Serrated Mountains

Day 4 in Barcelona was not great. It was cold and kind of wet. Everything was closed. Our feet hurt. We were tired. So we wandered for a bit and then watched Doctor Who and went to bed.

But Day 5, oh man, that was magnificent. We took the metro and the train to Montserrat, stopping first to get some pastries and cafe con leche from our favorite little coffee place. The train ride wasn't too bad but we were worried about the weather- cold and a little bit wet and it did not bode well that the cable car station was closed when we arrived. Luckily, it opened and we were on the first one up- literally going through clouds to get to the top. This made for some of the most gorgeous views I have ever seen. I felt like we were in the Alps or the Andes or something. Breath-taking.

Despite the chill, the first thing we decided to do was walk down to Santa Cova.  The monastery has been there since 880 AD and in the 12th century, the Black Madonna was found and was attributed to being a part of creating miracles. The Black Madonna was moved from Santa Cova to the monastery, which is now still a working monastery as well as school famous for a boy's choir. The walk to Sana Cova was highlighted by statues that highlighted the story of Jesus' life, from the angel visiting Mary to the empty tomb and the Ascension back up to heaven. And of course, the views were continually spectacular.
 

We then headed into the monastery, which on the outside was simply but the inside was absolutely gorgeous. Every place you looked there was something different, beautiful ceilings, mosaics, gold and silver decorations , murals, paintings, I mean, really, every place you looked was something new to see. There was also a long line to go and see the Black Virgin, which was actually some beautiful in its own way. You also had a beautiful vantage point of seeing the church from above.

 By the time we left the monastery, the sun was out and most of the clouds had burned away. We took a funicular up to Sant Joan's hermitage and ended up going on an impromptu hike. The hermitage was built into the rocks and reminded me of where the Pueblo Indians built their homes. On the way to the hermitage, we saw a steep set of stone stairs and of course, hiked up. That led up to one beautiful view to another steep hike over rocks to another gorgeous view. We finally reached the top of the mountain and had nearly a 360 degree view, being able to see the sea and Barcelona (or at least a bit of it- most of it was hidden behind Tibidabo).

The whole day just seemed unreal. I've never see views so spectacular before. The weather ended up being perfect and not too cold and although the train ride home was long and not at all fun, the entire day was worth it. If you are EVER in Barcelona, make sure you go to Montserrat. You will not regret it.