While staying in Barcelona we drove to the monastery on Monserrat (serrated mountain - we might call it saw-tooth mountain - certainly lived up to its name). The Black Madonna is there. Legend says two young boys found the Madonna statue in a cave. Men from the village came to help them carry it down to the town. At one point she got so heavy that they couldn't carry her anymore, decided that was the place she wanted to be and built a Benedictine monastery on the spot. The Romanesque Madonna there now is not the original found by the boys. This Madonna is black because of 400 years of accumulated smoke stains from being in a small space with candles burning constantly. This is considered the most important religious site in Catalonia, one of the five districts of Spain.  Long winding road to the top, almost collided with a car on the way up. Our bus backed up a ways to let it pass. I would have made the car back up but we have a really good driver, Alberto. 80 monks live in the monastery now.  There is a famous boys choir here. Spectacular mountain views going and coming up this mountain. Can't do justice with a camera but here are a few of ,my attempts: