A Barcelona Christmas - sunshine, palm tree, the "cagoner", and, yes, pickpockets

Enjoying your report -- please continue!

DH and I are planning a trip to Barcelona/Madrid later this month. As I sit here in gray Paris watching the freezing rain fall, I am hoping for a little sunshine. Am also a bit concerned about pickpockets!

Also watching this report with great interest. We met our grown son in NYC for Christmas and then took off with him to BCN arriving on Boxing day and just returning home yesterday. I hope your weather was better than ours. In 9 days we had only one day when the sun popped out and while I've been there twice in February with temps in the 50s and 60s and was expecting similar, we got 40s and a couple of low 50s. We too had incidents involving theft--of my purse due to my own stupidity and inattentiveness and an attempted pickpocketing on New Years Eve. I was sick the first day and DS and DH were sick off and on the last two days. No matter. We love BCN, especially the tapas, but also the palm trees and the architecture and we'll go again, the sooner the better. I'll be following with my own report soon I hope, but I'm certainly looking forward to yours.

Petite and Julie - thank you for your comments! Petite - I hope you have the kind of weather we had. Julie, I'm sorry your weather wasn't so great and that you encountered various other issues, but it sounds like you took it all in good stride, considering. I'll look forward to your trip report!

Here's the continuation of ours;

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Sunshine! or No Rain in Spain (mainly)

We arrived at Estacio Franca in Barcelona about 8:30 AM Saturday morning. We walked outside the station and voila (or whatever word is the Catalan equivalent): sunshine and palm trees. It was pleasantly warm – in the 60’s I think. I felt my gray-weather Seasonal Affective Disorder dissipating immediately. It was so cheering!

We had arranged to rent an apartment in the Born district. It turned out the apartment was only about a ten-minute walk away, so we ambled through the nearly empty streets (Barcelona gets a late start on weekends evidently) to our apartment.

We liked the apartment a lot. It’s in an old, nice building on a mainly-pedestrian street. The inside of the building has been thoroughly modernized. The location could not have been more perfect. We could walk to just about everything: Santa Maria del Mar was just down the block, the Barcelona cathedral, the Boqueria, Las Ramblas, Placa Catalunya, Barceloneta and the beaches, the Picasso Museum, Parc Ciutidad, were all within a 15 or 20 minute walk or so. There was a metro stop less than a block away. Many recommended small tapas bars and restaurants were also within a couple of blocks.

The first day, we stuck close to home; we were a little tired from traveling and were just learning the lay of the land. We walked the few blocks to the Barcelona cathedral. It was filled with various artworks and jewel-encrusted this’s and that’s. The courtyard of the cathedral was a favorite, as was going up to the roof and enjoying a great view over the city.

While up there we met a very nice couple from Boston who are currently living in London for work, so we compared expat life in the UK and the Netherlands. We both admitted we’re going to have a hard time going back home to the States. Not that we don’t love our homes there, but it’s so much fun having so many “new” places so easy to get to over here. We certainly have a lot of wonderful places to go to on a random weekend from our home near San Francisco, but of course over the years we’ve been to those places many times.

Now, within three or four hours drive (train) of Amsterdam, we have London, Paris, Brussels, Cologne, etc. not to mention the loads of smaller towns, villages and countryside in England, France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. And different languages/cultures. And old stuff. Sometimes I think whichever of my ancestors emigrated from Europe was pretty short-sighted. ;-> Of course I know if I lived over here all the time, I’d be pretty amazed by California and the States. So much world, so little time!

There was a Christmas market in the square in front of the cathedral. Mainly figures for nativity scenes were on sale there, as they are evidently central to the Catalan celebration of Christmas. But I read that the Catalans sort of pride themselves on doing Christmas in a much less pious manner than the Castilians in Madrid, for example. "Less pious" is just about right: the Catalans have a figure called the "cagoner" which is put in their nativity scenes. It is a little human figure that is, um, well, pooping. And it leaves nothing to the imagination; he's squatting there with his pants down and the product of his labors is there too. Evidently the tradition started in the 1600's but the meaning is a little unclear. At various times the Catholic Church and the government have attempted to ban the cagoner from at least the public nativity scenes, but the bans supposedly met with such public outrage and defiance they were rescinded. There was a booth at the cathedral market devoted solely to cagoner figures and it was the most crowded one! Well I guess sh*t happens. Even in nativity scenes.

