A day of two halves today but overall a good day at the time of writing. One of the pleasures of big city living is having breakfast out – nothing more complicated than a croissant (or variation) and a good coffee for me or herbal tea for Ally. This morning’s was not quite as good as yesterday’s but still very good.
Our main plan today was to find somewhere quiet, peaceful and “off the beaten track” and the Monastery at Pedralbes fitted the bill. An easy journey by bus with only one change took us there and we were almost ‘chapping on the door’ at the opening time of 10am. Two school parties had beaten us to it by a few minutes bit were soon absorbed into the, frankly, astonishing building.
In summary it dates from 1327 and Queen Elisenda de Montcada and has a pretty unique collection of artworks, furniture and religious objects for over 7 centuries. Much of it created specifically for the monastery. In ‘The Monastery Treasures’ exhibition there is an amazing ‘Black Madonna’ painting that really smacks you in the eye.
Amongst so many fascination exhibits it was easy to forget just how wonderful the building is. The refectory and adjoining kitchen were just outstanding and warrant a few photos
Once we had seen all of this we went up a floor to the upper levels for some goos views of the cloister & church tower
Sunny again!
Sadly the church was not open to visitors – the Poor Clare nuns that used to open the doors & manage the church have moved away.
So a really fascinating 2 or so hours wandering about in almost perfect quiet & solitude. We headed back having decided to head straight for lunch via this oddity – an Arc de Triomf in the old town
Our walk took us past Barcelona Nord – formerly a railway terminus now a bus station, sports centre and police station.
Our final destination then was lunch at Casa Rafols which has an interesting entrance and a good story.
That is where the good part of the day ended really – the food wasn’t that great, the service well meaning & friendly but verging on hopeless and, to cap it all, we have both suffered (euphemism) upset stomachs. The final downer was the sudden and unexpected rain which ruined any chances of our anticipated lounging on the terrace afternoon.
Overall though, as I said, a day of two halves so far and as we move into the evening the third half begins 😉
Retired Software Testing expert. Archetypal Grumpy Old Man with the potential to be irritated by just about anything under the sun
Assorted ramblings 
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