This is a day trip for us to the Montserrat mountain and monastery that inspired Antonin Gaudi. It was fantastic!

The mountain is conglomerate rock, really interesting up close. It’s used in all (or most) of the buildings.

There are many new buildings. This is the facade of the old church.

We lit candles for mom and my sister, Christy.

The inside of the church is wonderfully ornate. It was filled with tourists—we were four of them. A cantor came out while we were there and began to sing. It was wonderful and odd at the same time, to be in a sacred space filled with tourists.

We took the funicular up the mountain. It is easier see the larger Montserrat complex of building from above.

From there, we hiked up a ways to the small St. Joan’s Chapel. There were many pictures taken along the way.

It really is easy to see how Gaudi was inspired by this place.

It was a lovely excursion, followed by a cava (the Spanish equivalent of champagne) at the Codorniu Vineyard.