Tag: Barcelona

Barcelona – Montserrat


We were looking for a great day trip from Barcelona; something that would get us out of the city and into the countryside. We decided to head to Montserrat, a Benedictine abbey on a mountain about 30 miles northwest of Barcelona.

We took a taxi over to the Julia Travel office where we got on the morning bus to Montserrat. The ride takes about an hour out of the city and then up and into the hills. The day we went, there was some haze that obscured the mountains for our trip up to the abbey. When we arrived, we were above the clouds that were covering the valley and any view of Barcelona. However, the sky was clear above us and we could see the distinctively carved mountain rising to 4055′.

History of Montserrat

The history of the abbey goes back to Roman times when there was a temple worshiping Venus. The first written mention of construction at the monastery site is in 880 AD. The current monastery was founded 1025 as an expansion of existing sites built by hermit monks. That’s a long time ago.

Activities

A tram/cog train climbs from the monastery to the base of hiking trails above Montserrat. There are several well-marked hiking trails that lead through the nature park Montserrat. These hikes are worth the effort – you will be rewarded with a magnificent view of Catalonia and Montserrat in particular. Make sure that you wear sturdy shoes. As long as you’re in relatively good shape you should be able to manage any of the hikes.

Having a few hours to kill after the overview tour of the abbey, we elected to take the tram (funicular) which ends at several trailheads. From there we headed North along a trail that winds through the woods and across a rock face where a path had been carved into the rock face. We had some great views and an exciting time as we navigated across the terrain. After a couple of apples and water for lunch, we headed back down the funicular to the abbey.

There are normally several other options for exploring the abbey at Montserrat. I think it all depends on how much time ypu want to spend there. Check out the Montserrat website for more information.

It was really great to get up into the mountains with the fresh air and fantastic views. I have to say that all in all, we had a good time and enjoyed the excursion. We think others will as well.

More Barcelona photos can be found in the Barcelona Photo Album.

Julia Travel
Montserrat

Classic Barcelona – Sagrada Familia

Looking at several tour guides, they all seemed to have Classic Barcelona attraction that you’re told are must see. Once we had our legs underneath us we decided to take a look at some of these classic Barcelona sites. Sagrada Familia was first on our list.

Sagrada Familia

This is a church that’s been under construction for over a century. So, walking out of our hotel, I asked Julie, “Why exactly do we want to see this particular church?” She looked at me like I’d grown a third eye. “It’s Sagrada Familia!”, she told me in what sure seemed like an admonishment. So I said okay and we headed off to an address in Barcelona that Julie rattled off to a passing taxi. 15 minutes later we found ourselves in front of a tour office – there were construction cranes down the street.

The next English speaking tour started in 40 minutes so we took a stroll. Whoa, this is not like any church I’ve seen before. There are spires and towers all over the place in what seems a random pattern. The style and colors are amazing as are the various textures and facades. We walked around most of two sides and could see that there was a great deal of construction going on and it was obvious the spires were going to grow even higher. Based on what we saw, i was really looking forward to hearing about this place and seeing the inside.

Construction of the church started in the 1880’s and only reached the halfway point in the 2010’s. Work is expected to be complete in 2026. Antoni Gaudí took over the construction project when the original architect resigned after just one year. Gaudí transformed the design, combining gothic and art nouveau styles. You can see how the styles in the construction changed over time. The use of light and color is also amazing with large round windows up high and large broad panels of stained glass along both sides.

I was unable to capture the scale, complexity or artistic beauty of this place. The Sagrada Familia should be on everyone’s ‘must see’ list if you come to Barcelona.

Today the church stands inside the city in a charming but crowded neighborhood. As recently as the 1920’s it stood on an open field, outside the walls of the city of Barcelona. That gives you an idea of how this city has grown.

The history of Sagrada Familia is as complex as it is interesting. There’s too much for me to go into here, but visit the Wikipedia website for Sagrada Família. There’s a lot of information there.

More Barcelona photos can be found in the Barcelona Photo Album.