Carnival Vista Review: Day 3 – Montserrat, Cava Country & The Sagrada Familiafeatured

For all of the boasting I did the day before about conquering jetlag, I was still dealing with a few minor side effects.

I wasn’t feeling quite the obvious punch Stephanie was. I just…wasn’t able to sleep. So the 7:30 am wake up that came ahead of our day tour on our second day in Barcelona was rough because I couldn’t fall asleep until well past 3:30 am. I already knew this wasn’t going to be a restful vacation, and I was really hoping to get some rest before we boarded the Vista.

But this wouldn’t be the day for it – we had a tour booked to visit Montserrat and Cava Country through Barcelona Day Tours that was going to pick us up at 9:00 am sharp.

We used Barcelona Day Tours on our first trip to Barcelona last year, based on the thousands of glowing reviews for the company posted online and our experience with them had validated the reviews – the company is incredibly professional, the tour guides are fantastic and the vehicles are well-maintained and clean. Last year, we did a tour that visited Montserrat in the morning and did a Barcelona city tour in the afternoon. This year, in keeping with the idea of allowing ourselves to repeat some enjoyable experiences as we mix in some new ones, we booked a tour to Montserrat and Cava Country. Stephanie contacted them through their site and the cost of the tour settled out at €89 per person.

Our hotel was the first on the pickup route, and our driver and guide drove up promptly at 9:00 am. Our guide, Lisa, was warm and welcoming and gave us a bit of a tour of the Eixample as we continued on the pickup route. Our full group was a total of eight people, and it was the perfect size for this kind of tour.

 

Once everyone had been picked up, we began the drive to Montserrat, a mountain in the Catalan pre-coastal mountain range. The mountain is jagged and serrated, and the name Montserrat literally means saw mountain in Catalan. The history of the area dates back to 888 A.D., and the monastery that famously sits nestled in the mountains dates all the way back to the year 1025. Christopher Columbus was quite fond of this mountain range, too – so much so, he named an island in the Caribbean after it. You can get up to Montserrat a few ways – there’s a daily bus route that leaves from the Plaça de la Universitat, you can take a train and transfer to either the cable car or the funicular, or you can drive – it’s about an hour’s drive from Barcelona through the Catalan countryside.

 

As we neared Montserrat, Lisa had the driver pull over so we could see the area we’d be visiting from below. The rest of the drive up was pretty steep, but watching the clouds cast shadows on the rolling hillside below from that high up was a stunning site to see. Lisa began telling us about our options for our two and a half hours in Montserrat – we could hike out to the cross, we could take the funicular down to the bottom of the mountain, we could attend services or visit the Black Madonna, we could shop and dine, we had plenty of possibilities.

 

The minute I stepped foot off the van, I took a deep breath and just felt immediate peace. There was something about Montserrat the first time we visited that brought me pure gratitude and peace. Maybe it lies in being up so high, looking out at mountains so vast and green and beautiful that was created by nature. Or maybe it’s rooted in good memories. Either way, if the day before, I couldn’t understand how I had gotten anywhere near here, today, I had to keep reminding myself that this was real and I was here.

 

We were the only people in our group that had ever visited Montserrat before, so we tagged along as Lisa walked everyone else in our group through the area and regaled them with the legend of the Black Madonna and walked everyone through the market so we could try the locally produced cheeses and goods that the vendors were offering. And just like last year, these vendors were giving out samples to everyone and anyone, and not a single one of them pressured anyone for a sale. Most of them were offering up cheeses and honey and produce from their family farms and just wanted to share the fruits of their work (and we were happy to enjoy it because everything was so fresh and delicious).

 

And even though we’d visited before, we were seeing and learning all kinds of new things. Like the room where people come and leave offerings for the spirit of the Black Madonna. We never saw that before!

 

Lisa set us free after walking us through the basilica during services and we just kind of hung around the courtyard for a bit, wandering into the Ave Maria Path (where people go to light candles as a prayer to the Virgin Mary) and waiting for services to end so we could go back into the basilica to take pictures. If you’re visiting Montserrat and would like to light a candle, they have a box where you can drop a couple of Euros and grab a candle to light.

