{"id":5285,"date":"2012-06-30T21:16:03","date_gmt":"2012-07-01T01:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2015-07-02T15:11:53","modified_gmt":"2015-07-02T19:11:53","slug":"day-35-saturday-june-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=5285","title":{"rendered":"Day 35, Saturday, June 30 – Barcelona Tour Day 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

HA, bet we fooled you! \u00a0\u00a0Still in Barcelona!<\/p>\n

It was highly recommend we must see<\/strong> <\/em>Montserrat while here. \u00a0So we donned our walking shoes and headed to the metro station, then to the train station, then to the cable car<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>and then to the tram\"\"<\/a> that took us to the 4000 foot top of the mountain that is the namesake for the Caribbean island. \u00a0As impressive as this mountain is,\"\"<\/a> it is the Benedictine Abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat\"\"<\/a> that has made it famous. \u00a0The history of this abbey\"\"<\/a> is steep (the basilica was reconstructed in the 1850’s after being destroyed), but it’s religious significance\"\"<\/a> and healing aspects are widespread and have lasted for centuries.\"\"<\/a>It is difficult to capture the feeling of the mountain and the abbey\"\"<\/a>but the spectacular beauty of the inside is undeniable,\"\"<\/a>especially during a wedding.\"\"<\/a>And the magical sound of church bells that seem to ring from the mountains that surround you, is truly ethereal.<\/p>\n

We followed a couple of the walking trails, but you could loose yourself in this mountain, so headed back to the city, which was an adventure in itself. \u00a0Twice we were told to “Get off the train.” When we politely inquired, they simply said “Take a bus.” \u00a0Turns out there was a problem with the track, that they neglected to mention, but we did make it safely back to the city, albeit a bit tired. \u00a0Not too tired, of course, to take a couple pics \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

along our walk back.\"\"<\/a>Tomorrow, no surprises, we will be on our bikes.\n\t\t