JillMelancon Travel

19 June 2023

Up at 5am, and took Uber to the airport (much easier to navigate than Lisbon’s), and made it to Barcelona.  Picked up my metro card at the airport, and took it part of the way into the city.

Took Cabify to the luggage drop off place—and it’s raining!  Was not going to be able to make it to the Hospital de Pau in time (and would have cost me more than the ticket price to get there), so I may try to go tomorrow.  Found a café and got a sandwich and drink to kill some time before I can get into my Airbnb.  I’m not near the main downtown area, so there isn’t much to do here.

Finally found my Airbnb—pretty nice, but no A/C on yet, so very hot!  Dropped my bags and headed to the metro to go to Montserrat tour which was NOT what I was expecting.  Apparently, it is a religious pilgrimage site with a wooden black Madonna statue that was supposedly carved by St. Luke and was found in 880 AD. 

It took me FOREVER to find the place where the bus was, but finally got on and we started for Montserrat (about 45 minutes away). The mountains there are cool—they reminded me of the rock monsters in Galaxy Quest.  You ride up in a funicular, and then walk around at the top where the church and living spaces are.

I walked through the church, which was beautiful, and also saw some good views from the top.  I headed down to the gift shop and watched the video about the place, then went to the cafeteria and got some cheese and sausage slices and a drink and I felt better. 

We took the bus back down about an hour into town. Used a different metro station and it was easier getting back.  I ordered some Greek food—the first real meal I’ve had in awhile.  I have this problem in foreign countries sometimes with finding things to eat—especially in places where there is a lot of seafood and/or steak dishes that are popular.  I wind up looking for fast food (which is never that good).  Lately, I’ve taken to ordering from UberEats so I can take my time reading the menu and finding something I might like.

Found a place nearby to get a massage tomorrow—which I am REALLY looking forward to.