 

Noise and photography are forbidden during services, but thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long for them to let out so that we could take pictures inside and explore the basilica. We didn’t get to go inside the basilica on our last trip, so we made it a point to see it this time. The basilica was built in the Gothic style Barcelona is known for, and what makes it so wonderfully unique is how it also merges Catalan architecture with Renaissance shapes. Stained glass windows adorn the outer walls and I really enjoyed taking my time admiring each one, but the centerpiece of the basilica is the sculpture of the Black Madonna.

 

The Black Madonna has quite the lore behind her. Visitors from around the world have been coming to Montserrat since the 12th century to visit the Black Madonna, touch her hand and pray for miracles. The line to go up to her gilded altar wrapped around the courtyard before it even opened for visits, so we settled for observing the statue from the basilica.

 

Afterwards, we snapped a few more pictures up by the basilica before heading back down to grab a cappuccino at a nearby café and enjoy the brisk spring air.

 

We did a little bit of shopping after our espresso run, stopping first into the big shop they have set up with all kinds of Montserrat-logo’ed items, gourmet goods, housewares and even jewelry and then back through the market to take another look at what was available at each table.

 

Lisa had mentioned earlier that there wouldn’t be any food served at our cava tasting, so we popped into a cafeteria to grab some sandwiches and desserts. It’s amazing how something as simple as baguette rubbed with tomato and filled with sliced chorizo can be so delicious.

 

We didn’t have much time before we had to head to the meeting spot, so Mom went ahead to the spot while Stephanie and I climbed down a bit to a small viewing area where you can sit on the ledge and take in the mountain range. Lisa had mentioned earlier that the reason they didn’t build higher walls on these areas was because there was clearly a big drop off below them and people should be able to take responsibility for themselves and not put themselves in danger of falling off. So Stephanie and I took a couple of pictures before she headed up, leaving me to sit and contemplate the beauty ahead of me…while dangling over the edge. Sorry, Mom.

 

I didn’t stay too long – probably just a few minutes – but it was just enough to finally get some peace. That’s what I love about Montserrat. It’s so beautiful and so…simple. It’s not ornate, it’s not grandiose, it’s just a monastery nestled in some mountains. But somehow in it’s simplicity, it’s breathtakingly stunning. My life had been so complicated and stressful in the months leading up to this trip and looking out at the mountains brought me all of the peace I needed.

 

The group reconvened at 1:20 pm and started our drive out to the Cava region of Spain and it reminded me very much of the drive to Napa from San Francisco – at least until we drove past a man sitting up in the middle of the road, looking into our van as if he was waiting for us to hit him. We didn’t, thankfully, and our driver got right on the phone with emergency services to report the situation. I don’t know if anything came of it, if the man was struck by another driver who wasn’t paying as much attention or if the police got there in time, but it definitely shook everyone a little bit.

Once the tension from that moment started to drop, Lisa began to tell us about the estate we’d be visiting, telling us how many bottles of cava are produced in this region a year (42 million!), what the difference is between cava and sparkling wine (double fermentation) and, most importantly, letting us know that tasting was a big component of this next part of the tour!

 

We pulled up to Artcava and were greeted warmly by Ramon, who immediately began a tour of the production area and estate. The estate has been in that spot for over a thousand years and has an olive tree just out the back of the same age. Isn’t that crazy?

 

Ramon walked us through the estate, room by room, telling us what we could learn about the family who lived there by the characteristics the house took on from them.

The next part of the tour led us down into the cellars, where Ramon showed us how the fermentation process takes place and walked us through how the process results in the different varieties of cava.

 

Did you know that in order to remove the yeast that ferments the cava from the bottle, they freeze the very very top of the bottle (upside down) at -19 degrees, which allows them to solidify it and remove it without leaving residue in the cava? Ramon did a demonstration, walking us all the way through the process from the yeast removal to when the bottles are completed. It was fascinating to see how much work goes into creating this bubbly treat.

 

Our tour concluded with a tasting session, which included three full-sized pours of Artcava’s cava. Ramon walked us through the tasting notes and, as someone who has done her fair share of wine tastings before, I found this one to be absolutely engaging. I have nothing but good things to say about the entire tour.

 

I think everyone on the tour ended up purchasing a bottle or three before we hopped back into the van and began our drive back to Barcelona. The drive from Montserrat/the Cava region is usually around 45 minutes, but we were in some pretty heavy traffic. We had 6:15 pm tickets to the Sagrada Familia and I was starting to worry we’d be late for our entrance. Thankfully, the traffic minimized as we entered the city. It started to rain a bit as we began drop offs, but as ours was last, the rain let up by the time we even got out of the van. We said our goodbyes to Lisa and thanked her not only for a wonderful tour, but for the list of recommendations she wrote out for us based on where we were staying.

 

We ran up into the room to grab our raincoats just in case and debated taking a cab (Mom and Stephanie’s choice) vs taking the Metro (my choice). We couldn’t figure out where to catch this particular Metro line, so they won. A ride to the Sagrada Familia was about 15 minutes and cost just under 7 Euro with a cab driver who apparently grew up with Pau Gasol, a player on the Chicago Bulls. Small world, huh?

 

Barcelona is a city rich in art and architecture, and no one name is more synonymous with the city than Antoni Gaudí. His modern, art noveau inspired influence can be felt throughout the city, and his pièce de résistance is the Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic church so large and designed so intricately, it still isn’t complete – construction began in 1882 and they anticipate it will finally be completed in 2026 for the 100 year anniversary of Gaudí’s death.

 

The exterior of the Sagrada Familia is intricate and imposing (much like Parc Guell, Casa Milà and Gaudí’s other works). You could stare at it for hours and still not be able to fully take notice of everything. There are three facades (one to represent each of the three major events crucial to Christ’s existence): Birth (the Nativity façade to the East), Death and Resurrection (the Passion façade to the West) and Future Glory (the Glory façade to the south – the one façade that has yet to be completed). Along with the facades are 18 spires (to represent Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, the twelve Apostles and the four Evangelists). When the spires are complete, the Sagrada Familia will become the tallest church in the world.

 

We only got to experience the Sagrada Familia from the outside last time, and seeing it from the inside was towards the top of my Barcelona must do’s list. Stephanie bought us advanced tickets online when she was resting the day before when Mom and I were at the Boqueria and we literally walked right in through the advanced sales line.

 

My jaw was at my knees the minute we walked into the church. I knew what was waiting for me inside. I’ve seen dozens of pictures. But nothing could prepare me for the overwhelming masterpiece that lays inside in the detailed carvings, the high, vaulted ceilings and the richly stained glass that cast shadows in every hue of the rainbow across the entire space. Every wall I looked at, every small detail I caught, each was more beautiful that the last.

 

We wandered around for about an hour before leaving the church and picking up a couple of last minute souvenirs down the block. The Sagrada Familia is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Barcelona, so there are dozens of souvenir shops within a one block radius on all sides of the structure.

 

Somehow, I convinced Stephanie and Mom to take the Metro back to the hotel because it was a straight shot up two stops and it was only €2.15. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I found the Barcelona Metro to be super easy to navigate, the stations and trains clean and modern. It took us less than ten minutes to get from the Sagrada Familia back to Eixample.

It started to chill outside and we couldn’t figure out what we wanted for dinner, so we wandered around Rambla Catalunya (there are many ramblas in Barcelona – it just means a place a river has run through and Las Ramblas is just the most famous one) before settling on Boldu, a small bakery Stephanie had found in her research. We dined on sandwiches and flatbreads and treated ourselves to donuts for dessert.

 

The sunset in Barcelona wasn’t hitting until after nine, so we still had some bits of daylight left as we headed back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow, which was a pretty big day for us: we’d finally be boarding the Carnival Vista!