Felt like ‘marks’ in Barcelona

We visited Barcelona for four nights in September ’04. We stayed at a delightful, newly renovated apartment near the end of Las Ramblas. We shared with two other guest rooms a self-service breakfast, a well-stocked kitchen, a large sunny dining room and two bathrooms. The cost was €60 ($77) per night for a double room. (I believe a single person paid Ä45.)

The location was ideal for sightseeing. The disadvantages were the three flights of steep stairs leading to the apartment and the noise from Las Ramblas which lasted most of the night. It is possible to request a back room. Call Paul Das at 645 766 279 or e-mail barcelonaguest house@yahoo.com.

Barcelona is a wonderful city, but I have no wish to return due to the profusion of thieves and cheats we encountered.

On arrival, we took the airport bus to the city. The driver spoke English. Only after seating ourselves and stowing our bags did I realize I had been shortchanged by Ä10. We confronted the driver, who kept repeating “No dinero” and only speaking Spanish. It was only because of the intervention of two Spanish passengers that he returned a 10-euro note.

The next evening we were walking in daylight on a wide street near the Olympics site. Suddenly I felt slight pressure at my waist and looked up to see a boy about 10 years old with two young companions racing away with my purse. It had a wide, heavy strap but had been cut with what must have been a very sharp blade.

We spent several hours at a police station off Las Ramblas waiting our turn with about 15 other English-speaking victims. We met two separate couples who had had a tire slashed and been robbed by the occupants of a following car when they stopped to examine the damage. There was a free phone provided that connected directly to the USA and enabled us to report our credit cards stolen.

Our biggest worry was the loss of the apartment keys. The landlord did not live in the building and his phone number was lost with the purse. There is no city phone directory in Barcelona.

Finally, at about 9:30 p.m., the one desk officer who spoke English took pity on me after understanding our dilemma that we had no place to sleep. Fortunately, I remembered the landlord’s name and the street address. After 30 minutes on the phone, the officer finally located the permanent resident of the apartment below, who was able to supply the landlord’s mobile phone number. By chance, he was eating dinner on Las Ramblas and met us at the building in 15 minutes.

Over the next two days we continued our sightseeing using a 2-day pass on the Bus Turistica, which allowed us unlimited access to most of the city. A one-day pass cost Ä16 and a 2-day pass, Ä20 ($26) — a worthwhile investment.

We continued our journey by train to the Mediterranean resort of Valencia to attend a friend’s wedding — a joyful and interesting experience (and a much safer city). A round-trip ticket cost us Ä27 each in second class; there was a reduction for two people traveling together. It is necessary to reserve and buy tickets ahead of time.

On our return to Barcelona we took our first taxi ride. The metered fare was Ä6, but suddenly the driver pushed it up to Ä13, claiming there was a supplement. We protested but had no time to seek help, as we were late for an express bus to the principality of Andorra.

We took a 3-hour ride into the Pyrenees and were grateful for a few days’ respite from big cities, taking advantage of the many walks listed in an English booklet provided by the information bureau.

It was with delight that we learned that a 6 a.m. bus would take us to Barcelona airport for our return flight, allowing us to avoid any more predators in the city.

MERYL EVERETT
Santa Cruz, CA