Thursday 26 September – Monks, mountains and muchas gracias España.

We reluctantly left our Corbin home this morning and headed into the Prades Mountains to the Poblet Monastery, founded in 1151 by a group of Cistercian monks from France.  It held a very important place in the kingdom of Aragon and was the royal pantheon for the kings of Catalonia and Aragon from 1196 until the end of the fifteenth century.  All of the kings who are buried there had interesting nicknames: Alfonso II the Chaste, James I the Conqueror, Peter IV the Ceremonious, John I the Abandoned (during his lifetime, but later referred to as the Hunter of the Lover of Elegance), Martin the Humane, Ferdinand the Just, Alfonso the Magnanimous and John II the Great (or the Faithless, depending on whom you asked). The royal pantheon also contains the tomb of six consort queens including Beatrice of Aragon, who was twice queen of Hungary.

Despite its importance during the reign of the Aragon kings, its standing gradually diminished and it was eventually closed down in 1835 following the enactment of the Act of Dissolution, which secularised the region.  Most of its valuable contents were dispersed.  It also suffered damage from fires in ensuing years and it fell into ruin, only to be rescued in 1940 by a group of Italian monks and restoration began.  It has now been fully restored and is a magnificent complex that faithfully illustrates monastic life in centuries past.  Also attached to the monastery is a 14^th century winery, and vineyards surround the complex; the monks still produce their own wine.

The main fortified gate leads into the large cloister, that follows the traditional form – wide corridors surrounding an open central courtyard that in this case includes a fountain.  Leading off the cloister are the various key areas; the huge dormitory that would probably sleep a couple of hundred monks; refectory; kitchen; library; large dining room where the monks had their meals while a designated monk read to them from the scriptures.  Above the monastery buildings is the fortified palace built in later years and now serving as a fascinating museum.  The 12^th century high church, which includes the royal pantheon and is directly accessible off the cloister, is a three-nave basilica with an intricate alabaster altarpiece.

A beautiful, peaceful place set within spacious grounds, it was a pleasure for us to spend a couple of hours there, however we eventually moved on and headed up a long winding road over the  mountains, stopping for lunch and eventually reached the Mediterranean Sea.  We followed a narrow, winding road that clung to the mountainside and arrived at our destination for our last night in Spain, Viladecans, just a short drive from Barcelona Airport, to where we will head in the morning for the overnight flight to Singapore.  So we end another delightful stay in perhaps our favourite country - muchas gracias España.