Bright and early this morning we took the metro to meet a guide to take us to Montserrat – a multi peaked mountain range about an hour out of Barcelona. Montserrat literally means serrated in Catalan (the region Barcelona is in) and that accurately describes the rock formations that make up the mountains These mountains are home to a Benedictine Abbey founded in the 11th century. The sanctuary houses a famous Roman Catholic relic, a statue of the Black Madonna and Child which is believed to date from at least the 12th century. The natural beauty surrounding the monastery is simply breathtaking.
It was great to get out of the busy city and enjoy some countryside and nature. We had a kind, very knowledgeable tour guide with just 8 of us on the tour. We were joined by two sisters from the Philippines, two sisters from Latvia and a married couple from Taiwan. We got to know them and really enjoyed the day together. We were the oldest by 25 years for sure. Occasionally we would have a cloud settle on us for a bit, but for the most part it was a clear, sunny cool day up there.
We walked and toured and then went for a guided hike (whew) up and up to the 14 different stations of the cross. I was puffing by the time we got to 14, but the walk back was slow and down!! Thank goodness! There were some farmers selling cheese and honey along the way. We bought some called mato. It was a creamy goat cheese with honey poured on top. Very good! After we visited the basilica and saw the Black Madonna, we took a cable car back down the mountain and our guide picked us up at the bottom and brought us back to Barcelona. So glad we went.
Our time in Barcelona is done. We leave by train for Valencia in the morning.
Looking back on our four days here we both agree that Barcelona is a beautiful city and we are glad we started here. It is busy and packed with visitors- even now – which is considered low season. It is a very touristy city. It hosted an Olympic Games, a World’s Fair and is the prime European City for cruise ship stops right now, so it seems that much of the city is “made for tourists”. We also know that our knowledge is only based on our very tiny 4 day glimpse, and that our base camp was right beside Sagrada Familia which is one of the most visited sites in the city. Had we been out in a residential area – our glimpse would have been different, I’m sure. Even though we were warned many times about the dangers of Barcelona- the thieves and pickpockets, we felt very safe and never encountered anything shady or threatening. Our guide today reassured us that their is an element of thievery here. Never violent -just watch “your stuff”. We knew about that going in, so each of us purchased a flat body pack we wear sometimes under our sweater or jacket so I guess we had nothing out there that looked worth stealing.
The architecture is beautiful and different. Antoni Gaudi, a Catalan architect , had such a big impact on buildings here and they are so unique; free flowing and full of colour. The food was delicious, the people were friendly and kind. So other than a little bit of Disneyish feel – we loved it.
Goodbye Barcelona – hello Valencia!
PS. My body hasn’t quite adjusted to the 7 hour time change yet so I have a couple awake hours in the night – strange! Maybe I’m running on adrenaline but still feel great during the day. Anyway – that’s when I write these daily blogs and think back over the day. Once I get adjusted and able to sleep – I may not be so long winded!!
Love following along! Looks like so much fun hope everything is going great!