The weather forecast today was rainy! But we still wanted to push through with the plan. I personally really wanted to the Black Virgin in Montserrat.
To get to Montserrat, you have to go the Espanya rail station. Once at Espanya, look for line R5 headed towards Manresa. It might be confusing to find where the R5 track is, but there's always friendly people who will help you (or you've got the information booth). For more information, this website really helped us to find where the train station is (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/tour/barcelona-montserrat.html).
Since there is a separate train to get to Montserrat, we had to walk to the other side of the street. We got down Espanya and this is what we saw. There was some sort of marathon that day.
There are actually two options to get to the mountain, either by cable car or by the train. There is no price difference for them both. The only difference is that the cable car will just take about 5 minutes to get to the mountain, while the train will take longer. We got the cable car because aside from being fast, it's also the more scenic route.
We got down in Montserrat-Aeri since we were taking the cable car.
The scene was gorgeous and breathtaking! It seems as if we were so near the mountain yet we were far still!
On the way up to the mountain (in the cable car), we met this lovely Australian couple. The guy, Alex, apparently is a professional photographer and they're off traveling around Europe and in America for three months (if my memory serves me correctly). They brought along their baby boy named Jasper. Oh that baby looks like a kid from a Johnson's and Johnson's commercial! He has super long eyelashesssssss!
Look, he even posed for me! :)
When we got down the cable car, we had to walk uphill to reach the mountain area where the basilica and the monastery is found. Traveler's tip: Montserrat is definitely a colder place than Barcelona. So make sure you're in jeans and bring along a jacket. That's something Kwi and I forgot to think about. We were stupid enough to just be in shorts and a thin top. And I haven't quite adapted to the cold weather (even in Lille), so I was shivering. I needed to find the places where it was sunny!
This is the basilica.
The twelve disciples.
We went inside since I wanted to attend mass. There was too many people that I just had to say a quick prayer and leave right away.
Instead, we fell in line to see the Black Madonna.
I wasn't able to take a picture of the black virgin but I must share this - it's something everyone should see. The jitters and butterflies I felt when I was in Sagrada was the same here in Montserrat. They're both such a spiritual experience!
If you at the top of the picture, you'll see the back of the black virgin. This is the chapel located below it.
We went back outside and it got even colder! The clouds look so cottony though! :)
I just had to take pictures of these dogs! Aren't they adorable? They did the hiking challenge along with their masters. Again, when we got up we saw so many people lying down on the floor because they all went hiking! Brave souls I tell you!
At around lunch time, we headed down already because it was getting too cold for me. Montserrat is certainly a must see. It's very scenic and serene and spiritual at the same time.
I just had to take a picture of how this vendo machine looks like. Haha
We were waiting for our train back to Barcelona! Haha. It was taking some time to get there so we individually posed here.
Oh here's another side story. So we were waiting for our train station right? Well Kwi and I noticed that beside the train station, the locals have found a way to be open bars for the convenience of it! :)
xx
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