 Today’s destination was the Fundacion Joan Miro on Montjuic Hill. To get there we rode the bus to the Paral-lel station and took the Funicular up the hill. The museum was a short walk from the station.
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 There are actually three entities in Barcelona that use the name Hospital de la Santa Cruz I Sant Pau. (Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul.) The first was built in 1401 and now houses the Biblioteca de Catalunya (Library of Catalonia).
Take that in folks: Built 91 years before Columbus set sail and still in use! Click Read More below right...  We were in the Cathedral Plaza at noon today to see la Sardana. La Sardana is the national dance. It is not a raucous affair. The dancers are somewhat solemn; as they all perform the same steps the dance symbolizes the equality of the Catalan people. If you want to join in you place your belongings in the center of the circle along with everyone else’s and join the circle. The dancers are traditional accompanied by 11 musicians who are collectively called the cobla. The Plaza was filled with dancers, and spectators.
Click Read More below right...  When we went to bed last night we expected that we might be awakened by over enthusiastic soccer fans after the big Madrid v.. Madrid match concluded. Instead we were awakened after 11 pm (23:00) by the sound of a loud speaker on it’s highest setting and a large crowd. Getting out of bed to investigate we saw a candlelit religious procession winding through the streets below complete with the saint’s statue being carried on a flower-strewn platform. Hopefully they were on their way to a midnight mass otherwise it is hard to imagine as to why they chose to do this at such a volume at 11pm. It was, however, a sight to behold.
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We have settled into a pattern of taking it slow and easy in the mornings. We have coffee and a fresh croissant on the roof deck, Marsha with the Sudoku and Crossword and if Harry can manage to not be computing he will join her to do some sketching or work on a watercolor.
Click Read More below right..  Here I sit, laptop on my lap, feet up, on the roof deck of our building. It is 7:00 pm – the church bells are chiming from four different steeples within earshot. Music is wafting up from street performers below. And…..the sun is still shining brightly. One of my joys on vacation is to find a spot to have morning coffee in the sun or alternatively to have a glass of wine and watch the sun go down. Usually it is hard to even fulfill one of those wishes. Here I have both. And so far we have never seen any of the other occupants of the building using this space. The solitude in the middle of the city is just grand.
Click Read More below right..  After a good night's sleep and a satisfying hotel breakfast we boarded the first cable car to an even higher place on the mountain. This one was reminiscent of the cog railway on Mt. Washington only sleek and modern. The steep angle of the slope was similar.
Click Read More below right..  Our destination today was Montserrat. The Monastery at Montserrat was founded in 1025and the first stones for the basilica were laid in 1560. Over the years the Romanesque/Byzantine interiors were added. In 1811 the Basilica by destroyed by Napoleons Army. Since that time there have been multiple restorations and expansions. Today it is a major destination for pilgrims, school trips and tourists.
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This morning we took it slow and easy and even had coffee and shared a croissant on the roof deck. At midday we travelled by bus for an hour to Park Guell. This afforded us the opportunity to see a variety of neighborhoods and shops. Emerging from the bus we walked through a park with sweeping views the entire city below and the Mediterranean beyond. There were a variety of wild flowers and even some large cactus plants.
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Ben was on the bus to the airport at 7am this morning headed back to Boston. We really enjoyed his company and from our viewpoint it was a wonderful week. The apartment seems quite empty now.
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