MONTSERRAT

Montserrat is a mountain in Catalonia, just outside of Barcelona, and is known for its monastery and beautiful views of Catalonia. It's also a popular spot because of La Morenata, the statue of the Black Virgin. My NYC friends and I headed up there on a Friday morning and got a package deal - train ticket, furnicular tickets (cable-like car you take up the mountain) and lunch.

Getting there was a bit odd, and getting back...uh...horrible. First, getting there -we were the last few to get on the train, thus, no seats. So we had to stand the entire 50-minute ride up there - which actually wasn't too bad. But, once we got closer to Montserrat, everyone had to get off the train, but then get back on. Since directions were all being made in Spanish, we're not quite sure what happened there.

Once we finally arrived, we headed straight to the beautiful Basilica church to see the boys choir sing. It was very beautiful. Apparently, there's a boys choir boarding school there (okay...no priest jokes, folks...). After, we stood in line for at least an hour and a half to see La Morenata. She's behind glass for protection, but you can touch her orb for a blessing, say a prayer, or whatever you feel is the thing to do at that point.

We grabbed a great lunch in the cafeteria - not like any lunches I've seen at other museums or touristic sites. They had roasted chicken, pasta, calamari, salads, chocolate mousse, etc., etc. We were happy we went with the package deal. We were finally ready to take the furnicular to another portion of the mountain. We decided to head towards Santa Cova (holy cave). It has several hiking paths you can take up the mountain, and one path included amazing statues created by various designers and architects (including Gaudi, of course). Each statue or scene represented different stages in the life of Christ. Very beautiful!

There was another portion of the mountain we could have gone up to, but it was getting late and we didn't want to miss the last train back to Barcelona, so we decided to head back. Plus, I wasn't feeling very well so I was definitely ready to go.

But, let me tell you about that ride home....horrendous! The last train was at 6:15pm, so we intelligently decided to take the 5:15pm train because the last train would probably be incredibly crowded. We get on the 5:15pm train (I make that sound effortlessly, but not so much. There's really no order here, you just push your way onto the train to fight for a seat). We luckily grab three seats and are extremely excited to be able to finally rest. However, that ride only lasts about 5 or 10 minutes. We forgot that we had to get on another train. So, everyone is herded off the train where we wait for at least 45 minutes. In the meantime, at least 2 or 3 more trains have dumped herds of other folks.

Our train finally arrives, and it's like stuffing a pig into a jelly jar! Seriously! What were these people thinking? So, unless you were willing to be ruthless and push grandma or the family of six out of the way, you most likely were not going to get a seat. Again, we must stand for the 50-minute ride home...even though we're exhausted...even though I'm not feeling 100%...and even though we are packed like sardines. It was so crowded...it reminded me of riding home on the Metro after the fireworks on the 4th of July. AND...to make it worse...the train had to make stops and kept picking up and piling on more people!

So, if any of you visit Montserrat...I recommend going as early as possible and heading back as early as possible. Or, better yet, find a bus tour that's headed there so you can avoid the train altogether.