A Slightly Unusual Monastery

In true Preston style, we can't spend more than 2 days in a country without making a trip to see the local supermarket - not because we need things, just because Dad (and maybe me... yes he is watching me type!) likes supermarkets!
Afterwards we went to the Santa Catolina Monastery. It's actually a convent, and a very beautiful one too. The old part is no longer used, only as a museum, but there is a modern area for the current nuns.
As we went around with our guide, we learnt more about how different this monastery was. At one point in it's history, each nun had their own house within the convent walls and servants to cook and wash for them. Communal didn't exist, but social classes and hierarchy did. There were different streets and the grandeur of the house and furnishings would depend on the wealth of the nun's family. Girls would usually become nuns because they were the second daughter in the family, not because they felt a calling.