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Published: June 29th 2017
Geo: 41.6167, 1.85
Within 30 minutes of waking we decided to just get up and go to Montserrat; A mountaintop monastery. It was a fair journey from the city centre, about 90 minutes from Barcelona. The day ticket cost us 26€, which was excellent value really, including daily metro ticket, 70 minute regional rail journey, 20 minute cogwheel train up the mountain, entry to the monastery and a steep cogwheel train to the mountaintop. The first cogwheel train takes you to the midlevel, where we explored the monastery, enjoyed a cafe lunch and decent views of the countryside. Next, we boarded the second steep cogwheel rail, taking you up on about a 45 degree angle to the top level. From here we embarked on a 30 or 40 minute walk to the actual summit. The views on the way to the top got more and more spectacular. We also passed through an old living convent, chiseled into the mountainside over 500 years ago.
The actual summit, the highest point, was well worth the climb. From here you got a panoramic 360degree view all around of the countryside, towns below, vineyards, orchards and the monastery, now tiny below us. Again, we were very lucky
to get such a perfect clear day with sunshine and good visibility at such a height. Thereafter, we began our lengthly climb down, via two cogwheel trains and regional train on our return to Barcelona.
We arrived back in the city around 7, and made our way to the Santa Maria del Mar, the meeting point for tonights company! First up, a bit after 8, we met up with Luke and Rhianna, our friends we met at Mount Titilis about a week ago. We polished off some white Sangria whilst we waited for the rest. Jason, Matt and Shilana met us around 9, Jason and Matt getting lost along the way... (Can you believe that? Haha). Once we were all assembled, we set off towards the beach looking for food. We didn't find the place Luke and Rhianna were recommended, but eventually we settled for a nice Plan B. Wine, Sangria, tapas and paella were on order, and both food and company made for a fun evening. Nat and I just made the last train around 12.30am
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