Poblet/Tarragona.

Well, money exchange successfully managed (took the visit of 3 different banks: in one they wouldn't change more than x amount, in another they wouldn't take $100 dollar bills [what is this, the 3rd world?], in another they required 2 pieces of ID, etc, but eventually got it done), I decided to head over to Poblet Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Site about an hour's bus ride away) before visiting the Tarragona historic center.

What is so cool about the Monastery of Poblet is that it is still fuctioning, even after having been destroyed, abandoned, and finally re-instituted in 1930 (yeah, pretty recent, huh?). What this means is that it is very well maintained, and since the monks still live and work here it is not rare to run into several of them during the visit and see them cooking, chatting, and walking about the complex. They even have an ultra-modern library complete with computers and the latest books.

Afterwards, I headed back to Tarragona and visited their Roman ruins, which are extremely well preserved and the people here are very proud of: the museum folks kept asking me, "But did you already see this room?" or, "But do please make sure not to miss this item at this other museum across the city", whenever they saw me move a bit too fast along one of the exhibits.

Tarragona is a very nice city, small enough to be peaceful and quiet, but big enough to have everything (i.e. late-night internet, 4 banks--but no exchange houses ;P--at every street corner, large shopping centers, nice shops, etc).

Tomorrow: head towards Barcelona. Sit tight there until Monday when hope the bank has received my replacement ATM card. Emergency money will not last me long, ATM card is essential.