Spain Trip #6: La Rambla,a Ghost, Dunkin' and Dogbone Balconies

Our group walking down "La Rambla"

In today's blog of our Spain trip (it was 12 days in early May), we'll take you through a few Barcelona city highlights: the famous "La Rambla" street, a Dunkin' find, and a dog-bone balcony. Sometimes it's the little things that are worth highlighting because most people don't see them to appreciate them.

WHAT IS LA RAMBLA STREET? La Rambla (Catalan pronunciation: [ɫə ˈrambɫə]) is a wide pedestrian street filled with vendors. It's located in central Barcelona and popular with tourists and locals alike. A tree-lined pedestrian mall, it stretches for three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers). The long street forms the boundary between the areas called Barri Gòtic (to the east) and El Raval (to the west.). If you go, you should keep your wallet in your front pocket because of pickpockets.

Dunkin' on La Rambl

FAST FACT- The course of La Rambla was originally a sewage-filled stream-bed! In 1440, the stream was diverted to run outside the new walls, and La Rambla gradually started turning into a street. In 1703, the first of the trees lining La Rambla were planted.

SENSING A GHOST - We both have the ability to sense people (and pets) who have passed. While walking down La Rambla (and not knowing anything about the street), Tom stopped at a vendor flower tent on the southwest side of the street and sensed a man who died on there on the street. It was just north of the Dunkin' Donuts which we found next (as we headed south).

We later learned that La Rambla was the SITE OF A TERRORIST ATTACK - On August 17, 2017, many people were struck by a van deliberately driven down the side walk on La Rambla in a terrorist attack, causing 15 deaths and at least 100 injuries

Dog bone balconies

DUNKIN' FOUND! - Anyone that knows us, knows we love Dunkin' Donuts (known as Dunkin' outside the U.S.A.), so we found a Dunkin' Donuts on La Rambla and Rob had his black, "Cafe Americano" and Tom enjoyed his Iced Tea.

DOGBONE BALCONIES- There's a lot of interesting architecture in Barcelona. Some can be attributed to the architect/artist Antoni Gaudi, but not this one. Located on La Rambla was an apartment or condominium with balconies that looked like dog bones! As we mentioned in Blog #1, Spain is definitely a country that loves dogs, so this wasn't all that surprising.

COMING NEXT WEEK: An Awesome Barcelona Bike Tour!