We took the train to Barcelona's main station, transferred to the subway, and found the train station serving Mountserrat. When a train pulled in to the station at the right time, on the published platform, and was correctly marked as "R5" we and a couple hundred others climbed aboard. Suddenly there was some commotion and people began getting off. Being good lemmings we hopped off too and saw a train on the next track labeled "R5" and that the one we just exited was now "S8".
Racing for seats De Anne got aboard and claimed two. I was a couple people behind when I felt a brush against my sensitive posterior. Spinning quickly I confronted a man dressed in black with a large nylon shoulder bag. Pickpockets use jackets or these bags as cover for their work. In August in Barcelona, a jacket would be a dead giveaway - therefore, the big bag. I told him to go up the steps ahead of me, but he insisted I should go first. I went up sideways keeping my eyes on him. If he were innocent he would have been offended; however, he maintained a forced smile. If he had emptied my back pocket he would have scored a half package of tissues I carry for De Anne. If you have to ask why, then you are not a girl.
I took my seat next to De Anne and she said "what a Chinese fire drill!". This was only notable because 3 tourists from China were sitting by us. Who, we found out later, spoke English.
At the Mountserrat train station we transferred to a cable car for the final leg of the trip.
On the way up. Cable car building and train station fading into the distance.
The main square and looking up.
The major attraction here is the black Madonna. Neither one of us was interested in the two hour wait to view her, but we did enter the abbey cathedral. People were crowding in for a boys choir concert scheduled daily at 1:00 pm. It is only a ten minute concert and so we moved on opting not to stand for a half hour waiting. All the seats were already full.
The next event was my idea. A funicular ride to the summit and a walk back down the mountain. Now, this may not sound like my sort of idea, but my logic was sound. De Anne, left to decide, might have suggested we walk both ways and save the cost of a ride. I am always for the gravity-assisted hike.
The funicular and looking out the glass ceiling on the way up.
Arriving at the top I found I had outsmarted myself. We were not at the top and the trail went uphill before it went back down.
The saddle in the picture with two barely visible people is where the trail goes downhill.
The trail wound back and forth with breathtaking views.
There were shrines along the way and we stopped at each one not so much for quiet reflection but as a rest for me. The plastic bag De Anne is carrying is my 32oz. Coke Zero - a must for any hike.
Staggering down off the mountain I looked forward to mechanical transportation. Our cable car arrives.
Halfway down.
During the two train rides back to Tarragona I displayed my skill at sleeping anywhere.
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