Exploring Spain By Cable Car

I spent a lot of time high today. *snicker snicker*

What I meant to say was that I spent a lot of the day in cable cars and on mountains. Day trip to Montserrat and exploring Park Montjuic - what an experience each was.

The first part of my day was nothing short of fantastic. I caught an early train to Montserrat and rode their not-so-little yellow cable car up into the mountain and monastery, where amazing views such as this one awaited me:

It was, simply put, breathtaking. The whole time I was there, I kept singing Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons" to myself - there were at least that many in that first view, and more than enough for God's glory and holiness to fill my heart. He makes everything glorious - today was evidence enough of that. And I am His. (DCB* shoutout)

My ticket was the "Trans-Montserrat" which included round trip fares for the train and cable car, museum entry, and unlimited use oof the funicular trains that took you to two other parts of the mountain. Here is a view from further up on the opposite side of the mountain after riding a funicular up:

I'm also beginning to master the art of getting strangers to take your picture - something I was never comfortable with.

There was also the monastery, where I roamed some courtyards, but the line to go inside and see the Black Virgin shrine (the main attraction there) was wicked long and moving at a glacial pace, so I skipped it and grabbed a panini in the cafeteria before heading back down on he cable car. In case youre wondering what THAT looked like:

The train came back to Placa de Espanya, which is a stone's throw from Park Montjuic and the monstrously huge Museu Nacional d'Arte Catalunya. I walked through there for a bit and grabbed some - wait for it - TIRAMISU ICE CREAM out front. Talk about God's wonderful creation. Here are some shots from a lobby in the museum:

I wandered through Park Montjuic, which is massive and a small mountain, by the way. I found the Olympic Stadium from 1992 and they let you go in and wander some of the main level for free! That was quite insanely cool.

I then boarded a cable car for the third time today. The views were stunning - you could see practically the entire city, park, and out into the Mediterranean. Again, man's ability to build and innovate really is astonishing. I shared the car with a woman from Santiago, Chile who was traveling alone as well. She congratulated me on doing this while I'm young, and I competely agree with her.

Oh, and there was a surprise castle at the top. Rock on, Spain.

On the way back down, I had a car to myself. I thought I'd take advantage of this and took a few self-portraits...

After running a top secret, hush-hush paternal birthday related errand, I got to Museu Picasso as fast as I could. I had enough time to thoroughly peruse the museum before they closed. I was so tired that I contemplated skipping dinner and just eating a granola bar, but I ran across a tapas place near the museum (Taperia Princeso) and had bread, grilled shrimp I'm garlic sauce (like...the WHOLE shrimp), and a creme brulee variant, the name of which escapes me. All for about 15 €. Dessert pictured below:

I'm sad to say goodbye toto Spain and a language im actually familiar with, but tomorrow it is off to Italy!!! See y'all in Milan!