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Sunday 5th. May 2013
The taxi arrived at 8:30am, as
scheduled and the Cathay Pacific A330 left Adelaide on time at
11:10am and flew to Melbourne. One has to question the feasibility
of flying a half empty plane from Adelaide to Melbourne. Arrived
in Melbourne at 12:40pm local time. When we checked in in
Adelaide we were given our boarding passes for the Hong Kong to
Zurich leg of our journey and told that we would have to pick up
our boarding passes for the Zurich to Barcelona leg in Hong
Kong. When we arrived in Hong Kong after a 9¼ hour flight, we
were surprised when we were greeted by a young lady with a
placard saying "Transfers to Zurich" as we got off the plane. We
followed her on foot through the massive airport for about 500
metres, she then led us onto a train for another, I
suppose, one kilometre journey, off the train, then up a very
steep escalator around a corner to the Swiss Air check in where
we were issued our promised boarding passes. This airport is
huge and Cathay Pacific and the Hong Kong Airport Authority are
to be complimented on their organisation. We would have never
accomplished this task on our own. On the flight from Melbourne
to Hong Kong I managed to watch four movies. "I'm Not There"
about Bob Dylan with Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger etc. Don't
bother watching it, it isn't worth it! "In the bedroom," "The
Exam," "Jayne Mansfield's Car." All quite forgettable movies.
We boarded the Swiss Air Airbus A340 - 300 just after 11:00pm
Hong Kong time. The interior was austere compared to the Cathay
Pacific plane we had just left. I was suspicious that the seats
would not reconfigure into a completely level style of bed that
we hoped they would do. However, at the press of a button they
lowered and went into a completely level format that offered an
excellent bed for sleeping during the 12¾ hour flight. We
managed to sleep pretty well and I reacquainted myself with Bob
Dylan's CD "Tempest"!
Monday 6th May 2013
We arrived in Zurich at 6:00am local time, quickly checked out
the Business Class lounge; it was crowded. We boarded our plane
for Barcelona at 7:20am for the 80 minute flight. The Swiss Air
flight was uneventful, and we arrive safely. We picked up our
bags and walked out of the airport where we were met by a fellow
who had been organised by Bunick Tours to pick us up in his big
fancy black Mercedes. He dropped us off at the Catalonia
Barcelona 505 Hotel at about 10:00am. We wandered down Calle
Mutaner, had some lunch and rested up in our room for tonight's
Tour meeting and dinner. There are 27 of us in the touring
group, most of whom are retired school teachers. Dinner was an
excellent affair at a local restaurant a few hundred metres up
the road. We went to bed at about 10:30pm
Tuesday 7th May 2013
We had breakfast in the hotel at 8:00am and then climbed
onto a waiting bus at 9:00am and taken to Park Guell. This park
began as an exclusive housing estate for the wealthy designed by
Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926) an architect. It didn't take off and
remains today as a park with quirky tile clad features.
We then boarded the bus again and went to Sagrada Familia
(Holy Family Church), a huge Cathedral (declared a basilica by
Benedict XVl in November 2010) in the heart of
Barcelona. The foundation stone was laid in 1882 and Gaudi was
responsible for the design. The naves have an area of 4,500
square metres where 8,000 people can worship at one time. The construction still continues
and is only funded by donations. There is a time schedule and
construction is due to finish well into the 21st. century. It
was a little frightening standing outside waiting to go inside
with the booms of the cranes swinging slowly above us with skips
of concrete or packages of masonry on the hooks. Maybe God's
intervention has prevented an accident and someone being killed.
Subirachs' Square (photo
above): In squares of order 4 where the numbers run sequentially
from 1-16 the magic constant (the sum of a single line, row or
diagonal) is 34, but Subirachs' square does not contain the
numbers 12 or 16. Instead, 10 and 14 are included twice, making
a magic constant of 33, the age of Jesus Christ at the
crucifixion.
Then onto two houses designed Gaudi.
We had a paella for lunch then walked around La Rambla, a
tree covered street filled with shops and people. We took the
underground back to the hotel at about 4:30pm.
Wednesday 8th May 2013
If yesterday's tours were about the architecture of Antoni
Gaudi then today's were to be about the Black Madonna.
