Day Trip to Montserrat

Today we took a train to the town of Montserrat, home of a famous and very old monastery, a relic known as La Moreneta, and spectacular views of interesting geology. We got back to Barcelona in time to buy tickets at the Palau de la Música Catalana and take a funicular (we need to bring that word back) up to the Montjuic Castle.

Person:

On the train ride to and from Montserrat, I talked to an interesting guy. He was 19 years old, an Australian native that now lives in Israel with his family. He took Spanish in high school (not common in Israel), and has Asperger's Syndrome. He was very knowledgeable and curious, and proved a great travel companion to talk to about cultural differences, language, and of course Barcelona.
Place:

My place of the day was definitely the Montjuic Castle. We traveled to it on hanging funiculars that introduced us to the amazing views that can be had from the mountain. The castle itself was kind of underwhelming. It did have a great sculpture given to the city of Barcelona by none other than Gaspar De Portola, first governor of California (also the namesake of my old middle school), and some interesting old cannons of various types. The real highlights though were the spectacular views it afforded of the city and of the Mediterranean Sea (I've been here for 3 days and that was the first time I saw it!).
Food:

We went to a restaurant for dinner called Flash Flash that was super chic with nearly all-white decor (complete with waitors in white tuxes) and over 70 varieties of tortilla (Spanish omelette) on the menu. Not everything we had was good, but I did have a tortilla unlike any I had had before, made with cheese, chunks of rustic bread, and tomatoes. I washed it down with some excessively sweet (my parents griped but I loved it) Sangria.