A Morning in the Clouds, a Night of Magic

All week long, we've been hearing about the serrated mountains that surround Barelona--they are majestic and spiritual and holy and our city guide is even named after them; her name is Monterrat.  Today was the day we trekked up the side of the rocky mountainside to go visit the monastery at the top of it, and even though it was cloudy today, the visit was no less magical for it.

The mountain is rocky, made of squillions of pebbles left from when this part of earth was covered with water.  Natural, these pebbles are pretty--reds and pinks and corals--but when they are polished, the reds turn into maroons, and then yellows, whites, and greens are revealed in the shiny columns and walls when they are finished.  By "they," I mean the monks and the construction workers who built a basilica on the top of the world here; the original basilica, built in the 10th century, was destroyed by Napoleon and then rebuilt in the 1800's.  The church is called Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, and the altar features a blackened Madonna; her face has taken on a dark, lustrous sheen after centuries of absorbing the smoke of candles and incense, and she is beautiful.  Millions of people pilgrimage to see her to thank her for answered prayers.

As I always do, I sneaked away (this time with my mom) from the group to light a candle for my sister and to center my thoughts for a minute.  Churches in Europe are tangibly spiritual, if that makes any sense; one can walk in, smell the incense, taking in the ornamentation and canting and just feel closer to God.  After absorbing the prayers, tears, smiles, weddings, funerals, worries and fears of milions of people for hundreds of years, I just feel like prayers sent up here are louder or more powerful somehow.  We are lucky to be traveling on our trip here in beautiful mountains constructed by angels, and even though the day was entirely spent in the middle of a misty cloud, somehow, a clarity settled over us today.

Then, on to another church!  For a group on vacation on Sunday, we sure did get churched today . . . .  This time to La Sagrada Familia--a church still under construction since its groundbreaking in 1882.  It is designed by Gaudi, the same man who designed the park we went to yesterday, and it was definitely in keeping with his style.  A deeply devout man, Gaudi designed a church to be both used by the people and also to be an homage to the Creator.  In every detail, his love for his Lord is visible.  In the front of the church, you will find a cypress tree (symbolic of eternity) decorated with white doves, in the back, you will find remarkably modern sculptures of the Passion of the Christ.  The style is very Art Nouveau, and the result is, rather than having created the beautiful but ornate and polished church like the monastery, this cathedral is . . . touchable.  There are smooth walls, embellished walls, and textures all in between.  Gaudi wanted the people to come to Christ, and created a church that is both a glorious demonstration of his devotion to God and an invitation for the masses to join him in his love.  So.  Beautiful.

Then, a "quick walk" home to freshen up, and on to dinner!  Tapas!  Tapas is a tasting menu, meant, in the heat of Spain, to be an alternative to a meal.  The concept is, rather than toil over a hot stove to make food that is too heavy to eat in the sultry summer, one just has a little of everything--some cured meats, a little salad, some seafood, a bit of chicken, and a few summer veggies.  It's not a bad idea; maybe we'll adopt this philosophy as we head back to our own sultry country?  And then a little Catalonian custard for dessert.  A word about traveling and eating.  It is my own policy to try everything on my plate when I travel--even seafood dishes (I do not enjoy seafood--I *want* to like seafood, but oy.  It smells like catfood and looks like bugs.  I cannot).  So tonight, I did eat a bite of calamari, and I did eat my paella.  But.  When Megan Stanley passed a fork over that had an actual tiny squid on it, I was a little taken aback.  There will be no tasting of squids.  Ever.

Then--THEN--we went to the park where we were told there were magic fountains.  With open minds and charged up devices to record whatever would happen, we approached the fountains.  The crowds were HUGE; wall-to-wall people turned up to see this phenomenon, and when it started, it became very clear what drew them there.  At 9:25, music started to swell, and the fountains jetted up to the sky in tandem!  With the swells and beats of the classical music, the fountains turned colors and danced toward the sky, and it was truly, truly beautiful.  I took SO MANY pics of the fountains and put a video of it on my twitter, but really, you just have to be there.  So, those of you reading at home, take note.  The magic fountains need to appear on your to-do lists for Spain.

So here are the pics for the day!  Today's winners of the day are the members of pod seven (Madelyn and Tricia, Kenneth and Kristi, Adam, and my mother and I) because we (*hair flip*) are ALWAYS the FIRST to pod up.  :-)

Special mention goes to Kennedy Pasley and DJ McInturff, who have managed to find the most American moments on this trip even while embracing the language and culture to the utmost!  Yay, team!