texans on the autobahn

Monterserrat Monastery and Champagne Cellar

Wednesday was a day my body looked forward to, as we took about an hour and half bus ride to the monastic city of Montserrat for a tour of the Benedictine Monk retreat. The mountainous views at the top gave us incredible sites of the Pyrenees and Catalunya. The history of the monastery and this area began in the year 880 when a small group of shepherd children saw a bright light descending from the sky in the Montserrat mountin, and then heard angels singing, filling their hearts with joy. The children ran home to tell their parents, and being skeptical as parents can be, they also went to see if they could have the same experience, and they did, knowing then, that these were signs from God. Not long after, a religious man was brought to the same place in a cave and when it was explored, they found an image of the Virgin Mary, and from that moment on the cave became a holy sanctuary for religious pilgrims. It was quite cold on top of this mountain and for a short time, we thought we had been mistakenly been transported back to the frigid temperatures of Munich! But after a short lunch and some hot cappuccino, we headed back down to the mountain and to a local champagne cellar, where we took a tour and learned about the process of making champagne. The kids seemed most interested in the “assembly line” where the bottles were being corked, labeled and packed for shipping. My favorite part was when Senor Lopez and I were given a free bottle of champagne and then I was able to purchase some Spanish wine to take home! My feet were somewhat recovered, and we headed back to the hotel.

posted by stuckinthemiddle @ 3:29 PM