Today we had a full day excursion to see Barcelona and the Montserrat monastery. All went very well as we had beautiful weather and a delicious (and too large!) lunch.
After driving around town we got out of the bus and walked to La Sagrada Familia, an unfinished church that has been under construction since the 1880's. As you can see, this church has a very intricate design with 4 spires on each of 4 sides plus a still-to-be constructed central spire which will support a statue of Jesus. The one finished side is devoted to the story of Mary, with scenes depicting the Annunciation, Birth of Jesus, visit of the Shepherds and Magi, the Presentation, and Jesus in the temple. Another side is devoted to the Crucifixion, with various scenes related to that event.
After this tour, we headed for Montserrat. This famous Benedictine monastery is the end of an 1100 KM pilgrimage. Walking this pilgrimage dates back to the middle ages and people still walk it to this day. I must say that after walking 1100 km the challenge of climbing all the steps to this monastery must be very foreboding.
The church itself is very large and beautiful and still has 80 active monks living here. They also run a school that has a famous boys choir. There was a very long line to see the Black Madonna (estimated at 2 1/2 hours). There was also a funicular (cog railway) to go to the top of the mount from which you could see the Pyrenees , the border with France, or walk to visit a cross on the top of the mount. Another 45 minute walk lead to a chapel marking the cave where the Black Madonna was found.
We had a bit of adventure when it was time for the ship to leave port. We were schedule to leave at 4:00 pm, but were still tied to the dock at 4:20. The captain then announced that, based on the wind speed and direction (which was very strong and was hitting the ship broadside and pushing the ship into the dock) we needed help from two tugboats. One had arrived, but a second would take another 20 minutes. The captain decided to try it with one tugboat to pull us away from the dock. With that help, the side thrusters, and the ship's main engines, we did make it away altho at one point the ship stopped pivoting for an extended period of time (not a good sign!). Then after we were turned toward the harbor exit, a small sailboat decided to exit just ahead of us. With the encouragement of 5 long blasts of our horn and a nearby Police boat, the sailboat quickly got out of the way.
On to Monte Carlo!
3 comments:
Sounds like a great day in Barcelona! I can see why it's taking so long to build that church. Do they think it will ever be finished? I have a friend who spent a year in Barcelona on a sabbatical who just loved it there. She returned several times after.
When you get home, you will have to rent "The Way" if you haven't seen it. It's about a group of people on a pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago, The Way of St. James, which ends in Northern Spain. It's amazing how they do this.
Great pics!!
Loved the church !!! great photos . Thank you
Pat
Shari Sullivan from Colorado just returned from walking the El Camino de Santiago...500 miles in 28 days. I followed her blog closely because I had watched "The Way" and found it to be very intriguing and interesting!
The pictures of the church in Barcelona are very impressive!
Post a Comment