We also strolled along some of the shopping streets near the Cathedral. I’m actually not much of a shopper, but I enjoyed the medieval alleyways and interesting little boutique-y stores, and the beautiful architecture. It was a real pleasure just wandering around.

We went back to the apartment for a siesta and got a little more into the Barcelona time-frame than we had intended: we found ourselves heading out to dinner at 11:30 PM. One of the Taller de Tapas restaurants was practically across the little street from our apartment, so we just headed there. While there were plenty of people still in the restaurant, it was late enough we didn’t have to wait for a table. We had tapas of anchovies, monkfish, chickpeas with ham and spinach, prawns with garlic, lamb with rosemary, and so on. We thought the food was good, although not amazing, and we really enjoyed the relaxed ambience and friendly service. Afterwards, we went out to walk around the neighborhood. There were plenty of people out on the street at 1:00 AM – not crazy-crowded, but pleasant groups strolling along, talking and laughing. A really nice evening.

Sounds great! Can you share the apartment info, please?

shellio - Sure. The apartment is in building of ten apartments that are all rented out to vacationers. The building is on Carrer de l'Argenteria. The apartments are listed on bcngotic.com (which is the website devoted solely to these apartments). They are also listed on oh-barcelona.com. It is a family-run business. The landlords were helpful and always reachable. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the apartment or location.

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trip report, continued:


Sights for sore eyes

We had something of a problem that weekend. DD got an eye infection, so we called our apartment landlord and asked where we should take her. They told us where the closest hospital clinic was, so we headed over there. The clinic people called in an ophthalmologist to see her. My father was an eye surgeon, and back in 1950 he had done a year-long fellowship at a well-known eye institute right here in Barcelona. I mentioned that to the ophthalmologist who was examining DD. It turned out she had done some work at New York Eye and Ear, where my father did his surgical residency. It seemed like some kind of circle was being completed – my father and this doctor had studied at the same places in both New York and Barcelona, and 60 years later my father’s granddaughter was being treated where he used to see patients. Who would have ever foreseen that all those years ago!

DS arrived the next day, and with DD’S eye on the mend, we started visiting the usual tourist sights. The next five days or so the weather was warm (I think in the 60’s) and sunny. Yay! We walked up Las Ramblas, through the Placa Catalunya to Casa Batllo and La Perdrera, and all the way to La Sagrada Familia. Went up in the tower there for a view over the city. One afternoon we took a city bus out to Parc Guell, which I loved. We walked down to the beach a couple of times. It was not swimming weather of course, but we enjoyed walking along the ocean, and we ate at some outdoor cafes right on the beach.

We decided to have Christmas dinner in our apartment, so the day before Christmas we went to the Boqueria to buy food. It was clearly an “authentic” Barcelonan thing to do, as I believe every single person in Barcelona must have been at the market. We had been several times before and it was always crowded, but this was unbelievable. I was really proud of myself because I had used Google-translate to get the Catalan names for various ingredients for our dinner. I couldn’t begin to pronounce them, but I just pointed at the list to the various people working at the market, and they were very helpful. Although the young woman at one counter commenced some serious eye-rolling when I said “oui” by mistake in answer to a question. I have such a natural aptitude for languages. But in my defense, we had just spent a few days in France, and I was still in French mode I guess. Is now the time to mention that when I first learned French as a teenager I was living in Tokyo (Air Force kid) and used to mix up French and Japanese words? Although I will say the Japanese people were kind enough to never roll their eyes at me when I did.

When we’re all at home in California, we always have Christmas dinner with a group of old friends – our kids have all grown up together. Even though we were half a world away, they invited us to Christmas dinner anyway! They put their laptop at the head of their dinner table and we joined them via Skype and our respective webcams. Much hilarity ensued, especially when they offered us turkey drumsticks, spoons of mashed potatoes, etc. by holding them up to the screen. We had a lot of fun, and it was actually very touching to be able to share Christmas with them.

The day after Christmas we had our first bad weather – that afternoon it got cooler and started raining. We got sort of soaked and cold, so cut our last day of sightseeing short and just went back to the apartment and relaxed.

Julie,

I'm looking forward to your trip report -- and the continuation of yours NorCalif!. The weather on the Mediterranean has been awfully squall-y and cold this winter. It's great if you live here, because the sudden sunny, warm days, where you can lay on the beach and gaze at the snow-covered mountains -- are a marvelous treat, but you really have to live here to maximize your chances of that thrill.

