When I arrived off the train from Madrid I found that the hotel I had booked in London had lost my reservation. So I had to sprint down to the Turismo in the Placa de Catalunya and they fixed me up with a very nice hotel. It was situated up in the Eixample (Expansion in Catalan) and was a few streets away from the Placa de Catalunya. For about £20 a night I got a reasonable room with bed and desk and use of a common room which was always buzzing with international guests. But best of all were the free buffet breakfasts were I could dine on pineapple juice, rolls, jamon and cereals and get to know the other guests.
It was situated only a few minutes walk from La Ramblas and near to the wide Gran Via des Corts Catalanes where the entrance to the subway was situated near the Universitat. The Eixample itself was beautiful. When 19th Centure Barcelona began to expand out of its Gothic quarter (Barri Gotic) it enabled new architects (notably Gaudi)to experiment with modernism. The grand boulevards are a pleasure to stroll with cars forced down avenues on either side and the centre given over to pedestrian walkways with palm trees. Gaudis modernist buildings are dotted all over the Eixample. There was a beautiful grey and purple building on Passeig de Gracia which looked like a piece of confectionary.