Day trip- Monserrat

Off to the town of Monserrat. One metro ride, train ride, and cable car to the top of the mountain later, we made it. This is a VERY small town and you only need a few hours to accomplish all it has to offer. The majority of the time is spent standing in line to see the very unique Black Madonna. No, there is no joke. This isn't a punch line. This is a real piece of art. It apparently wasn't designed to be a black color. The wood over the years faded darker and darker. Madonna is visited every year by millions of people, many on a pilgrimage just to see her.  

After we stood in line for a good hour and a half we went out to the "courtyard" of the church and stood in the center barefoot. Legend/ tradition states that by doing this good energy will run through you. 

After checking out the few shops we headed back to Barcelona. We were pretty exhausted, which is funny since we did the least amount of walking today. Hanging at the hostel for a little we found a good tapas place across the street. Yay convenience! It was really really good. My two favorite dishes were Iberian ham croquettes ( tasted a little like Creamed chip beef) and two jams and cheese on a crostini. A glass of cava to wash it all down and just enough room to share a dessert called Colat. It is basically a really fudgie brownie with liquid chocolate on the inside sprinkled with cocoa powder and served with vanilla ice cream. Lets talk about rich! Oh so good!

Tomorrow we are off and running early since we still have a lot of Barcelona to see <3