Among the many amazing sights in and around Barcelona are Park Güell and Montserrat. Park Güell is a Gaudi creation situated on top of Carmel hill facing the city and the ocean beyond. The abbey at Montserrat, located about thirty miles west of Barcelona, was built into a mountain formed by strange and Gaudi-esque shapes.

Arriving at Park Güell is no mean feat. Transit does not reach the top of the hill, so metro and bus rides require a somewhat arduous march to the site. I tried to take the bus – honestly! – but communication barriers were such that I finally resorted to taking a cab thus eliminating the need for the march. Hah! Once inside Park Güell, another uphill climb begins.

The entrance to the Park is typical Gaudi: fantastic shapes, wavy forms, lots of ceramic tiling.  Once inside, a large staircase takes the visitor to the famous Gaudi scupture of a salamander.  I am embarrassed to admit that I had to be more assertive than I like in order to take the photo below.  Tourist after tourist posed assembly-line-like beside the salamander while a young and I waited patiently for a clear shot.  Finally, frustrated to the max, I waved my arms and shouted STOP, STOP, STOP, and amazingly everyone was so shocked they let the young woman and me take our photos!

But once past the entrance, the park is surprisingly barren.  A large terrace provides an excellent view of Barcelona stretching across the city to the ocean.

From the terrace you walk along a colonnade designed for servants to carry laundry.  Gaudi planned Park Güell as a community of several homes, but it was never completed.  The colonnade takes on a disorienting form.  My photo is vertically accurate though you may feel the need to tilt your head when you look at it.

Eventually the path curls around to the entrance once again.  Nearer to the entrance to the Park, Gaudi’s trademark ceramic work is more in evidence.  I leave you with a couple of images showcasing the ceramics.

Montserrat is the site of an ancient Benedictine abbey built about two-thirds of the way up a mountain of the same name and is the home of the Virgin of Montserrat otherwise known as the Black Virgin.  The Black Virgin is a wood carving.  She was found long ago by two shepherds in a cave who took her to the closest town.  Each night, the statue relocated herself to her home in the cave, thus performing her first miracle.  Eventually the statue was left in the cave; she took on a black hue as a result of the smoke from the candles of the many worshippers who visited her in her cave.  The statue is now encased in glass which presumably keeps her from her nightly travels; visitors are allowed to spend up to five seconds with her as they pass by in a queue.  Two women in line before me kissed the glass.  I settled for snapping an very quick, illicit photo with my iPhone.

The basilica itself was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and rebuilt with a rather unprepossessing forecourt.  However, once inside it is clear that all the effort went into creating a glorious house of worship.

Montserrat is also a boarding school for musical boys aged 8 to 14 years.  Every day at 1 pm, they sing in the basilica for the assembled crowds for ten minutes.  Gillian and I arrived a few minutes early which was apparently many too late.  We stood in the foyer at the back, packed in with several thousand others, where we could unfortunately hear little.

There are hikes around the area and a too-steep-for-Gillian-and-me funicular to the top of the mountain.  If you look closely at the photo, you will see two cars passing on their track.

There’s also a small farmers’ market selling mostly cheese, cheesecake, honey and nuts.  Gillian tried to purchase a cheesecake but was unable to get to the front of the line before we had to leave.  Montserrat offers two cafeterias and a museum, but the tour we took allowed us only two hours of free time and we spent one of them in line to visit the Black Virgin.

And of course there is a gift shop.  With thousands of tourists visiting every day, demand for souvenirs is strong.

I have two final images to leave with you today.  Derek spotted a large ferris wheel near the beach, so we followed our noses until we found it.  Four euros each bought us a bird’s eye view of the Barcelona waterfront.