The Courtyard of Montserrat (the only original part left)
A view of the Abbey complex
Our last stop before heading home was a tour to Montserrat, the mountain monastery located about 45 minutes from Barcelona. The place is a Benedictine Abbey and the home to the oldest boy’s choir in Europe. The ride there is along a winding mountain road with spectacular views. When we arrived Jose walked with us to the courtyard of the church and explained the history of the place. Most of the original parts of the buildings were destroyed during the Napoleonic wars.
We took a funicular to the summit of the mountain overlooking the Monastery and from the 4000-foot height we could see the Pyrenees in the distance.
A little before 1:00 PM we entered the church to hear the Boy’s Choir sing. The nave is very beautiful and high above the main altar in the wall opposite the main entrance is an alcove containing the Black Madonna, a legendary statue of the Madonna. The choir sounded marvelous as the boys sang a Salve Regina and a Catalan hymn.
After the performance we were off to the airport for our trip home.
Despite the volcanic ash cloud disrupting air traffic over Europe, we were able to make our flights and get home only a little late.
It was another lovely cruise, although very tiring.
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