Accommodations in Barcelona

• An overnight hotel stay was something we needed prior to checking into our apartment rental. The design of our hotel was certainly out of the ordinary. Have you ever seen a hotel window this bizarre?
  

  

  That IS Barcelona out there, all right, but the framing is strictly the hotel’s doing.
  
  Apparently, during construction, a large mold with this unorthodox shape was set in the wall cavity and removed inwardly after the concrete pour was dry. We have never seen anything like it before, although we doubt it will catch on. Aside from the added construction expense, a motorized (and oversized) pull-down shade is required for privacy. Room ventilation, moreover, must be provided elsewhere.
  
  As you might expect, the hotel’s exterior is just as unusual:
  

  

  
  In good time, we moved into our apartment, very pleased with its location in the Eixample neighborhood. The nearest intersection is graced by a Music Conservatory ...
  

  

  ... while, just opposite, the street is beautified by a florist, its arrangements widely spread along the sidewalk:
  

  

  Florist Navarro may be unique among florists as it is open 24 hours a day:
  

  

  Such a rare combination of desirable qualities this business has! Few enterprises are so quiet at all hours, add such beauty to the scene and require no parking lot. For us, the florist was also a conveniently recognizable destination for taxi drivers.
  
  The balcony on this 1901 apartment building was perfect for morning tea ...
  

  

  ... and its antique elevator was well-appreciated when bringing groceries home or returning tired from a day of rambling:
  

  

  One other feature we found novel was in the kitchen:
  

  

  The cabinet over the sink had no bottom! This made hand washing of dirty dishes more convenient than the provided dishwasher. Drip-drying small items of clothing worked equally well.
  
  It may be of interest to some that we found this apartment at The Right Vacation Rental website. It is affiliated with Untours, an organization we have used with much pleasure in the past (A Swiss Sampler). The website describes pre-screened apartments available in select European and U.S. cities as well as in Buenos Aires and Quebec City. Their service can save considerable time searching for that “just right” apartment; it certainly did us.