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Published: March 19th 2015
With my husband's blessing I am now going to talk about Spanish men (and women). The exotic beauty of these people is absolutely breathtaking! If I am ever to come back in another life, I want to be a Spaniard. The dark, flawless skin, the ebony, thick hair, flashing dark eyes and perfect teeth certainly cause me to stop and stare. Now maybe it's just because I am wearing the same Costco or Gap clothes day after day topped off with pink Nikes and a black jacket compared to their beautiful dresses, scarves, and heels. They have an air of confidence about them and tend to carry themselves regally. Maybe it's just plain old jealousy, you know, green with envy emotion which is evoked as I gaze at my faux dark hair (which is fading fast) or the daily garb of semi-athletic clothing I wear as a less than fashionable statement. Whatever it is I would love to have that dark beauty for just one day! Okay, so out of my selfish fantasy into the real one. THE MEN! Curtis and I have commented to one another on several occasions how handsome the men are, along with the beauty of the
women. But wow, today we met a young Spanish man that was drop dead gorgeous. The epitome of the Spanish male. Granted, he was only 27 but age is irrelevant in this matter. Jose was our guide on our tour of Montserrat and the winery and tapas tour. We met Lorenzo first, very good looking as well but then along came Jose. Dark hair, gorgeous brown eyes and a smile that lit up his whole face!! To top it all off he was very educated, bright, knowledgeable and people-oriented. Whew, now that my little tirade of hormones is over I can move onto the tour itself!
We walked down to the Hard Rock Cafe at the Catalunya Square and looked for the pink umbrella. We saw a man holding this pink beacon. We showed him our tickets and he told us that we were going to be a part of the tour under the leadership of his mate, who was to come along shortly. In short order, Jose arrived. He took our tickets and chatted with us about where we were from. He guaranteed that we would love this tour! We had 15 minutes before our bus left so
Curtis and I went down the street to a little cafe for coffee. As we made our way back at the appointed time, we encountered several others who had arrived for the tour as well. We all piled onto our pink bus and headed off to Montserrat. As we drove along, Lorenzo gave us one of the most informative history lessons about Barcelona, as well as Spain in general. He regaled us with the different eras of war and hardship this country has undergone. The changes that were made under different leaders and how Napoleon destroyed so much of Spain. We learned that the old town of Barcelona once had a wall around it for protection. As time went on more people lived within these walls, in fact where we are staying once housed 900 people per 100m of living space. As I wrote earlier, our neighbourhood is very dark and the streets narrow. That is because of the limited space with which they had to build accommodations. As a result, people threw sewage and garbage into the streets and disease hit Barcelona hard, killing so many of its people. Finally the city agreed to take down the wall and
expand. That is when the progression of Barcelona truly began. As it stands today, the old Gothic quarter still has the narrow streets and looming buildings but as you move into the newer area, streets are wider and buildings are very artistic in nature. This city is as large as it can get in area now. With the natural boundaries of the mountains and sea, Barcelona has no more space to expand. Because of this, the city spends its tax dollars on keeping the city clean. Street cleaners are everywhere, sweeping up garbage, cigarette butts, etc. The streets are washed down nightly and during the day, narrow streets are hosed down by workers. Since the 1992 Olympics tourism has become their strongest industry and to that end they want to keep their city spotless in order to keep people coming here. In 1976 the dictatorship of Franco ended and Spain began to flourish. Jose told us stories of how under this dictatorship, in his parent's era, it was forbidden to show any kind of affection in public. No handholding, hugging, or speaking Catalan etc. At that time La Rambla became significant since it was the only place people could speak
the Catalan language. The history of this beautiful country is quite interesting and hearing it from those who live here was a wonderful opportunity for us to ask questions and gain insight. As our bus climbed the winding roads up to Montserrat we were in awe of the beauty around us. As we disembarked the bus we broke into our two groups. Four of us were doing the 1/2 day tour with Jose, while 6 were doing the full day with Lorenzo. As we made our way towards the monestary we noticed the funicular going virtually straight up to the top of the very steep mountain. Sure glad we were not doing that!! Montserrat literally means "Serrated Mountain". Of course there are 2 versions of how this incredible mountain came to be. There is the scientific version which involves the moving of tectonic plates or the legendary one involving angels. Both were fascinating for sure. We learned that there are presently 73 monks living in the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria of Montserrat. Their main purpose is to read and learn so they can impart knowledge. To do this they need money so tourist dollars are very important and they
are able to accumulate huge amounts of money each year. They have 4 hotels there, a 3 star, 2 star, 1 star and -1 star! This monestary was heavily damaged by fire and some parts were rebuilt. Gazing at the walls it was easy to see the new versus old sectons. We also learned that Napoleon, in his bid for wealth killed all the monks that lived here during his conquering.
