Exploding with Happiness!: Montserrat

It's hard to top a day that starts with fresh churros. Sara and I went exploring the ancient alleys in our neighborhood this morning (i.e., we got a bit lost) but found the wonderful little churro shop we were seeking. We had to wait while a fresh batch finished cooking in the big bubbling vat behind the counter. The wait was worth it. We left with five paper cones filled with hot churros - four with just sugar and one with decadent chocolate covered churros. We took them back to the apartment for breakfast. Way better than donuts with our scrambled eggs!

At Laura’s suggestion, we had booked an afternoon excursion from Barcelona to Montserrat. Montserrat means “serrated mountain,” which is a good description of its appearance. It is about an hour from Barcelona by bus.

However, before we set out for Montserrat, Sara, Steve and I first walked over to see the central part of the University of Barcelona. Laura’s Spanish literature class meets here. Her other classes actually meet at other UB facilities, widely scattered through the city. Later in the day, we passed the building where her economics class meets. Anyway, the old university building was beautiful – stately, peaceful courtyards and halls with gothic carving and stained glass as well as utilitarian classrooms. While we were all wandering around Laura’s school, Evan took a run down to the beach.

Mid-afternoon we boarded our bus and headed for Montserrat. Our tour guide, who was Catalán, did a marvelous job of telling us about all the sights we passed heading out of Barcelona, some of which we had visited, but many of which we hadn’t. We passed the Casa Batllo in the “Block of Discord” on Passeig de Gracia, the giant, former textile factory of Sr. Guell (we learned that textiles were the backbone of Barcelona’s economy in the 19^th century and that at one time, Sr. Guell was the wealthiest man in Spain), a major Barcelona publishing company (we learned that Barcelona is the world capital of Spanish language publishing), and the practice facility of the FCB soccer team (we learned they were one of the first to provide residential facilities for their players and schools for the kids of the players in order to foster close friendships among the players).

Soon, Monteserrat came into view. It stands isolated, surrounded by relatively flat terrain, which seems to enhance its height. The peaks, which are sedimentary rock eroded into weird, rounded shapes, jut up into the sky. Montserrat has had a Benedictine monastery near its top for about 1000 years. The monastery that is there now was built mostly during the 19^th century. Older buildings were burned by Napoleon and also suffered in the War for Independence and the Spanish Civil War.

When we got to the top, we admired the magnificent views. Our guide then took us on a brief tour of the town and the monastery. Inside the church, the prized possession is the “Black Virgin.” According to legend, this statue was found in a cave hundreds of years ago by shepherds and has the power to grant wishes. We lined up with everyone else to make a wish as we touched the orb in the Virgin’s hand. Hope our wishes come true!

The dark clouds surrounding Montserrat opened up and started raining on us as we came out of the basilica, which dampened our interest in doing much hiking. Instead, we poked around the little town some and looked at the shops. However, as the rain wasn’t really heavy and Steve and I had rain jackets, the two of us eventually walked up one of the trails a ways and were rewarded with magnificent vistas. On our way down, the sun actually broke through, making for some splendid views. Our tour guide introduced us to various forms of Catalán music on the drive back to Barcelona, winding up a great excursion.

Back in Barcelona, for our last dinner together, we found a nice restaurant in the Barri Gothic not far from our apartment and had delicious tapas and sangria. AND there was a gelato shop right across the street. How perfect!