Montserrat
Mountain in Spain
Ever since
my husband and I moved to Missouri from
Spain two years ago, we had wanted to
visit Montserrat, Missouri. We knew
nothing of the town except for its
namesake, the special mountain near
Barcelona where we lived in Spain.
The
mountain, Montserrat, is located
near the Pyrenees, but is not a part
of them. It rises out of nowhere
pushing towards the sky with jagged
rocks. The name itself comes from
these strange, jagged rocks;
Montserrat means Serrated Mountain
in the original language of the
region, Catalan. This region of
Spain, known as Cataluyna, is now
biligual, but the historical and
natural sites have Catalan names.
The people of the region believed it
so special that a monastery was
built at the top of it, and they
traveled from far away to visit it.
Today, thousands of visitors come
from all around the world every year
to visit the mountain and its
monastery.
This past
Sunday my husband and I were returning
home from a wedding, we found ourselves
without children for once, and decided
that this was the day to visit
Montserrat, Missouri. We didn’t know
what we would find, but the point was
the adventure. The town was so small
that we past it, we turned around at the
next exit and returned to what seemed a
neighborhood more than a town. We did a
loop around preparing to leave when my
husband decided to go down one last
road...
We
couldn’t believe it when up on the left
we saw a vineyard. A vineyard in the
hills of Montserrat, Missouri, it was
just too perfect! The valley and hills
all around Montserrat in Spain are
filled with vineyards as well. It is
called the Penedes region and they
produce wine and cava. Cava is Spain’s
Champagne, and that is where it is made.
We pulled
up the road with the vineyard pinching
ourselves. We turned into Bristle Ridge
Vineyards and walked into the shop, we
met the owners and told them we were
from Spain near the mountain called
Montserrat. We shared with them about
our Montserrat, and they told us about
Montserrat, Missouri and the Bristle
Ridge Winery. Finding the
vineyard was like finding a little home
away from home. What a wonderful
surprise to find another connection
between the two Montserrats.
Kate and
Ferran Blanco
|
|
|
|