As we entered we were able to see the statue of the Black Madonna, patron saint of Catalonia. There were very few tourists enjoying this moment and we had this beautiful statue all to ourselves. We wandered around the monastery some more where Jose entranced us with religious legends and true stories. In fact, it was during the time of the Napoleonic invasions that a boy hid himself in the caverns of Montserrat, playing his drum. As Napoleon and his army neared the mountain they heard not one drum, but the echo of thousands of drums. This made them turn back as they thought that there was a huge army waiting. Napoleon soon found out that it was only a boy and his drum and sadly returned and killed they boy.
We then boarded the bus and made our was down to the Oller del Mas winery. This castle/winery has belonged to the same family for the last 1000 years and is a very exclusive winery. We learned about how they grow their grapes organically, how vines of a certain age cannot be irrigated or they risk very expensive fines, and we were taught the entire winemaking process. From the picking, scanning, and sorting of grapes. We learned how they make white vs. red wine and watched as a group of men filled, corked, and crated hundreds of bottles of wine. I slipped over and begged for a cork, which they graciousy gave me.
We then went into the castle and down to the cellar where the oak barrels are kept. This was the oldest part of the castle and we were in awe of the dozens of barrels along the stone walls. Jose thoroughly explained how the barrels work, how long certain wines are barreled etc. We next moved through a large wooden door to the most fabulous room. Here they had a long table set up complete with a plate of 6 tapas per person and a dessert. This stone room with a magnificent archway was the epitome of our view on a wine cellar. On the bar were 15 glasses set out. We were then given a lessen in the sights, smells, and tastes of different wines. We used our cellphone lights to pass through the wine in our glass and onto our white napkins. The more purple, the colour the younger the wine, as in the case of our first tasting. We also learned how the smell of wine can be fruit, vegetable, mineral, or animal. We put our senses to work on three different wines and were amazed at the difference we noted. We enjoyed our delicious tapas and came away with 2 bottles of wine to add to our collection. Hanging on to them for the next 2 and 1/2 months may be tricky!!! Not long after we headed back to Barcelona on our bus. We met 2 nice people from Wisconsin who were there as their spouses were working in Barcelona for the week. We enjoyed our day with them! Jose is probably one of the most genuine people I have ever met. I am not saying that because of his smouldering Spanish looks. He just is. We talked to him extensively about Spain's economy and education system. Someday he wants to run his own tour business, but one that takes people into the heart of Spain, not necessarily the "touristy" places. To this end he wrote down a list of authentic restaurants to go to in Barcelona as well as his email address. He told us that if we ever had friends who wanted a tour guide in Spain he would love to do it! We may end up seeking him out again as he has so much to offer!
After hugs and kisses and heartfelt thanks, we dropped off our wine and headed out to the first place on his list, the one he said we had to get to. It was called "Can Paixano" and was down by the waterfront. This tapas bar is famous for it's cava (Spanish sparkling wine). Everyone stands, there are no tables. We enjoyed 1 euro copa of cava along with croquettas, blood sausage, olives, pickles and ham. It was fantastic! We met a man from Bruges and talked to him for quite a time and then chatted with a girl who has Canadian citizenship but is currently attending school in Dublin. We love meeting and talking to people and this was a great atmosphere to do so. We wandered back through the streets, past the Roman Walls, and into the Cathedral, What a beautiful sight at night as the shadows and lights combined to have a mesmerizing effect.
We love Barcelona and are looking forward to spending our last day wandering the streets but will be sad to leave this lively city!
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Montserrat Tour
We are from Stoney Creek, Ontario and have enjoyed reading your blog. We will be in Barcelona end of May for 3 days, pre-Mediterranean cruise. You have provided us with lots of sight-seeing options, but wondered if you could give us a link to Jose that was your tour guide for Montserrat. If not, no worries...enjoy the rest of your travels