of the Kings of San Isidoro and its impeccably preserved agricultural calendar which, according to recent studies, would be more either a representation of the passage of time that of the harvests and the Parador de San Marcos, ordered to be built by Fernando el Católico and closed until further notice due to a Comprehensive reform that will return it to the 21st century.
For all these reasons, and many others that will have remained in my inkwell, the next time they ask you why León is the best city to live, do not frown and dismiss the answer. Take a deep breath, nod, reconsider and simply summarize in detail how your week has passed, because I am sure it will not have been as common or as 'normal' as you think.
The nights in the Húmedo neighborhood of León are endless.