I hope no is in Barcelona right now or heading there

[mrsukyankee]

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/18/catalonia-general-strike-protests-independence


Catalonia suffered a fifth consecutive night of rioting on Friday after violence erupted in Barcelona following a peaceful demonstration attended by more than 500,000 people in protest at the heavy sentences handed down to Catalan politicians and activists.

[mrsd2006]

No, but we are supposed to be going there in two weeks. Hopefully it calms down by then. I'm a little worried.

[mich1]

I am here now. So far, nothing.

Guy at the hotel when we checked in said that riots have been dropping off. Life seems to be going on as usual today.

[mich1]

We did see one small demonstration today, about 100 people. They were noisy, but it was peaceful.

We were out and about and there did seem to be a heavy police presence in areas of congestion.

[mrsd2006]

Oct 21, 2019 9:06:46 GMT -5 mich1 said:

We did see one small demonstration today, about 100 people. They were noisy, but it was peaceful.

We were out and about and there did seem to be a heavy police presence in areas of congestion.

How are things today? 

[mich1]

We were unable to hit a bus stop today, the street was cordoned off for protesters. An hour later, street was clear. About 4 hours later, there was a protest on one of the squares, again peaceful but noisy. Soon dispersed.

The other night, we got tickets to the opera. Other than noting that there is a much wider range of ages at the opera here than there is in WA, when the opera ended and the curtain calls were over, about half the audience started chanting and clapping (like we saw in other rallies). I really didn’t stick around to see what would happen.

Tonight’s our last night in Barcelona. We leave early tomorrow. I’m glad we didn’t change our plans and try to get an earlier flight. We were offered that option by the airline.

[mrsd2006]

Oct 23, 2019 12:22:37 GMT -5 mich1 said:

We were unable to hit a bus stop today, the street was cordoned off for protesters. An hour later, street was clear. About 4 hours later, there was a protest on one of the squares, again peaceful but noisy. Soon dispersed.

The other night, we got tickets to the opera. Other than noting that there is a much wider range of ages at the opera here than there is in WA, when the opera ended and the curtain calls were over, about half the audience started chanting and clapping (like we saw in other rallies). I really didn’t stick around to see what would happen.

Tonight’s our last night in Barcelona. We leave early tomorrow. I’m glad we didn’t change our plans and try to get an earlier flight. We were offered that option by the airline.

Thanks. We don't arrive until Nov 2 so hopefully it will be back to normal by then! 

[mich1]

mrsd2006, I don’t think you will have anything to worry about. My only suggestion is to do what we did and avoid any area where rallies are starting. It just means you need to be aware.

[mrsd2006]

Oct 23, 2019 21:26:33 GMT -5 mich1 said:

mrsd2006 , I don’t think you will have anything to worry about. My only suggestion is to do what we did and avoid any area where rallies are starting. It just means you need to be aware.

That makes me feel better! Thanks !

Any other tips- especially places to eat?? 

[mich1]

Oct 24, 2019 8:55:57 GMT -5 mrsd2006 said:

Oct 23, 2019 21:26:33 GMT -5 mich1 said:

mrsd2006 , I don’t think you will have anything to worry about. My only suggestion is to do what we did and avoid any area where rallies are starting. It just means you need to be aware.

That makes me feel better! Thanks !

Any other tips- especially places to eat?? 

Our hotel was in the Ramblas area.....off of Boqueria.  We ate in several cafes/restaurants in the area and had very good meals, one place was across the passage from our hotel called La Boqueria.  DH caught a nasty cold and their chicken soup was incredible.  I had paella there twice, chicken and seafood.  Both excellent.  

Our hotel provided quite a substantial breakfast, so we tended to do big breakfasts, then eat very late lunches/early dinners.  Regardless of where we went, all meals seemed to be around the 50€ mark.