22nd September 2018
TC decided last night that we would spend today at Monserrat. Monserrat is part of a multi-peaked mountain range and it houses the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Monserrat, which hosts the Virgin Mary of Monserrat.
While we were waiting around at the station, I asked Michelle (who had been on the East Europe tour with mum and WT), how she felt about organised tours vs our current DIY tour. She said they are completely different activities. Organised tours are easy of course as far as sightseeing goes when you have no local knowledge. DIY is preferred if you have at least one team member who has good navigation and planning skills. The pace is also more relaxed and you can stop and smell and drink the coffee. And more shopping time, of course! However, the most important criterion to a successful DIY trip is the compatibility of personalities within the group.
The R5 railway took us there in 61 minutes. After a 30 minute queue, the cable car cabled us up in 5 minutes. According to the sign at the cable car station, the peak was 1,200m. The other way up was by funicular, its like a short train except slanted.
The very solid rock formations were well weathered and smooth. You can see all types of shapes and faces. Like Homer Simpson tummies and Easter Island faces.
While the others were taking pictures, mum and I joined the cable car queue and we went up first. There were no seats, so everybody stood when inside.
The little cable cars took about 20 people so after 2 cars the rest joined us.
A short walk and the Basilica came into view.
And we saw and touched her.
Soon we were out. Water bottles were filled from the holy tap, where we assumed the water was blessed every morning and therefore holy.
Fake disapproval photos were sent to the friends who recommended this place.
TC decided last night that we would spend today at Monserrat. Monserrat is part of a multi-peaked mountain range and it houses the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Monserrat, which hosts the Virgin Mary of Monserrat.
While we were waiting around at the station, I asked Michelle (who had been on the East Europe tour with mum and WT), how she felt about organised tours vs our current DIY tour. She said they are completely different activities. Organised tours are easy of course as far as sightseeing goes when you have no local knowledge. DIY is preferred if you have at least one team member who has good navigation and planning skills. The pace is also more relaxed and you can stop and smell and drink the coffee. And more shopping time, of course! However, the most important criterion to a successful DIY trip is the compatibility of personalities within the group.
The R5 railway took us there in 61 minutes. After a 30 minute queue, the cable car cabled us up in 5 minutes. According to the sign at the cable car station, the peak was 1,200m. The other way up was by funicular, its like a short train except slanted.
The very solid rock formations were well weathered and smooth. You can see all types of shapes and faces. Like Homer Simpson tummies and Easter Island faces.
While the others were taking pictures, mum and I joined the cable car queue and we went up first. There were no seats, so everybody stood when inside.
The little cable cars took about 20 people so after 2 cars the rest joined us.
Then I was sent off to the information centre to:
- Get a map
- Locate the toilets
- And I forget this 3rd request which I forgot to ask..... received aiiiya! feedback
We spotted a long queue at the concourse and immediately joined. We thought this might be the queue for the famed boys choir.
The young exchange student ladies in front told us there was no choir on Saturdays. And the queue was for viewing the black Madonna. We queued for 1.5 hours, so we got chatting with the students. They were 2 Hungarians, 1 Austrian and 1 Brazilian. The exchange programme was at University of Vic, a city an hour or two north of Barcelona.
Queuing.
And then there was light.
And we saw and touched her.
Soon we were out. Water bottles were filled from the holy tap, where we assumed the water was blessed every morning and therefore holy.
And we wandered around the concourse a bit more taking in the views.
Fake disapproval photos were sent to the friends who recommended this place.
Lunch was ham and cheese baguette.
Monserrat is a lovely place with plenty of walkways to various scenic sites and spectacular views.
Returning to earth on the cable car.
I received a request to go shopping. As we were taking the R5 train to Placa Espanya anyway, we went above ground to Las Arenas shopping mall, which is the circular structure on the left. Things and food were bought.
The view from the top floor was 360 degrees and towards the MNAC museum on the hill it looked like...
The Merce festival was on this weekend. I think this is for the patron saint of Barcelona and Monday is a public holiday. There were a lot of activities going on in the plaza like concerts and exhibitions.
We hung around the Gothic quarter after lunch to wander the narrow alleys that occasionally bursts into large piazzas with outdoor cafes, fountains, statues and playgrounds.
23rd September 2018
We were invited to lunch by my late god mother's daughter Tai Mooi and her husband Josep today. Meeting place was the Liceu Theatre on La Rambla.
The Merce festival was on this weekend. I think this is for the patron saint of Barcelona and Monday is a public holiday. There were a lot of activities going on in the plaza like concerts and exhibitions.
After a bit of meandering on the the way, we meet up with Tai Mooi and Josep at Liceu Theatre. After introductions and warm greetings, we made our way thru the Gothic quarter to the El Gran Cafe Restaurant. They serve traditional Catalunyan food here which is what we had. Josep choose an excellent local red, the Nomes Garnatxa Negra made in the Emporda region on Costa Brava. Garnatxa is Grenache.
We ate tomato and olive infused baguette, cured meat platters, croquets, omelettes, pork sausages and beans, pork knuckles, beef and mushroom, marinated fish and creme brûlée. It was a feast.
Tai Mooi is from KL and Josep is a Barcelona native. It was great catching up with them, and WT cleared up a mystery that only a local can know.
As in many European cities, rubbish is sorted and put in these bins, which are collected by magnetic cranes on the street. They are everywhere and usually only metres from your apartment. We could figure out the paper bin, glass, organics and plastic. But there is still a whole bunch of left over general non-recycling-classifiable stuff to go somewhere. But where?
Tai Mooi cleared that up. General rubbish goes into the R - reject bins.
Soon lunch was over, and the restaurant started filling up with patrons on normal Catalan lunch time.
We bid Tai Mooi and Josep a warm farewell, as we enjoyed their warm Catalunyan hospitality.
We hung around the Gothic quarter after lunch to wander the narrow alleys that occasionally bursts into large piazzas with outdoor cafes, fountains, statues and playgrounds.
Shops were shopped at, and some shops were more interesting than others.
We carried on home but TC who peeled off from us earlier stayed on for the festivities in the Plaza.
TC's Merce
After leaving the others to their own devices, I ventured into the Gothic Quarter, which is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. I wandered around the labyrinth streets where many small streets open out into squares, exploring the area.
After a relaxing cup of coffee at one of the squares in the shade, I headed back to the Plaça de Catalunya, a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be its city centre. The Mercè Festival 2018 was in full swing there. It is Barcelona's biggest festival of the year and is also known as La festa major de Barcelona, and a public holiday on 24th September for Barcelona only.
At the Plaça, there was an air of festivity with swarms of people thronging in between the stages and tents, and crowds watching the performances at the various stages on the warm, balmy evening. I caught a flamenco dance performance, having managed to squeeze through the crowd, and was very tempted to stay on longer to see what was on offer at the other stages. However my tummy was starting to growl and the thought of Michelle's yummy dinner meals and nightly (yes, nightly!) delicious soups managed to extract me from the festivities to catch the bus back to satiate the hunger pangs that grew with each minute on the bus journey back to our Airbnb accommodation.
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