Montserrat is a mountainous region around 45 minutes away from Barcelona city. Roughly 'Saw Mountains', it is named like that because of its saw-like pikes. It is home for the Benedictine abbey of Santa María de Montserrat. This abbey stands at 597 meters above the sea level. 

The abbey itself is home to "La Moreneta" (roughly, 'The black one'), a black virgin statue. People come to the abbey's church to see La Moreneta, and to touch the ball she has in her hand to get the blessing and/or make wish.

Montserrat is also a great place to do hiking, having various routes with spectacular views. You can take a special train that takes you from the abbey to an altitude of 1000 meters! Once at the 1000 meter point, you can walk down most of the trails. Sure, you could walk uphill from the monastery, but for couch potatoes the fun is to always have potential energy on your side :)

 

Click here for a very nice panorama of Montserrat. 

 

I'm including a photo of the 'Sara pose' for a dear friend of mine.