Montserrat

Hi all! I took a day trip to Montserrat today. Montserrat stands for the 
"serrated mountain" and it's a Benedictine Monastery high up in the mountains 
about an hour north of Barcelona. The peaks of the mountains reach 4000 feet. 
Believers say the mountains were carved by little angels with golden saws. 
Geologists say it's nature at work. You decide! To get there I had to catch the 
Metro and then a train and then a cable car. Once I got there, I just got my 
bearings checking out all the different buildings, looking at the awesome views 
from up high and then wandered over to check out the Basilica/Monastery. I 
included a pic of the detailed facade of the monastery. I had purchased one of 
the audio guides and just walked around the whole building listening to all the 
history. The main attraction and what brings the majority of people is La 
Moreneta or the Black Madonna. Her statue sits high up behind the altar in this 
little room. Legend says she was carved by St. Luke, brought to Spain by St. 
Peter, hidden away in a cave during the Moorish invasions and miraculously 
discovered by shepherd children. There were literally hundreds of people 
standing in line to see her (I actually thought it was a line for tickets to the 
other Madonna's concert!) While her statue is behind glass, they come to touch 
the orb that she holds in her hand that is exposed. Due to the huge line, I 
waited until late in the day to "touch the orb". Yep, I touched it for all of 
you, so you all got some good wishes coming your way! I then settled into a pew 
and just took in the ambiance of this beautiful building. A little after I sat 
down, the boys choir came out and sang for about 20 minutes. It's actually the 
oldest boy's choir in Europe and it was so peaceful just sitting there and 
listening to it. But before I could nod off into a siesta, I went outside and 
took the funicular up to the very top of the mountains. The views from up there 
were even more incredible. I included a pic of the mountains, see if you can 
make out the one they call elephant mountain. I then did some hiking all around 
the top and then started making my way back down the mountain to the monastery. 
I included a pic of the monastery from up above. I then went back into the 
church were there was no line to see the Madonna. I included a pic of her as 
well as inside of the church from her perch high above the altar. I then 
returned to Barcelona retracing my route of the cable car, train and Metro. I 
made it back just in time for some evening tapas! All in all it was a great day 
in Montserrat. Happy Friday to everyone!