Day Four: Montserrat
Ok so we were tired. Still it’s unusual that the only day we are likely to sleep late this vacation is on the day we should’ve got up early.
Leslie and I: Off to the airport.
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Well about 5 minutes after we left for the airport the hotel left a note for us in Carmen’s room about the whereabouts of our luggage. Most people at the airport unfortunately did not know where it was. Luckily after 3 info booths and a bunch of helpful baggage handlers later, we were reunited with our bags. A quick cab ride home and we were greeted happily by Carmen.
A quick shower and breakfast and we hopped the Metro for the train station. Actually it wasn’t so quick as Carmen took the time to roll around in her luggage in glee while we ate.
The metro dropped us off at the train station and we muddled around until we found R5. The train took about an hour to arrive at the base of the cable car. Zak and I disembarked while Leslie and Carmen went one stop further to catch the rack train (a kind of funicular). A quick 5 minute vertical climb and we arrived at the monastery on the side of the mountain.
The basilica was stunning and the museum stuffed with art including a few Renoirs, Picassos and of course a stunning Caravagio. Oh ya and a Dali…
Next it was a ride up the funicular to the top, followed by a pleasant hike. Zak spotted some bolts so we decided to try some bouldering along the way. We caught the last funicular down to the monastery proper only to discovery we’d missed the last tram. So we all have to ride the rack train down; we bought a couple of extra tickets and now await descent.
The train ride home was slow and leisurely. Dinner was pizza, pasta and paella: the 3-P dinner of tired tourists at ten pm. Tomorrow we awake and decide if the Picasso museum is in the cards before we move on to Figueres.