The Pinheiro's Tour - Day 3 (I) - Montserrat and lunch

Day three of the tour found Lisa, Scott and I leaving Barcelona for a few days. First stop: Montserrat mountain. Technically it was our second stop, as we stopped for a minute on the way out of the city so they could drop off a couple of postcards at the post office. At over 700 meters up, the temperatures at the monastery were much more bearable than along the coast. It was a great day to do some walking, and so we did. We sampled some cheese, explored the monastery and then took the walk down to the Sagrada Cova. Well okay, we didn't walk all the way, but we did get a good sample of the walk, complete with the numerous Moderniste statues dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, where the peculiar Catalan blend of national pride and religion is clearly visible.

We bypassed lunch with the tourists to continue on our way inland. We stopped along the plains of Lleida for a quick lunch at a local diner. The rabbit and pork were fine. I tried the local snail and meat stew, which was surprisingly tasty. After lunch we continued up to the Somontano region where we would be spending the night.

For more information on planning your private guided tour of Spain, contact The Spanish Touch at 888-480-0013.