Arrived in Barcelona - what a magic city. Walked down the Ramblas and visited Guell Palace (one of Gaudi's first commissions).
Next day headed to Montserrat (or Montsalvat in Parsifal - Wagner's Opera of the same name).
Next day visited Gaudi's cathedral. It was stunning (while it was a bit young to feel like the old cathedrals in France and England) it was an architectural feat on steroids. The curious thing was that in order to pray (with the adam's earth grid and take a picture, I needed to go to the crypt below the cathedral (this was built before Gaudi was appointed full time) and was more traditional in design. I went down below the cathedral and was surprised to see an exact replica of the black madonna in one of the alcoves - but no one was around and certainly not the queues to the one in Montserrat.