Spain Day 3: Montserrat

A late night and an early morning don’t pair well, but that’s what we had today. At 7:45 this morning, in the dark I might add, we made our way to the train station on our way to Montserrat. The metro, two trains, a hike through a ghost town, a long wait at a no name train station, a ride on a cable car, and three hours later we made it to the best view of Catalonia. 

We reserved tickets a month ago for a performance of the boys choir in the basilica. The kiddo singing soprano was outstanding! Let it be known we traveled three hours for a 15 min performance. When it ended, Keagan was shocked and said, in the holy basilica,  “Are you $hittin’ me?” 

The abbey houses about 80 monks and was first established in 1025. It has the oldest book publishing house which began in 1499. I have to admit I heard monks and thought for sure we would find beer - like you do in Germany. But Spanish monks must stick with olive oil and choir practice because there was no home-made beer. 

We took the train back to Barca and toured Casa Balto, one of Gaudi’s designs. Its design elements are over the top, creative, genius - trying to replicate life at sea with both color and shape. 

Evan was not interested in the headset accompanying the tour; I found him 20 min later at the rooftop bar with a beer. 

In the early 1900s the local architects competed for best design and the business of the bourgeois. Puig and Gaudi were competitors and designed houses next door to each other. 

While stunning, the tourists are here for Gaudi. 

We had paella and the very best sangria for dinner. We decided paella is not the go-to for us. As Evan said, “It’s just rice.” Keagan debated eating the shrimp eyes for an extra kick but declined when nobody offered to pay him ten dollars for the trick. 

It’s 7:30 and we are all in pjs once again looking for sleep.