The village is built in an obscure valley and it only finally came into view as we turned a sharp corner in the road.
Unusual architecture for a monastery it has to be said with turrets, castellated towers and tiled cupolas that could be mistaken for a fortress or a castle. A towering pot-pourri of grand style in contrast to the rather shabby town below.
I hadn’t realised this but visitors cannot simply wander around the monastery unaccompanied because it has too many precious treasures which are kept behind locked doors so we paid up and tagged onto a tour in meaningless Spanish. It didn’t really matter all that much we just ignored the rat-a-tat-tat of the machine gun commentary and made up our own stories about the exhibits. Visitors are not permitted to take photographs either.
Have Bag, Will Travel 
For obvious reasons, I dislike places that don’t allow photographs.
I like a few museums I’ve visited that distinguished between amateurs and professionals taking photos. Professional had to pay a royalty if the photos were used/sold/etc.
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I think places want to stop bottlenecks with people waiting to take pictures and flash photography can be a nuisance.
In the days of film most people took one picture and moved on, now they take several and examine the results until they are satisfied, This can be time consuming and irritating.
Also – they want to sell postcards and guide books.
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You’ve got me thinking. Everybody these days has a mobile phone that can take photographs it would pretty difficult to police that.
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Sneaking snaps is fairly widespread I imagine. I think places want to stop bottlenecks with people waiting to take pictures and flash photography can be a nuisance. In the days of film most people took one picture and moved on, now they take several and examine the results until they are satisfied, This can be time consuming!
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Point well made
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Gorgeous door!
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I know that you appreciate a good door.
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Indeed I do, thank you
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A good addition to the collection
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Thank you Derrick.
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I recall having to pay a fee to take a camera into the Berlin Zoo. A Sea lion posed when I walked by with my camera, so I felt obligated to take one photo there. The darn thing kept adjusting his position as I walked by, so it was obvious he was a special exhibit – ask him! LOLO! Mainly, I just wanted to enjoy the animals. The place where they had terrariums set up with exotic insects was especially interesting and a new experience for me since I’d never seen such a thing in a zoo before then.
In another moment, I walked into the Strasbourg Cathedral just as a loud voice from nowhere spoke in French, somewhat like God talking to us visitors to His House! LOL! (I felt stupid and mildly superstitious about my initial reaction to the voice.) Of course, once it switched through various languages, it became apparent “God” was just a recorded voice explaining what we were to see inside the cathedral. It was kind of a letdown and not as agreeable as a real person giving a tour and speaking in hushed reverent tones might have been.
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Thanks for adding your stories Doug.
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I never know if anyone wants these comments, but your posts tend to trigger personal travel memories. I’ve always enjoyed your posts for the insights you bring in travel!
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Thanks Doug, please continue to add your thoughts/memories.
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OK!
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That door is quite a souvenir, anyway.
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Thanks Margaret.
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That sounds an interesting tour. I hope you didn’t pay too much for it!
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It must have been reasonably priced or I wouldn’t have paid to go in.
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Wonderful place came with my 4×4 by the back road! Awesome have writtenbplenty on it cheers
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great door!
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