We climbed onto our bus at 9:00am and headed off to La Rambla
and the St Joseph market which runs off it. There was a huge
array of fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, eggs, ham, and other
meats.
After spending some time at the market we walked back across
la Rambla into the Gothic Quarter and the Jewish Quarter of
Barcelona. The streets were narrow and no cars were allowed,
only foot traffic and the occasional bicycle. The first church
we came to was the Esglesia Del Santa Maria. This is a church in
the Gothic style. We had lunch alongside it yesterday in the
little square beside it. A short walk through the old Jewish
quarter and we came across the Esglesia Catedral de la Santa
Creu and it's gothic facade. Inside was a Black Madonna.
Apparently the Black Madonnas were brought back from Jerusalem
by the Templar Knights during the Crusades. They were hidden and
the places where they were hidden were regarded as spiritually
more important than the Black Madonna herself. I need to do some
more research into this topic.
We came across a young girl playing the fiddle while her
friend worked a marionette. The young girl's eyes told the
story.
We once again boarded the bus and drove past the old bull
fighting stadium which has been converted into a shopping
centre, since bull fighting has been outlawed in Catalonia. We
also went past a monument to Joan Miro on our way past the
Olympic games site and up Mont Juic, which was once a cemetery
for the Jews who weren't allowed to bury their dead within the
city walls. There were spectacular views of Barcelona from up
here.
We then returned to the harbour area and had lunch. At 2:00pm
we boarded our bus and drove for about an hour to Montserrat (serrat
means serated). In 880 AD a shepherd found a black Madonna here
and a temple was built amongst the rocky outcrops, very like
Meteora in Greece. We entered the basilica and were allowed to
photograph and touch the wooden statue. She has a wooden ball in
her right hand that protrudes through a perspex screen, and it
is this ball that we could touch.
At 5:15pm we once again boarded the bus and returned to our
hotel in Barcelona.
The Black Madonna
Since the 12th century, pilgrims have been drawn to the
mountain to venerate the miraculous statue of the Black
Madonna (La Moreneta). In 1996, 2.6 million visitors
came to Montserrat.
According to Catholic tradition, the statue of the Black
Virgin of Montserrat was carved by St. Luke around 50 AD
and brought to Spain. It was later hidden from the Moors
in a cave (Santa Cova, the Holy Grotto), where it was
rediscovered in 880 AD.
According to the legend of the discovery, which was
first recorded in the 13th century, the statue was
discovered by shepherds. They saw a bright light and
heard heavenly music that eventually led them to the
grotto and the statue.
The Bishop of Manresa, present at the discovery,
suggested that it be moved to Manresa, but the small
statue was discovered to be so heavy it could not be
lifted. Thus the Virgin had indicated her will to stay
on Montserrat to be venerated there.
By the 9th century, there were four chapels on
Montserrat, of which only one remains - St. Aciscolo's,
which is in the monastery's garden. In the 11th century,
the abbot-bishop Oliba founded a monastery on the
mountain of Montserrat, next to one of the chapels. Many
miracles were reported through the intercession of the
Virgin Mary at Montserrat.
According to historians, it was then, in the 12th
century, that the statue of the Madonna and Child was
made. The Madonna statue soon earned widespread fame as
numerous miracles were associated with the intercession
of the Black Virgin of Montserrat.
Many of the first missionary churches in Mexico, Chile
and Peru were dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat and
many saints and popes have visited the shrine over the
centuries. St. Ignatius Loyola made a pilgrimage to
Montserrat after being injured in war, and it was soon
after that he wrote his famous Spiritual Exercises.
Due to the great numbers of pilgrims that flocked to
Montserrat throughout the Middle Ages, the monastery was
enlarged from its original humble size. In 1592, the
grand basilica of Montserrat was consecrated.
In the late 18th century, almost the entire sanctuary
was destroyed during the Napoleonic invasion. But due to
the widespread devotion to the shrine, it was soon
restored.
In 1881, Montserrat's Black Madonna was crowned in
accordance with Canon Law and proclaimed patron saint of
Catalonia by Pope Leo XIII. |
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