Hola part 6! Out of Barcelona

We rented a car for a couple of days and got out of Barcelona. We took two excursions. The first was inland towards the wine country and Montserrat. The second was down the Costa Brava away from France from Figueres to Barcelona.

Inland Catalonia- We took the Av. Diagonal out of town with hopes of going towards Montserrat. The lady from the car rental agency said "just stay on the A-2 and follow the signs to Montserrat." We did that and got horribly lost. However, we made a nice loop through the countryside and into the hills of Catalonia. Before we knew it, vineyards were all around and we were on a side road passing through little towns. Eventually we got back to Barcelona and followed the A-2 in the other direction. We ended up at Montserrat in 20 minutes.

Montserrat - This was one of the coolest places I've ever been. The Santa Maria Monastery is reachable by an incredibly high and steep cable car. If you get on it, the view is breathtaking. Once at the top you can explore the monastery which is home to the Black Virgin Mary. The trip up there for most people is all about touching the statue. It was pretty neat. Also at the monastery are hiking trails that take you to the slightly higher surrounding peaks. We didn't do that, but I'd love to go back and have a go at them.

The Costa Brava - was the path we followed on our route back from the Dali Museum in Figueres. I'll talk about that tomorrow. The coastal cities are littered with great beaches, high rise hotels, waterparks, mini golf, real golf, and go-karts. It seems like a fun place, since there's something for everyone. We didn't stop in any of the towns, but seafood restaurants were abundant. If you don't take the streets that are down by the hotels, you can get great views of the coast by taking the C-2 highway. Of course you'll pay a toll on it, just like every other highway in Spain.