As for pickpockets and purse-snatchers in Barcelona, Julie, I hope you will get beyond blaming yourself. They are among the most skilled in the world -- they really work it at it. Most of my friends are longtime travelers with dozens of major urban destinations under their belt. Over and over again they report that the only city in which they were ever successfully robbed was Barcelona.

I'm glad it didn't spoil your enjoyment of the city (as it did mine, despite my effort not let it bother me) and I look forward to hearing more.

Wonderful - I look forward to this. I remember your broken leg report - it's a gift to make that as funny as you did.

Wonderful reading!

Great reading about your adventures in Barcelona and elsewhere! We are going to Barcelona in the middle of March and staying at the Best Western Hotel Dante, which is on Mallorca. Can you recommend the best way to get from the airport to this hotel?

<As for pickpockets and purse-snatchers in Barcelona, Julie, I hope you will get beyond blaming yourself. They are among the most skilled in the world -- they really work it at it. Most of my friends are longtime travelers with dozens of major urban destinations under their belt. Over and over again they report that the only city in which they were ever successfully robbed was Barcelona.>

And yet whenever i post something to the effect that Barcelona, along with Madrid, are the worst cities in Europe for this i am met with a chorus of folks, many who have been there only once, that i am a Cassandra and that 'Barcelona is as safe as any city'.

>> And yet whenever i post something to the effect that Barcelona, along with Madrid>>

Because you generalise your second-hand experience of your in-laws mugging in Madrid and tarr Barcelona with the same brush.
Every time.
One city is not the other city.

I am not a long-time traveller and i have never worn a money belt and Ive lived in BCN coming on 3 years now, without getting mugged or robbed, or even an attempt (touch wood). What is the probability of that according to you PQ. I also have friends who have been robbed.

A bit of common sense and being alert (but not paranoid) will hopefully help to avoid opportunists.

Travel Buzz - did you read what Zeppole wrote:

<As for pickpockets and purse-snatchers in Barcelona, Julie, I hope you will get beyond blaming yourself. They are among the most skilled in the world -- they really work it at it. Most of my friends are longtime travelers with dozens of major urban destinations under their belt. Over and over again they report that the only city in which they were ever successfully robbed was Barcelona.>

tr buzz - did you read 'the ONLY city' part?

And of course in the other threads we have authentic Barcelona residents - locals - who report the same problems and muggings too.

People need to be warned that Barcelona (and Madrid) need special precautions - even though Zeppole's friends were veteran travelers they still were robbed.

>>A bit of common sense and being alert (but not paranoid) will hopefully help to avoid opportunists<<

None of the people I know who were robbed in Barcelona were doing anything lacking common sense, and they were perfectly alert to the possibility of being of robbed. People can "hope" that some little thing they do short of being "paranoid" will "help" deter the robbers operating in the city, but if it doesn't, they shouldn't blame themselves for being the victim of a determined professional thief who targets tourists.

One city is not the other city.>

perhaps not - Barcelona does seem to even have more tourist crime than Madrid does - so many reports on Fodor's alone about muggings and lots of pickpockets.

Travel Buzz - you want to generalize on your experience and say there is NO problem that any European city does not have.

Well Google Thefts or Muggings in Barcelona and then Google the same for any other city. For Barcelona you get pages of references - for Paris hardly any.

And i am not generalizing on one incident as you charge - it's the persistent reports that street crime in Barcelona is rife that tell me that.

Barca must be the worst city in Europe for theft from tourists. One reason is that the police regard it as not being a crime worth trying to stop.
One amusement is to stand on the Ramblas and watch the scams go on unchecked.
TrBuzz is not a tourist in Barca, so their experience is hardly relevant. My experience is not "second - hand".
It wouldnt put me off going again, but other travellers deserve fair warning of what to expect.

My partner and I have just returned from a week in Barcelona during December. I had not been back in 32 years and was fearful of returning, as I loved it back in the late 70's and was worried at how much it would have changed in 30 years Spain has changed and Barcelona is no exception. It is better I think. More crowded but so lively. We loved walking the side streets which were basically empty on rainy days. One night after dinner off La Rambla, my partner was intercepted by a gaggle of young men. One tried to trip him and in so doing took the camera out of his pocket. My partner realized immediatly and went up to him and asked for it back. The guy gave it back to him. I was amused and amazed. They are experts but not violent. Pretty unusual. Loved the city. Also traveled to Girona for the day. Beautiful walled city and very easy to get to from Barcelona. Also very quiet this time of year.

