Hola Barcelona - Early Days

So much happened in Barcelona that I never got around to writing about our adventures before Hospital del Mar. During short comfortable three hour train ride from Valencia I got some great graffiti shots especially as we pulled into Barcelona. A taxi took us to the same hotel John and I stayed in three years ago. The Hotel Principal is in the El Ravel district of Barcelona. It is historically and still today the roughest section of Barcelona, on the wrong side of La Rambla, so to speak. The area is populated by lots of young people, drug users and drunks. The streets smell of urine and are dark and somewhat scary. But we felt right at home somehow.

After we got settled in our room, we went out to explore our the city. We strolled down the Rambla toward the harbor and Port Vell, stopping to have some café con leche. As we continued our stroll the Columbus monument came into view. We walked around the mall at Port Vell. We didn’t walk in the mall, but literally walked around it, enjoying the breeze off the water. We continued walking along the harbor to Baceloneta Beach enjoying the early evening and vendors of crafts along the paseo. We decided to take the metro back to the hotel so we walked inland a few blocks. Before we jumped on the metro we went into a very confusing cafeteria to get a bite to eat. We couldn’t quite figure out where the line started or how we were supposed to order food. But we did manage to get some food on our trays and in eventually in our mouths. It was not the best meal we ever had.

For some reason, the first thing Leea wanted to see was the Monastery at Montserrat. The Monastery is built near the site where the Black Virgin was discovered. According to Catholic tradition, the statue of the Black Virgin of Montserrat was carved by St. Luke around 50 AD and brought to Spain. It was later hidden from the Moors in a cave (Santa Cova, the Holy Grotto), where it was rediscovered in 880 AD. According to the legend of the discovery, which was first recorded in the 13th century, the statue was discovered by shepherds. They saw a bright light and heard heavenly music that eventually led them to the grotto and the statue.

The Bishop of Manresa, present at the discovery, suggested that it be moved to Manresa, but the small statue was discovered to be so heavy it could not be lifted. Thus the Virgin had indicated her will to stay on Montserrat to be venerated there.

According to historians, it was then, in the 12th century, that the larger statue of the Madonna and Child, which now resides in the Basilica, was made. The Madonna statue soon earned widespread fame as numerous miracles were associated with the intercession of the Black Virgin of Montserrat.

So on Thursday we strolled up the Rambla to Placa de Catalunya and purchased tickets for the train and the funicular to get to the monastery. Once we were on the train we met a new friend. Her name was Iris and she was from Argentina and teaches Spanish and English at the secondary level. One of her daughters lived in Barcelona and she was visiting her. Iris is a traveler and we told travel stories and compared notes and gave each other recommendations for places to see. She has another grown daughter at home in Argentina. She was really a hoot and I’m sure she would have been a kick to party with. On the trip back in the funicular she was videotaping herself for her daughter, singing and making faces and videoing the view from the funicular. We were cracking up. Of course she had to video the woman with the purple hair for her daughter.

After we got off the train we boarded a small funicular which waved in the breeze as it took us across a deep valley and up the side of a very steep mountain.

Iris went directly to the Monastery and Basilica while Leea and I hit the walking trails, or I should say hiking trails. We hiked to the Santa Cova to see the original Black Virgin. All along the trail were religious sculptures and altars. It was a physically challenging hike. In the chapel of the Santa Cova there was a room with all sorts of items attached to prayers to the Black Virgin. We sat and reflected on the items and prayers, on the Black Virgin and on the long hike back. By the time we finished our hike back there was not time to see the interior of the monastery before the last train left for Barcelona.

After we rested and cleaned up, we went to the sushi restaurant near our hotel and had a quiet dinner.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and then wandered along the Rambla to the Mercat de Sant Josep/ La Boqueria which is huge and sells everything from fresh fruits to raw meats and fish. Then we decided to go to the beach and soak up some sun.

Again we jumped on the metro and got off at what we thought would be the closest spot to a nice beach. Barcelona has miles of beach starting at the beach and going on forever. There are at least five metro stops parallel to the beaches. Well we walked through an industrial area, a cemetery and a McDonalds before reaching the beach. It was very windy, but we set down our towels and laid out. Then a group of young men, with a couple of kids, came and stood right in front of where we were lying on our towels. They had just come from McDonalds. They stood there eating their burgers and fries, shaking out towels and generally kicking up the sand. We finally gave up and decided this was not a beach day. We stopped for some yummy tapas as we walked along the paseo on our way back to the metro. A good day all in all.

By ten that night I was in the emergency room of Hospital Del Mar not more than fifty feet from where we ate tapas. Oh well, another adventure.