Montserrat & Oller del Mas: Winery Lunch, Cogwheel Train, VIP Cellar

4.99

(168 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I still remember that first glimpse of Montserrat’s jagged peaks from the train window. They looked almost unreal, like someone had sculpted them by hand. Our guide Marta pointed out shapes in the rocks—she swore one looked like an elephant but honestly I just saw a pile of clouds. The cogwheel train rattled up through mist and I caught a whiff of wet stone and pine. There was this quiet up there that made my ears ring for a second, like the city noise had finally dropped away.

The monastery itself felt older than time. Marta told us about the Black Madonna—her voice got softer when she explained why people line up just to touch her hand. We wandered through candle smoke and echoing halls; I tried to whisper but my voice bounced back at me anyway. Afterward we had free time so I sat on a low wall with some locals eating sandwiches (I’d packed one but ended up sharing it with an old man who offered me dried figs in return). It’s funny how you can feel at home for a minute somewhere you’ve never been.

After Montserrat, we drove out to Oller del Mas—a castle that’s been in one family for something like 36 generations (I can’t even keep a houseplant alive). Lunch was this proper Catalan feast: hearty stews, fresh bread, olive oil that tasted green somehow. The wine tasting started easy enough but then they took us into the aging room—cool air and barrels stacked everywhere—and our host poured wine straight from the cask. I tried to swirl it like I knew what I was doing; Li laughed when I tried to pronounce “Sumoll.” Still not sure if I got it right.

I didn’t expect to feel so full—not just from food or wine but from stories and little moments all day. On the way back to Barcelona I watched vineyards blur past and thought about how quickly places can get under your skin if you let them.