Happy Travels.
e

I was simply responding to PQ's statement that he is always being put down for chiming in about violent/crime in Barcelona, as I have heard the reasoning for it already and don't think he makes a valuable argument.

I am not a tourist in BCN but i do look "foreign", which may have been the unfortunate reason for other friends (residents) having been mugged here. That they could be mistaken for tourists.
It is true that tourists are targeted more than locals, for obvious reasons that they are in the city short-term and there is little they can choose do about it.

I am not belittling the problem of tourist theft in Barcelona, nor am I saying that victims of theft are "lacking common sense".
Please don't suggest that I think victims are to blame for the crime.

My stand on this (as always has been PQ) is that yes, you need to take care of your belongings more in Barcelona, but getting robbed is not what you "should expect" from your holiday in Barcelona.

Thanks for posting you weren't suggesting that people who get robbed can be blamed for having been the victim.

Lucy posts that she and her partner enjoyed walking the empty side streets, but other travelers need to know that in the Barri Gotic, the maze of narrow and bending alleys devoid of people make it a prime area for purse snatches. Some walkways are well-populated and have lots of stores, etc., so if you are walking around with a purse or other things you'd rather not lose, stick with the crowds. But in general, it's best to leave purse and valuables locked up at the hotel, and carry a little bag for your travel book, sunglasses, kleenex, etc.

There is a ferry that runs between where I live and Barcelona and thus I plan to return many times, using the city as my gateway to other parts of Spain -- like Girona, a favorite of mine! I don't expect to get robbed. I just hope I won't, and take a lot of extra precautions (with my most important documents in particular) when I can't avoid being in public with them.

NorCalif, please return. I'd like to hear more about your time in Barcelona. Tell us please.

I'd like to add onto the comments about Gótico.
Careful then that readers don't assume Gótico to be the only place where you have to be alert.

I have only seen bag-snatchings in broad daylight in el Borne (twice, in open spaces) and once in Eixample at night (bagsnatcher on a moped).

My advice is to wear your bag with the strap across and not leave things where you cant see them.

"My advice is to wear your bag with the strap across and not leave things where you cant see them."

Problem is if the moped driver makes the wrong calculation that your strap will snap if pulled hard enough, you can get badly knocked over or dragged.

People don't need to haul around as much stuff as they think they do when they sighstsee. Carry your stuff -- like your hairbrush and map -- in an ordinary shopping bag. Nobody will want it. Take one credit card, some walking around cash and a xerox copy of your passport.

But yes -- it's not the Barrio Gotico where thieves work. In addition to the public streets, they sometimes work hotel elevators or other indoor venues.

I should have typed "it's not ONLY" the gotico

Yes wearing day packs, etc. can result in injury if a thieve tries to snatch it from a moving moped, etc.

And yes my in-law travel buzz rebukes me for mentioning her mugging had a day pack on and had nothing of value in it - the attacker wanted the bag and my in-law wanted to get the pack off to give it to the thieve so he would go away - she could not get it off laying in the gutter and the thieve struggled to get if off - ended up with her head bloodied. At 8am on a Sunday morning it all was a shock, esp as shopkeepers opening their stores stood by and did nothing - that's what really upset her - right in front of Atocha train station.

And no chances of being robbed in these two cities are probably low but much much higher than in other European cities, so being alert to the crime, rather than saying like on other threads where several folks said Barcelona had absolutely no more such crime than any other European city, makes it less likely to happen. And muggings, though yes also a low chance do routinely happen in these two cities and muggings are practically unheard of in most of Europe.

TravelBuzz - i am not just taking one case of my in-laws but many other documented incidents reported on Fodor's itself and many other sources, like the NYTimes.

rosetravels and tdudette - thanks for your kind remarks!

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Pickpockets - here's our experience

I had spent some time warning the kids about pickpockets in Barcelona and had given them lectures about always keeping their eyes – and hands – on their belongings, not going down streets without plenty of people on them, etc. Hey - I'm their mom - I've been perfecting my nagging techniques for over 20 years now. But so far we had not encountered any problems.

