All Sunday and Monday I spent working on my paper for Esthetics of Representation. It was on Battleship Potemkin, by Sergei Eisenstein…. lots of montage. I made a real solid outline so I could right it quick and easy after our trip to Montserrat on Tuesday, leaving all Wednesday to study for my History of Cinema exam. Sydney and I managed to make time for a romantic sushi dinner and we even splurged on THE MOST DELICIOUS COCKTAILS. We also ended up getting a free glass ofchampagne when the weight forgot to order one of the roles, woohoo.
We (Sam, Sydney and I) decided to meet at the Espanya metro stop at 10:30 to take the renfe (basically the commuter rail equivalent) to Montserrat. We spent a good twenty minutes deciding which ticket packet to buy so we ended up missing the first train at 10:36. We ended up for the middle of the road ticket, opting out of the included meal and entry to the Montserrat museum. We spent all our waiting time and train ride talking about going home—what we wanted to do, what we were most excited about, exactly who was picking up at the airport and when…everything. Sydney cried and Sam and I compared the anticipated greeting from our ten year old brothers, apparently hers is going the ‘I’m-to-cool” phase. Jake, that best not be you, or no presents, I want a big-ass hug and screaming. I want you to be so happy that airport security kicks us out. Got it!
We then took a funicular from the train station up to Montserrat itself, the views were amazing, but still nothing compared to the very top, after the second funicular. We did that first, up to the hiking trails were monks had built a bunch of hermitages in the past, most of which are in ruins now. We opted out of the hikes since we had no sneakers and lots of studying. It was still beautiful and we mastered the technique of self-timer, balancing the camera on rocks. There are two mountains and the
monastery and museum are in the middle of it. You can see huge crosses on either mountain out on a cliff; it’s an incredible image. We went into the abbey. It is a Benedictine abbey, called “Santa Maria de Montserrat” and has an amazing history. The short story is that the virgin Mary appeared here in a cave, a bit below where the abbey itself is, which is why an abbey was established here. Both Napoleon and Franco (Spanish dictator in the mid 1900s) were detrimental to the abbey. Sorry for the history lesson. There is a wooden statue of the virgin in the abbey where pilgrims, and now tourists too, travel to see. The abbey itself is impressive, reminiscent in the cathedral itself of Santa Maria del Mar, a cathedral near me, but it’s definitely grander. There are lanterns everywhere along the walls after you pass through the entrance that is marked by a fresco/sculpture of Jesus and the twelve apostles. Every lantern seems to be different, in the room devoted to St. Ignatius (go BC!!) there are lanterns that are birds nest, in another more austere room, the lamps are more modern and simple…without being out of place. There wasn’t a huge rose window that is usually a cathedrals
claim to fame, but the stained glass was still beautiful. My favorite was in a room that had an alter covered in flowers and the window with angels. Another room had a modern sculpture sort of thing of Jesus, It is hard to describe so I’ll put in a picture, but it was so cool for lack of a better term. After going down to a simple, but elegant chapel/crypt we went up to the statue of the Virgin Mary, in a small room above and behind the main altar in the cathedral. I was BLOWN AWAY... it was absolutely stunning. I am going to include a video so you can see for yourself, but it still doesn’t do it justice. The rest of the cathedral was beautiful and made the hour or so tip to Montserrat totally worth it. I especially loved the candles, which are usually inside the cathedral, lining a walkway carved into
the mountain around the outside of the abbey. Tuesday night was Barcelona’s biggest celebration for Dia de San Juan, lots of bonfires and firecrackers. Lots of people using firecrackers that shouldn’t, literally we were advised to avoid wearing flammable clothing. It was an awesome night. All of us went to the beach around eleven and watched great fireworks with a bottle of cava while people played drums and guitar
around us. Very Barcelona, even little kids were out till 4 am. On Wednesday we had our last group trip with our guide in Barcelona. We went to Tibidabo, which also boasts an amazing view of Barcelona, the best of the city I would say. We went to the amusement park at the top, which is no six flags, but just as fun. The small park has a few levels one focused on the few more modern rides, then the older, classic attractions like merry-go-rounds. It was a blast. We went on all the rides, and we definitely almost threw up on a few of them, even one that look like charming little swing. SURPRISE, it wasn’t you feel like you are going to be catapulted into the sky over Barcelona, the fact that it was on a mountain side made everything feel more intense. The highlights were the bumper cars and ferris wheel. All of us, eleven people, went on and partnered up. I was with Bridget, who can be just as aggressive as I am and we dominated. I did loose control of the car at one point, apparently when you turn the wheel a lot it goes backwards, we caused a lot of damage with that. The best was when I gave an Italian man whiplash. All of the sudden the whole path in front of us cleared, which is rare in bumper cars, and we picked up a bit too much momentum…. BAM, his flowing gray hair flew about, ahahhahahahahahaha. We went on the ferris wheel last. Julio, Alex and I where in one seat and 
saw amazing views of the city. I think I had my best moment in Barcelona when we were getting off the ride. The guy had been giving me eyes and when he said something to us getting out of our seat, I completely miss heard him. He said ‘give me a kiss’ (forward, but not in Barcelona), I was so shocked and disoriented I rammed my head on one of the overhead bars. Julio was laughing so hard he couldn’t breath. I was like ‘Julio, did you hear that oh-my-gosh, blah blah’. He says ‘Whaaaat?”, and I told him. That’s when I found out that he actually said watch your head…wow. It was a great finally to our time in Barcelona.Thursday I had my last exam, after studying till 4 a.m. I was lucky that half of us are in the class and we all decided to wake each other up. Then I was done!!!! We went to turn in our final paper and went to the beach…. glorious! That night we went to our favorite places, since it was a bunch of peoples last night. Crepes del Born was first and hanging out in Born, then to Jamboree.
Yesterday I spent ALL day packing, trying to manipulate the luggage and clothes so nothing is overweight. It was a bit overwhelming, but now I am done and get to enjoy the rest of the weekend without stress.
I can’t believe there are just two days left. TWO DAYS!!! What the heck?
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