Thursday - Montserrat

Thursday, April 22
Montserrat and Toothpick Tapas
They’re all mean to me. I had hoped to avoid doing any reporting – but they ganged up on me. So here goes…Up early for another delicious (and free) breakfast and then off to Montserrat. We are pros at the Metro now and can do it without the map, although there is one purple hallway we often revisit after we start off in the wrong direction. The locals on their way to work seemed interested in us – we weren’t sure why as we weren’t doing anything to draw attention – including talking at that hour. It was nice to arrive before the crowds; I’ll let someone else describe our time at Montserrat.
I have really enjoyed Barcelona. It’s busy, but quiet – no horns honking, no sirens – really a surprise. My favorite place was Santa Maria del Mar – the church in a novel I read about 14th century Barcelona. It was just as I pictured it, Tricia and I spent quite a bit of time there and then we came back later with Theresa and Denise.
Off to Lisbon and Fatima tomorrow (at the crack of dawn). I’m going to see if this bit will be enough to get me off the keyboard. Hugs and kisses to you all. Love, Kathy
Hey guys- Tricia here. We are sitting at the top of the hotel having a scrumptious assortment of desserts and a lovely red wine. Laughing and reminiscing about the fun of the day.
We all so enjoyed Montserrat from hiking the mountain from holy station to holy station and then off to the Basilica to listen to the boys choir. We had about an hour wait before the choir sang. People were jamming into the church to snag a seat. We decided to grab a seat and wait. Being the smart Burns’ girls we are, Kathy and Theresa settled into a pew to secure a seat. Denise and I headed off to the café and grabbed a sandwich. We had to do a little switch-aroo about eating outside the church but all came away satisfied.
When all returned to the church I decided to go to confession and Theresa & Kathy ditched Denise leaving her to guard our pew and headed off to the long queue to view the Black Madonna. I returned to our pew from confession totally confused as the priest refused to hear my confession but did bless me???!!! Denise sat securely in the middle of the pew while I sat on the outside. As time grew close for the choir to sing billions and billions of people wanted Theresa and Kathy’s seats. I consistently refused to let anyone take their seats. “Occupado, Occupado” I cried. I begged Denise to assist me with keeping people at bay but only got a slight shake of the head. About 10 minutes before the choir sang the crowd became more insistent, men with canes, the blind and those with afflictions- my sisters need a seat and a seat they would have. Suddenly, people approach from Denise’s side of the pew and she caved. Yup, one request and she leans over ready to let loose- all I could say was: “I held my side.” Needless to say Kathy and Theresa sat in a “comfy” pew and heard the beautiful hymns to our Lady. Peace out from Barcelona- forward to Lisbon-Fatima!
Another word about the seat holding from Denise’s point of view. It was not only simple occupado that kept people at bay. When one particularly strident old spanish man tried to enter the pew & Tricia’s leg flew out to block his entrance into the pew. As the time of the service neared, people started to approach from my side. I let one lady in & there was still room for Theresa & Kathy….I looked over at Tricia & we were laughing…then she said “I held my side” …like I failed. Imagine that said in a southern accent with a bit of chin. We have been laughing about that all day.
We’ve been collecting all sorts of nice memories. The Sagrada Familia looked like a melted candle at first. It’s crammed full of statutes, animals and towers topped with what appears to be fruity pebbles, no lie. Once we toured it and learned about the plan and symbolism behind it …. it still looked like a melted candle but now I have a fondness for it. Not beautiful but definitely interesting.
After the Picasso Museum we wandered around and came across a Tapas restaurant we had read about that served tapas dim sum style and charged per toothpick. We accumulated twelve toothpicks and some local basque white wine and had a grand old time drinking, munching and people watching. We stopped by a chocolate shop for a small purchase to be enjoyed roof top a
Theresa:
Apparently, the others work out more than I do, because no one talked about the stair master work-out to the Holy Cave to see where they found the Black Madonna about 1025 years ago…so down a funicular we go—then literally half way around a mountain to see where they found the cave…I knew it was not going to good when it was 20 minute downhill. Oh well, we made it back in plenty of time as you heard to see hear the boys choir.
So far, everything has been really smooth… On time trains, easy connections with little waiting. We are preparing for Portugal tomorrow- so we are sitting around drinking Red Wine (tempranillo-caebernet ) Name Montesierra) talking and laughing about the trip so far.
Good times. (I’ve been told to keep some of the good pieces out of the blog!)