Then, just as we were leaving town, we did run into some pickpockets. We caught the metro at the Sants train station. We had our luggage with us of course, so were pretty obviously tourists. Two guys got on the metro car with us; in retrospect I think they must have already selected us for their attentions at the station. DD found a seat halfway up the metro car, but as all the other seats were full, DH and I were standing next to a pole in the center of the car.

The two guys joined us, along with some other people, holding on to the pole: one of them got on one side of DH and the other got in between DH and me. The guy next to me began sort of swaying right up next to me in a way that was not really caused by the motion of the car, although he seemed to be trying to make it seem like it was. Unfortunately for him, while the car was moderately full it was not absolutely packed, so his swayings looked kind of artificial and caught my attention.

My purse was inside a zippered bag I had slung in front of me, across my chest, and I saw the guy next to me giving it a very close, appraising look. He was “casing the joint” and the “joint” was ME!

He looked pretty frustrated when I caught his eye and he saw that I was watching him. I was just trying to find some way to move away from him, when suddenly DH sort of rapidly pushed his way through people and moved across the car, away from where we’d been standing. I didn’t know why. Just at that moment we pulled into a station and the two guys looked at each other, sort of grimaced in disgust, jumped off the car, and sped off down the station platform.

DH told me that he had caught the guy next to him beginning to reach his hand under his (DH’s) coat. DH shoved it away and that’s when he pushed across the car to get away from the guy. I hadn’t really even noticed the guy next to him, as I had been preoccupied with the guy next to me. I didn’t even realize they were together. DH hadn’t really seen what my guy was up to, as he had been watching the one next to him.

It all only took a minute or two, less time than it takes to tell about it. As I said, I think we were just fortunate that the car was not crowded enough to mask their actions better – there was really no reason for them to be as close to us as they were, so it aroused our suspicions. Otherwise this story might have a different ending.

We regretted that we hadn’t thought quickly enough to yell or somehow call attention to them, but they got off the metro so fast, we didn’t have a chance to. We were of course glad that our belongings were intact. When we got off we told DD what had happened – she was amazed, as she’d seen none of it.

Actually I am very grateful for all the pickpocket stories I’ve read on Fodor’s. I do think it made me more vigilant than I might have been otherwise and alerted me to some common techniques. I do know however that sometimes no amount of vigilance can prevent someone stealing something from you.

hi,

My advice on bag-wearing was not in the (unlikely) case that someone would rob you from a moped, but general precaution against bag snatching.

Although, in that instance im sure the thief would actually look for an easier target than if you had your strap across your body, so its would have some extra deterrent effect.

Yeah, the problem is that thieves assume purse straps will break with a strong sudden tug (most will), and tourists keep investing in these steel-banded purses that are designed to look fashionable.

I think the best defense against being targeted is appear an uninteresting target. I highly recommend carrying an ordinary plastic bag from the drugstore for the things you need to tote around during sightseeing.

Last time I was in New York I had to go the Apple store, and my purchases were put into a plastic bag that had a rope tie long enough to slip my arm through and sling over my shoulder. I often use that as a "purse". I also have a paper shopping bag from a discount clothing store whose handles are huge so I can slip my arm through. It has the store logo on the side and it doesn't look like a purse. I use it to cart around guidebooks, a sweater or scarf, hairbrush, blah blah. Valuables I don't carry at all.

Thanks for the trip report, looking forward to the rest. Sounds like a wonderful trip.

Thank you for describing your near-pickpocket experience. I am glad that you were vigilant enough to avoid being pickpocketed.

Your story confirms what I always do when I travel. Whenever I am traveling with my suitcase (which means my hands are full and I can be easily identified as a tourist), I always keep all my valuables in my money belt worn underneath my clothes. I don't always use my money belt if I'm just sightseeing in a city, because I usually have one hand firmly on the zipper of my daybag.

I just found this trip report in the course of "studying" for our trip in June. Great report, NorCalif! Thanks for posting it.

I'm really looking forward to our time in Barcelona. But I have to admit that the more I read, the more nervous I get about the pickpocketing/bag grabbing. As you point out, NorCalif, it's good to be forewarned. And I certainly intend to take precautions. I just hope I'm not going to be paranoid the whole time we're there.

My major concerns are not having our cameras stolen (more because of losing the pictures than the cameras) and getting from the airport to the apt the first day carrying the cash to pay for the apartment. (Which I fully intend to carry in a money belt.) And my son getting to/from the airport with his laptop in his backpack or messenger bag.