We had a tour of Monserrat planned from Barcelona where the tour guide,Vicenza, met us and we took the train to Monserrat. Once we arrived, we had to take a cable car to the top of a mountain where our tour started. Just doing these activities were unique for us as we had only toured Barcelona on foot and by bus. The history of Monseratt was explained and shown expertly by Vicenza. Since the three of us are avid walkers, the tour to the "holy cross" and the surrounding area was great. We even stopped on the mountain and had a lunch.The cathedral and other religious/historical stops and explainations were timely for me as I had recently finished a novel that had Monsererat, the Black Madonna and other religious references in the novel. Vicenza also,upon returning to Barcelona, told us about restaurants to visit and ended with showing us a "local's perspective"of the surrounding area to our hotel. We would definitely utilize Vicenza again for a tour when we return the area. She was personable, knowledgeable and fit in with our family!