Montserrat, Spain

Above Barcelona, a monastery is carved into the mountain top of Montserrat. 

We got there on a long bus ride, culminating in a short, steep rail ride to the peek.

The scene was so serenely beautiful that for a moment I could understand the appeal of choosing to live in a monastery. A few students are permitted to live at the monastery to study music--piano is required and one another instrument of choice.

The inner courtyard of the monastery was filled with ornately carved figures. We were surprised by the sudden peeling vibrations of the bell tower, deafeningly loud and about 10 minutes long, announcing mass.

The monastery there has become the tourist attraction of the famed Black Madonna. One guide commented, however, that the figure has black skin because those surfaces have not been cleaned. The setting for this popular sculpture was unusual because she is encased in glass except for a place where her hand extends through a hole so that visitors can climb up steps at the front of the cathedral and then, in full view of the congregation far below, enter her viewing chamber, cross across to touch the Madonna, then descend the steps to other chambers behind and below to pray and seek her blessing. Wow, so different than anything I've ever experienced.