The Friends Go To Heaven

November 17, 2016

Montserrat

Montserrat from St. Michael's cross at sunrise

Stop #3 was neither city nor seashore but a monastery in the mountains NW of Barcelona.  For over a thousand years Montserrat has been a monastery and refuge, part of the Benedictine order and often called the most sacred place in Spain. It's barely accessible today, requiring either a death defying drive up a narrow, twisty road or a ride up the funicular. Since we had gotten the last two rooms at the only hotel up there, we choose to drive. Markus found it relaxing but Anja and I sat quivering the whole way.

Indeed, we were quivering nearly our whole visit because we felt exposed on the wide walkways, trails and even the plaza because it appears everything is held onto the mountain only by the grace of God. We were floating above the valley. Our first walk was to a small chapel. Markus chose to tease Anja by walking along the edge. Even on the inside of the wide path, I wasn't comfortable. What if there were an earthquake? We would be doomed.

Plaza at Montserrat

After a lovely Spanish dinner in the hotel, we visited the church, the crypt and Black Madonna when the other tourists had left. It was a lovely church but I couldn't help but wonder what was propping it up.

Sunrise wasn't until 7:30 so we walked out to St. Michael's Cross to watch it. It really did feel like a very special, very blessed space, there by ourselves on the mountain.

After Anja and Markus took off for Germany, I took the funicular up to the ridge and walked to the top of the mountain. I slowly became more comfortable with the open, floating feeling. The way down to the monastery from the top of St. Jeroni was through a wooded ravine with a gazillion concrete steps so it wasn't as frightening. I caught the last train to Barcelona at 6:30 and arrived just in time for the Magic Fountain display. I missed Anja and Markus as soon as they had left. They were such good company.

The Three Amigos Go To The Seaside

After exploring the Gothic quarter and the Rambla Del Mar where we tried unsuccessfully to talk Marcus into buying us a yacht, we hit the road to go to the seaside.  Our attempt at escaping the city using the car's GPS was a circus of errors because it took us a bit to realize that the avenue where it was directing us was closed for construction.  We were fruitlessly circling the barrels.  Luckily Team Anja, Markus, and Charlotte has a sense of humor.

After driving through the outskirts of Barcelona for too long, we did make it to Tossa de Mar which was closed up for the season, despite the 18 degree centigrade, sunny weather.  We mostly had the town, the seashore  and the castle to ourselves.  Hooray for off-season travel!  Our lovely apartment was dirt cheap but had a hundred dollar view.  With the deafening surf in the foreground we watched the orange Super moon rise over the Mediterranean.   We climbed the dark path to the lighthouse in the moonlight.  We walked the lonely streets of the old town which was sheltered with high, thick, parapeted walls.

The next day we hiked to a secluded beach further up the Costa Bravo.  The trail was developed to the extent that it had ropes to cling to so we didn't slide off the cliff into the sea.  Markus braved the cold water at the little cove.  Anja and each got a toe wet.  Later Anja and I explored the castle and visited the museum which included art from two thousand years ago when Tossa was a Roman villa.  It also had modern art such as a plain white room with one blue board with stethoscopes hanging from it.  Markus had supper ready for us.  He's a keeper.

Three Amigos in Catalonia

November 13, 2016

When I arrived at the Barcelona airport, Anja and Markus were there to meet me.  After two days without sleep, I saw them as angels which, of course, they are.  Anja spent a year with our family in 1997-98 and I think of her as my German daughter.  We jumped into Markus's deluxe VW and went to find our AirB&B.  The area of town, Gracia, was easy to find but we quickly learned that just about every street in Barcelona is one-way.

Jordi checked us into our very modern apartment where we made ourselves at home before taking the subway downtown.  Our first accidental stop was the impressive Barcelona Cathedral.  With hundreds of other tourist we were amazed at its size and ornateness.  There was much gold, many altars and a thousand sculpted angels.  By the time we left it was dark and the narrow, cobbled streets, dim lights and high stone walls took us back to medieval times.  Eventually we found our way to the Rambla, a major tourist shopping street.  We wandered and wandered until we found an affordable restaurant where Markus had a sandwich, I had vegetable crepes and Anja had water.  Markus also has his first very heavy, very sweet, 100% hot chocolate drink.  The way they make it here requires a spoon because it is so thick.  Carla and I had tried one in Burgos on the Camino.  Gracias a Dios that we didn't realize one could buy them at any time, anywhere in Spain.  Otherwise I would have walked the Camino twice as fast from the  stimulation of the marvelous, irresistible chocolate!

We wisely had early reservations at Park Guell which was a short walk up the hill.  Gaudi's creations are if he were channeling Walt Disney crossed with a Spanish tile maker and a Sierra Club landscape architect.  It was built over a hundred years ago yet seemed quite modern in some ways.

Next we walked to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's cathedral which is already over a hundred years old with at least ten to twenty more before completion.  We mistakenly didn't get reservations but the wait in line was fun with good company, an herb garden, butterflies and the beautiful NW facade which was a modern interpretation of Calgary....modern meaning medieval knights done in Picassoesque forms.  After getting our tickets we went to the other side of the cathedral which was somewhat more traditional only with lots and lots of plants and animals thrown into the facade stone.

Inside the cathedral what struck me most was the light from the stained glass windows and the bright, white pillars  that grew into coconut palms. The visitors  here, unlike in the regular cathedrals, were quite noisy. Every time we turned around we found something new, such as the museum in the basement and the school with the wavy walls next door.

In the evening, Anja and I had a vegan supper at Pepa Tomate's:  delicious raw zucchini salad and spinach fritter.  Una surpresa!