October 28, 2023

At about 1 o’clock this morning I dreamed that a mechanical voice said, “Instruments show that this unit has cold feet.”  I woke up, all under the covers and my feet were cold.  I put on my Bonnie-crocheted bedroom slippers and went back to sleep.

It reminded me of a time back at 117 Shenandoah Avenue (Mom and Dad told me about it – I slept through it – and raise your hand if you’ve heard this story), Dad jumped out of bed and Mom said, “Where are you going?”  He said, “To catch David. He is falling out of bed.”  He came into my room (our room, mine and Kyle’s), put his hands down by the edge of my bed and I rolled out into his arms.

I have invented a new term: IMTUP – pronounced I’m Tup – and it means, “I Made That Up.”  It does not apply to either of the stories above.  I will tell you when it does.

Well, yesterday when we went to bed we had hot water.  We awoke early to shower and take care of our morning ablutions, and guess what!  There was no hot water!  I called the man who answers the phone.  He said, “Hola!”  He must have caller I.D. because he switched to English.  I said my name.  He said, “I know.”  I said, “We have no hot water again.”  He said, “I’ll get someone right over.”  When we came back from Montserrat we had hot water.  Bonnie showered while it was still there.  I will give it a try after finishing this blog.  The last time I took a cold shower was 60 years at Camp Potomac as a member of Boy Scout Troop 95, Loch Lynn Heights, Maryland.  And I hope it remains my last time.

At 8:20 Joel pulled up in a 9 passenger van.  There would be 4 couples and the driver for the 60 kilometer ride to Montserrat.  We were the next to last couple and climbed into the back seat.  The last couple had to split up, Bernie (from Australia) beside of me, and his wife, who never mentioned her name (but also from Australia) in front of him.  It was a beautiful Irving Berlin Day – nothing but blue skies.  The scenery, as we approached the Serrated Mountains, grew ever more spectacular.

In the early 11th century Benedictine monks established a refuge and worship center on the mountain.  In 1023, they built the abbey of Santa María de Montserrat. Monks have been at the abbey ever since.  Today there are between 50-70 in residence.  It is an important spiritual place in the region.  Many spiritual retreats are held there.  The basilica – pictures below – was started 500 years later.  It has been bombed in the Spanish Civil War, it was bombed by the Nazis, and restored each time.  A beautiful house of worship.  There was a mass at 11 today, but we did not go.

The mountain complex is 4,000 feet above the valley floor and the road winds back and forth, surpassing even the twisting roads I used to drive in West Virginia.  And, there were people riding bicycles up the mountain.  Oh my goodness!

We visited the basilica, the candle niche where we lit candles and prayed for you.  Popped into the souvenir store where I bought a book filled with the pictures I couldn’t take and Mom got some other goodies.

Clicking on the photos below enlarges them (in a new window, I think).

A scene from Google, that I could not get

Another from Google.

Bonnie holding our candles.

The front of the basilica. The figures above the central door are Jesus (in the center, as He should be) and the disciples.

A view of the basilica

The cog railway that we didn't have time to ride.

Back down off of the mountain, we drove into Barcelona, past many stores and shopping places, none of which bore familiar names.  We did pass one clothing store called “Mango Man.”  A little while ago, Jennifer said we are a family that has a line from a movie or a TV show or a song for just about anything.  And she is right.  And if we don’t have the exact one, we modify one – as I did for Mango Man.  In 1965, in their movie “Yellow Submarine,” the Beatles sang, “Nowhere Man.”  It is easily adapted.  He’s a real mango man, sitting in his mango land, making all his mango plans for (and here it breaks down) nobody.  Just so you’ll know and can sing it if you ever drive back into town from Montserrat.  

The original, written by John Lennon is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8scSwaKbE64&ab_channel=TheBeatles-Topic

I wanted to lead the van in “99 Bottles of Coke On the Wall,” but Bonnie wouldn’t let me.  Bernie, from Australia, and I, did talk about the superior quality of Australian TV over what Xfinity shows back home: Darby and Joan, Australian Lego Masters (so superior to the American one with the alleged comedian Will Arnet), The Doctor Blake Mysteries, and several that neither of us could recall the names thereof.  He said he rarely watches TV because of all of the reality shows, but pointed to his wife, and softly said, “She does.”  I told him my favorite reality show is Great British Bake Off.  It is Mrs. Bernie’s too.

Once home we went to our pizza shop again, where we were greeted warmly, repeated our menu of yesterday.  Then we came home for a nap.

And none of the above is an IMTUP.

I’ll give you a short blog tomorrow from the Symphony of the Seas, and Bonnie will be recovered enough to begin sharing her thoughts as we head home.

TTFN.