Monserrat + the Beach
A long train ride away from the hub of Barcelona is Monserrat, which includes a Medieval monastery. We got off the train and into the tram to head up the mountain, while an American tourist commenting how like James Bond this was. I haven't watched that movie but quite certain he didn't have 30 tourists in the gondola with him. Arriving at the top, we had an expansive view of the valley and above us the fog masked the crests of the peaks. As always, I was trying to take photos via self-timer and Steve was pesky enough to having me running back and forth by mucking up every one I tried to take; burping, stuffing his face with more smuggled croissants, or threatening to push me off the edge. Despite this, overall, I'm very thankful that Steve is used to travelling with me and my wandering away or sudden stops because I want to take a photo. I know many people, family included, see photos as an interruption and dad has said that 'you either live or relive' trips. However for me, as it's something I enjoy it adds to the trip, it makes me look closer at everything. I find that if I'm holding my camera, my head's on a swivel, hunting for interesting people, details, and stuff that most people would pass over and it enriches the trip.
The countryside looks like a rockier, greener Drumheller, with the fingered mountains reminding me of hoodoos. There were tons of market stalls along the way passing out free goat cheese samples which were very tasty. We looked around the Basicllica, and saw it's main icon, the Black Madonna. Apparently the statue is a big deal and a site of pilgrimage for some people. It's believed to have been carved in Jerusalem in a Byzantine style and then brought to Monserrat in 718 and you're supposed to touch the little orb thing she has in her hand. Apparently during the reign of the Fascist dictator Franco, Heinrich Himmler came to Monserrat believing that the Holy Grail was hidden in the mountains nearby and would help the Nazi's win the war- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Part 2.
We hiked along the mountain pathways a bit, until it started to rain and we caught the train back to Barcelona. I figured that we should go to see at least one more Gaudi so we went past the Casa Batloo, which to me looks like something that would be in Atlantis. We continued down Las Ramblas, a very crowded street, with tons of market stalls selling everything from jewelry, candy, food, to kids halloween costumes.
For our last day in Barcelona, after we packed up the hostel we headed to the beach. On our way through the Gothic Quarter, someone was obviously having a bad day and was tossing stale baguettes out of the window. It was beautifully sunny and we had a lovely time in the sand, the sun, and watching the Barcelona speedo man snorkeling in about 2 feet of ocean. Every now and again we'd see a flippered foot sticking out of the surf like an upside down flamingo. Steve was a bit of a prat, offering to take my photo but waiting until I was about to be overtaken by the waves to actually take one. But I won.
After our day in the sun, we caught our plane to Porto, Portugal.
