June 5th, Barcelona and Surrounding Areas

We finally went to bed around 1:30 AM and awoke around 5:45 AM on Friday morning thanks to jet lag. After him hawing around we decided to get up and start our day by taking the train to Montserrat. It is a little over an hour outside of Barcelona. We watched the funicular come down the side of the mountain and our stomachs knotted just thinking about it. Luckily, we hadn't bought tickets for it but the train instead. PHEW! That cable car looked terrifying! This pictured doesn't really show how high it was since we zoomed in so close to see it.

Here are the statistics of it's height.

Montserrat means serrated mountain. Here's a shot of us looking down from the square.

A shot of some of the beautiful arches.

Inside the monastery walls. This is the front of the cathedral. I stood in the center of this square as the bells rang for mass to begin. Their music and sound resonated into my soul and the emotion they invoked moved me to tears. A moment and experience I'll never forget. Scott caught this moment on video but I just can't put it online. Still overwhelms me!

Under the window, you can see Christ and his apostles.

Inside the cathedral.

Look at this chandelier and ceiling. LOVE IT!

After lunch, we decided to take the hike up/out to the cross.

Along the way, we found several little side gardens for worship.

This one is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi.

Couldn't pass up taking a picture of this beautiful statue.

Finally, we made it to our destination. In the photo on the left you see the monastery behind us. Looking beyond us and the cross it looks like we're in the clouds. That day we actually were thanks to the rain and mist.

We hiked even further up to this little chapel.

It was so peaceful we were both overcome with emotion. It felt like we were completely surrounded by God's love and presence.

Even on a rainy day this place was gorgeous.

Why is it pictures never really capture the true beauty?

Some pics at the chapel. Plus, an overly friendly cat we worried might follow us home.

We made it back to the monastery just in time for the clouds to dump all the rain. We decided it was a good time to head back to Barcelona.

This is Sagrada Familia. It is still under construction and is being completed with the plans written by Gaudi. A portion of it is due to be completed for worship in 2010 and it has been under construction since 1882.

The back of the church has various words written on the doors and all around the entrance.

The front of the church is dedicated to the story of Christ's birth. You would not believe the details and pictures. There is a scene with angels trumpeting, shepherds with their sheep, horses and even turtles are at the base of the columns of the church. Some of the steeples have fruit on top of them. This church is beyond amazing!

The back of the church is dedicated to Christ's death and resurrection into heaven.
 

The church isn't completed and is difficult to understand from the inside or outside until you go below to the museum. The museum is under the cathedral and has pictures, alters, casts and drawings from the original church before it was burnt. The 1st picture below is what it will look like upon completion. The 2nd picture below shows the method Gaudi used to calculate the church ceiling. He hung bags and string to create the church upside down to calculate the angles of it's ceilings, archways and columns perfectly.

The day wasn't over and we felt we still had enough energy to take in one more sight. Little did we know, seeing Guell Park would include another long, steep, uphill climb.
 

It was hot and humid and we were exhausted but we couldn't pass up the chance to see this landmark. Gaudi's works can be found throughout Barcelona but a big portion of them are in Park Guell. The picture on the left is of the upper balcony of the park. That day, there were musicians playing guitars and we had a beautiful panoramic view of the city below. It is overwhelming to think of how many broken pieces of tile were layed in order to create this masterpiece.

The sun was setting so we decided to do some quick shopping and head back to our hotel to clean up before a late dinner. Our hotel recommended a pizza place called Domino Bar (link includes pictures and the menu) located just around the corner. It was a tiny local bar with all of 8 tables. The owner and staff spoke very little English but from what we could understand she bought, remodeled and opened it the year before making it her own. The salad and pizza there were some of the best we have ever had. The salad had frizze lettuce, black olives, goat cheese with raspberry or strawberry jelly dolloped on the top. The dressing was vinegar and oil. It sounds strange but if you've ever dipped strawberries in balsamic vinegar you know it brings out the flavors of the berry even more. The pizza had the famous sweet ham of Spain along with spices and fresh mozzarella cheese. So soo sooo good we wished we hadn't shared it. LOL

We climbed into bed around 1:30 A.M. with full and happy tummies. We were sad to realize the next day would be our last in Barcelona. Still so much to see and so little time left. I'll post about it and our first night on the cruise in my next edition.