Meandering With Murphy

Montserrat is about an hour train ride from Barcelona. First, Tom’s ticket did not work as he had used up his 10 rides but mine had one more ride because I did not use it the day I was ill. Tom realized this after I had gone through the gate. He tried to get a ticket but his Capital One card did not work. We had this problem in the beginning with my Capital One card too. He did not have another card so I went out to help. Luckily I had a debit card and that worked. Now my card was used up so I had to get another card too. This train ride required you to transfer to another train line the FGC and purchase another ticket. So far Rick Steves was giving good directions. We tried to use my Capital One card which did not work so once again we had to use my debit card. (Just a note, I was the designated “banker” so we would have all charges on one card, making it easier at the end to figure out expenses. Also, I only had issues using the Capital One card at metro stations and purchasing the Picasso tickets. Anyway a very helpful man directed us as to which ticket to purchase, the one with the cable car and not the rack train. Very nice people.

We arrived at the station in Montserrat and then found the cable car to go up to the monastery. I had never ridden on a cable car. Scott was terrified of heights so I am not sure he would not have done this.

The first hermit monks built huts at Montserrat about AD 900. By 1025 a monastery was founded. The Montserrat Escolania or Choir School soon followed and it is considered to be the oldest music school in Europe. They still perform.

Legend has it that in medieval times some shepherd children saw lights and heard songs coming from the mountain. They traced the sounds to a cave (now called the Sacred Cave) and found the Black Virgin Statue. In 1811 Napoleon’s invading French troops destroyed the building but the Black Virgin survived. Then in the 1830s the Spanish royalty dissolved the monasteries and convents.

Then in the 1850s the monks returned and reconstructed the monastery building and the basilica. Montserrat survived Franco’s attempt to outlaw Catalan language and customs. After Franco the 1990 brought a rebuilding and the community was thriving once again.

So, we made it to the top and stopped at the TI to pick up a map and audio guide and that’s where the confusion began. The woman helping us gave us a map and circled three buildings. We had a book. She directed us to go to the circled areas. 

We walked to the right looking for some numbers for the audio but it was not the right. We were trying to get to the top and this way did not go all the way up. Then we walked back the way we came passing the cafeteria and gift shop. We saw people going the other way so followed them. We walked through an arch and up to the Monastery square. In front of us was the church. We were still looking for numbers to listen to the audio.

There was a large entry plaza and since there were not any lines we just walked right in. (Later when we left, the line was crazy.). The basilica is ornate and very beautiful. The top attraction is the Black Virgin. She is located in a niche in the alter. She hold a royal orb and pilgrims climb the steps to touch the orb.

We are sitting in the church and looking desperately for some type of number for the audio guide. Nothing, UGH!!. There are statues (which number?), altar areas (number?) and beautiful stained glass windows (still no numbers).

We walked out and passed an area that had lots of candles to light in memory of someone. 

So we started down and looking in the book found the Sculpture of Saint George the patron saint of Catalonia with his sword and shield. We were told (in the guide book) to look at his eyes that seem to follow you when you move.

By now we were hungry and headed to the cafeteria. The line was fairly long. There were lots of things to eat (sandwiched, pasta, sausages, potatoes, salads). The line was great people watching. Tom selected the pasta which he proceeded to eat as we went through the line before it got cold and I had a ham and cheese sandwich. It was a bit confusing as we couldn’t find the butter for the roll Tom got or mayo for my sandwich but the helpful woman got some for us.

We found a table and we were joined by two women from New Jersey who were on a Mediterranean Cruise. They had been to Rome and Florence and told us that in Naples their ship had become untethered and was floating free. A few people had not made it back to the ship on time and they had to get to the next port. They said they enjoyed the cruise. They were interested in Tom’s bike trip and we had a delightful conversation.

By now we were very frustrated about not being able to see much so we headed back to the TI to get some directions. The woman gave us a new map with numbers and told us the blue number were the audio guide and the red ones were in the book! As you can see, if we had had this book from the start it would have been pretty easy. If you notice on the top right it says you can see all of this in 1 1/2 hours but we had been wandering around for well over two hours and had not seen very much at all!

Our Montserrat experienced was foiled by bad instructions. We saw very little and we were frustrated. What the heck, this is nuts, let’s head back to Barcelona.

Additional pictures from the plaza below.

Two views of the valley below.

One thing I failed to mention was the presence of the military police near the Sagrada Familia near where we were staying. They were there to protect the tourists because of the holiday. It was quite a scene. 

I looked on the map and it said the restaurant we were going to was a 30 minute walk. We decided to take a cab and good thing we did because it was way, way longer than 30 minutes! 

The restaurant was another MK recommendation, it was called Vinitus. You could not make a reservation so we decided if the wait was long we’d try somewhere else. We got there and it was busy but the person at the door said it would only be 15 minutes. People everywhere. There was outside seating and lots of seating inside. As it turned out it was less than five minutes. The vibe was great, lots of activity. An amazing place.

Here is the menu. Note the prices!

Below is a Russian salad. When we were at Bodega La Puntual on Saturday they had a Russian salad on the menu. The server said it was sold out because it was so popular. So when I saw it on this menu I had to get it.

Why is it called “ensaladilla rusa” (Russian salad) and it is served in almost every restaurant and bar? Most importantly why they call it Russian!?

Ensaladilla rusa is today a classic and one of the most typical Spanish tapas. Many places claim to have the best recipe and make the most delicious Russian salad but what exactly is it and where does it come from?

Originally the Russian salad was called “hunting mayonnaise” and later “salad Olivye” in honor of the Belgian chef Lucien Olivier who towards the end of the 19th century ran a high-end restaurant in Moscow, Russia. The original recipe included; grouse and partridge meat, aspic, crab, possibly caviar, beef tongue and truffle apart from lettuce, pickles, potatoes and olives. All of these ingredients where wrapped up in a sauce that Olivier never unveiled and took with him to the grave. The sauce is imitated these days based on mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, mustard and soy sauce.

This dish first appears in Spain with a known french cook book in 1856 with the name of “Ensaladilla rusa”. From that moment on the Russian “ensaladilla” has suffered many changes, specially during the Spanish Civil War when the high-end ingredients were replaced by canned tuna or tuna belly.

Olivier’s restaurant “Hermitage” closed during the Russian Revolution in 1917 and from that point on the ingredients of the original salad changed. The USSR wanted to eliminate everything related to aristocracy and therefore the refined ingredients of Olivier’s salad where replaced with chicken, ham, potatoes, carrots, peas and boiled eggs besides the only mayonnaise available in Russian shops.

However the story doesn’t end here and is not as simple as it seems. Apparently when Lucien Olivier was still a baby a Russian salad recipe appeared in The Modern Cook book in England. Queen Victoria’s British Italian chef Charles Elme Francatelli created a salad with lobster, anchovies, crab, olives and red mayonnaise mixed with vegetables like potatoes, carrots, peas etc. But the story goes even further – Francatelli adapted this recipe from his professor Antoine Careme who cooked for; Napoleon, Tsar Alexander or Baron Rotschild among others. In 1815 he published a book where he describes a salad with boiled vegetables and mayonnaise… Sounds familiar?

Today the recipe of this typical tapa has become very minimalist and it mainly consist of; carrots, potatoes, peas, tuna, mayonnaise, olives and capers.

If all of this sounds familiar to you it is really POTATO SALAD!!!

And of course we had to have dessert! Notice that each of these desserts is only 3,1 Euros.

Xocolata 3 textures – a 3 layer chocolate wonder.

Great fun place with delicious food. A wonderful way to end a rather frustrating and disappointing day. Our last day of touring Barcelona is tomorrow.