Montserrat, Sitges and Torres Winery

As previously advertised, today we'll be talking about and viewing the day trip to Montserrat, Sitges and the Torres Winery that we took in November of 2008.  We did this tour through the same organization that ran the Hop On Hop Off bus in Barcelona.  So we already felt that they were pretty good after two days spent on (and off) their buses.  We met early in the morning at Placa de Catalunya in Barcelona which was also the main starting point for the HOHO's and was where we had bought our tickets.

Our first stop on the tour was at the Torres Winery which was probably 30 or 40 miles out of town.  During the drive our guide gave us information on the places we would be going during the day.  Torres looked very much like most wineries in the US.  Some that I have been to in Nappa and Sonoma were prettier and some were not.

The tour consisted of a film in a dark room and then a short ride on a tram where they took you by some vats, a field of grapes and then into a building that contained barrels of wine behind glass.  Once inside the building the lights went out and as they came back up you found yourself in front of a huge wall of wine.  Everybody was snapping pictures but I don't think it was possible for any of them to come out due to the lighting and the wall of glass between us and the wine that just resulted in the light bouncing back off of the glass.

Torres is the most famous winery in Spain, but they have wineries in South America, as well.  After the tour which lasted about 15 minutes we tasted a few wines and then had a little time to take pictures either inside of the tasting room or outside.

Leaving Torres we headed to Montserrat which was really the purpose of the trip in the first place.  Montserrat is a Benedictine monastery about 30 miles outside of Barcelona which gets it's name from the shape of the mountains that it is housed in.  The mountains seem to be serrated which is the literal translation "serrated mountain".  To get there, you can take a train up the mountain which takes 10 minutes or so.   Or you can drive it.  We took the train and then our bus met us at the top and drove us back down.

Once you are at the top, you can roam around as you like.  There is a snack bar, the basilica of course, gardens, and you can go further up the mountain on another funicular that runs every 20 minutes for an additional fee.  At 1:00 PM everyday the choir boys perform for 10 minutes in the basilica.  At this time, the audience becomes so large that it is difficult to see the boys.  But they can certainly be heard.  They sound like angels.

Jenny and I walked around taking pictures of

everything until almost time for the boys to start singing when we made our way into the basilica and found seats.  After the 10 minute performance, we decided to go on up the mountain further.  Neither of us wore appropriate shoes for walking around on a mountain, so we had to stay on trails and it was slow going.  But even so, we walked the trail at the top of the mountain and were able to get photos with the Pyrenees Mountains just visible in the distance.

View from the train.

 At some point during the day, I can't remember if it was before or after the choir boys performance, we got in line to see the black Madonna which is housed in the back of the church.  There were several stories about the black Madonna all of which I can't remember now, but it was interesting to see and the gold which surrounded the shrine was amazing.

We spent most of the day at Montserrat and if I had been wearing appropriate shoes, I wouldn't have minded spending more time to walk around and see all that there was to see especially on the mountain top.

Jenny taking a picture of the amazing buildings.

The choir boys performance.

The ceiling in the area over the black Madonna.

The black Madonna behind glass.

Riding the rest of the way up in the funicular.

There were cats everywhere you went at Montserrat.  They all seemed very comfortable with the constant attention they were getting.  It made me miss Jingle and Shiner at home just a little.

 In the picture of Jenny to the right, you can barely see the Pyrenees Mountains if you squint really hard on the horizon in the distance.  It is the white part....

The photo below was taken as I turned left after taking the picture of Jenny that is to your right.  You can see that we walked up maybe a quarter of a mile from where the funicular dropped us off to take the pictures at this highest peak.

Here's proof that I was there too!

Jenny's inappropriate shoes.

 As we came back down in the funicular the views were still spectacular.  You couldn't have asked for a more perfect day weather wise to spend at Montserrat.

When we left Montserrat we had a 30 to 40 minute drive to get to Sitges which is a little resort town on the Mediterranean.  It was already getting late and I think the tour guide was in a hurry to get us there before sunset so that we could witness the beautiful sunset from there.  If I had known what we were in for, I would have been very anxious for us to get there in time myself.

The church in Sitges bathed in the glow of the sunset.

Sunset facing away from the church.

 Jenny and I decided to take our pictures squishing our toes in the sand of a Mediterranean beach, so here we are in Sitges.  As we were taking these pictures we could hear the other members of our group talking about the "girls from Texas".  But hey, I have walked barefoot on a Mediterranean beach now and they still haven't.

Shortly after the barefoot beach pictures were taken, we went back to our bus which took us back to Barcelona.  Back in Barcelona I think we had a late dinner.  I think this was the night we had Tappas.  The next day we were getting on our cruise ship at lunchtime.  So, we still had another morning in Barcelona ahead of us and tomorrow you will see that we put it to good use.

Have a great Monday.  Happy Presidents Day!