Spain Holidays

Day 3 of Spain Holidays 2010 - August 31, Tuesday – Barcelona-Montserrat-Barcelona

8:00 Woke up, had coffee and light breakfast at the hotel

9:15 Walked to the Ildefons Cerda metro/FGC station and bought the R5 line train tickets to Montserrat from the ticket machine. There were a few ticket options, but we opted for the return tickets for the train to Montserrat and the cable car ride – at €16.00 per person. (Note: the ticket options are very confusing and you have to be careful with your selection, because for instance if you buy a Cremallera funicular version, you will not be able to use it for the Aeri cable car. They are not interchangeable! Moreover, to use the cable car you have to get off at the Montserrat Aeri train station and to use the Cremallera funicular you have to get off at the Monistrol train station. But don't get discouraged – I guarantee you that you won't regret your effort to get there – it's just an incredible place…)

9:40 The R5 train arrived and we were off for an exactly 1-hour long trip to Montserrat - it reached the Montserrat Aeri station at 10:40. The trip was nice; the weather was good and it was interesting to see from the train the countryside of the south of Spain.

Montserrat, Spain

10:40 Walked to the Aeri cable car station (just a very short walk) and waited a few minutes for the cable car to arrive. The cable car ride was only about 5-minute long, but the view from the car was fantastic. It reminded us somewhat the Kalambaka area (Meteora) in Greece.

11:00 Grabbed some snacks at the grocery store. Entered St. Mary's Square in front of the Basilica. Enjoyed breath-taking panoramic views from the square's viewpoint arches.

11:30 Visited the Basilica, but as the Conventual Mass was in progression, it wasn't available for taking a «detailed» look at its treasuries.

12:00 – 12:50 Joined the fast-growing line for those who wanted see, touch and pray to the Black Madonna of Montserrat (La Moreneta). The door to the side entrance leading to the Madonna was finally open, but it still took a lot of time until we were able to see and touch the Black Madonna, to pray in front of her for a minute or so only so that the next pilgrims could do the same. After that we prayed for a little longer in the chapel situated behind the Madonna's statue.

La Moroneta - Black Madonna of Montserrat, Spain

(Note: La Moreneta statue depicts Mary sitting high above the main altar of the Basilica. The pilgrims approach the statue through a long passage with a number of smaller altars of various saints, mostly linked to Spain. To see the statue is free, daily 8:00-10:30 and 12:00-18:30 plus 19:30-20:15 in summer. The statue is behind a protective glass case, but the royal orb in her hand is exposed and the pilgrims can touch it while praying.)

13:00 After a moment of prayer to the Black Madonna, we hurried to the Basilica where the famous Montserrat Boy's Choir of 50 boys from the Montserrat Escolania (the oldest music school in Europe) was getting ready to perform. The Basilica was jam-packed and everybody was fascinated by the boys singing like the angels. Unfortunately, the Choir's performance was very short – about 15-minute long only.

Montserrat Boy's Choir

13:15 Lit the votive candles and visited the room full of votive offerings left as gratitude for divine intercession. Spent a while in the centre of the square in front of the Basilica, experiencing a nice flow of positive energy.

13:30 Montserrat offers numerous hikes over the mountains surrounding the sanctuary; some are 20-minute walks, the other routes may take more than 3 hours. There are two funicular railways at Montserrat – the Sant Joan funicular (with spectacular views of the mountains and the sanctuary) and the Santa Cova funicular (it takes the pilgrims up to the cave where, as the legend says, the image of the Black Madonna was found). We didn't have a lot of time to use either of the funiculars (they run often – every 20 minutes; prices: Sant Joan – €7.25 return (€4.50 one way); Santa Cova – €2.90 return (€1.80 one way); combined ticket for both – €8.15 (return). However, we hiked a bit for about 30 minutes, but we got hungry and got back.

14:10 Hunting for valuable souvenirs at the gift shop

14:45 We had a solid meal at La Cafeteria. Surprisingly low prices and very tasty food. If they only had enough forks…

15:30 Aeri cable car ride down to the Montserrat Aeri station of the FGC.

15:48 R5 train back to Barcelona – from Montserrat Aeri to Plaça Espanya.

16:51 Arrived at Plaça Espanya FGC station, then walked to the MNAC Museum (Catalan National Art Museum). It's located in a huge, elegant building on the side of the Montjuic Mountain – lots of steps to climb there; luckily there are there the escalators too!

MNAC, Barcelona

17:10 Got the €12 combo tickets – covering entries to both MNAC and Poble Espanyol – great deal, specially that we could use them over two days! Spent over an hour at MNAC – lots of great exhibits, but not enough time to see all and every of them. If we have time, we will come back tomorrow.

Flamenco Dinner, Tablao de Carmen, Barcelona

18:30 Walked from MNAC to Poble Espanyol – not only to see the Poble, but also to have dinner and watch one of the best Barcelona's flamenco shows at the Tablao de Carmen restaurant. The flamenco show was excellent and the Spanish dishes we chose for dinner were also very good. By the way, we bought the tickets online at home – €68… per person – money spent very well!

20:45 After the flamenco dinner we walked around Poble Espanyol. This is a very interesting miniature of Spain, with plenty of shops and workshops. Unfortunately most of them were closed already. Moreover, we were quite tired already after such a busy day.

21:30 Took a bus to Plaça Espanya (just few stops) and then L8 metro to the hotel (2 stops – got off at Ildefons Cerda).

Stan

RESOURCES:

Montserrat - http://wikitravel.org/en/Montserrat_(Spain)
Montserrat Abbey - http://www.abadiamontserrat.net
Poble Espanyol (official website) - http://www.poble-espanyol.com/pemsa/en.html
Catalan National Art Museum (MNAC) - http://www.mnac.cat/index.jsp?lan=003
Tablao de Carmen - http://www.tablaodecarmen.com/index.php?lang=en
FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) - railway/metro/funicular company operating in and around Barcelona - http://www.fgc.net/eng/index.asp