Our daughter is studying abroad in Barcelona (Spain) this semester, so we figured why not take the opportunity to get out of the terrible winter we’re having in Colorado and head for more civilized climes. Hence we booked a trip to Europe that overlapped the boys’ spring break week and tacked on a couple of days at either end, they can catch up later. Beyond actual travel time there and back that allowed us about 11 days on the continent if I’m doing the math right what with the time changes, jet lag, beer fog, and all.
I took a bunch of pictures, mostly of cars that I found interesting as I was passing by them along with a few sights, but without any real plan of action as usual, so perhaps it’ll be best that I just sort of vomit them all out and keep up a running commentary of what we’re looking at as we go along…Some days are longer than others and some I’ll perhaps join together as well…
Let’s just jump right in, shall we…?
Leaving Denver Airport (on a good weather day for a change) I realized our old Outback that was designated as the official sacrificial long-term parking lot car looked awfully small next to its neighbors yet would be considered a fairly large-ish car in Europe.
I’m not the world’s happiest flyer, but this was my first time on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (via United Air Lines) and it was an overall pleasant experience. The two highlights were the movie selection which was simply stellar including lots of my favorite movies and the food, which included (very shockingly) perhaps the best Indian Butter Chicken I have ever had (and I’ve tried a lot of versions as it’s one of my favorite dishes). This leg saw us fly into Frankfurt where we had a layover of a couple of hours before our connecting flight.
That flight was to Barcelona via a Lufthansa Airbus A321 and again quite acceptable. The entertainment options were nonexistent so we were reduced to using our phones but spied an ingenious hack incorporating an unused air sickness bag and the smartphone case along with the table latch across the aisle…
In short order my sons had done the same thing to keep themselves entertained and I found that the middle seat between both of them is not bad at all since I could assert privilege to both armrests and this also avoided them (the boys) antagonizing each other and thus me. My wife was across the aisle with a stranger.
The rest of the very long day is still a bit of a blur, our daughter met us at the airport, we took the metro into town with her now excellent guidance and local knowledge, our Airbnb was only a block away from her and her friends’ apartment, we celebrated arriving, then took a short nap and eventually headed out for an evening walk. While walking we came across the Banksy Museum and while it was closing I stepped in to the lobby far enough to snap a picture (above) of a Banksy that perhaps I should just crop a bit and use as a screensaver. Or a T-shirt. Or whatever else. I like it.
Walking further we came across, of all things, a stationery store that had this SEAT 600 in the front window/entry area. The SEAT 600 is obviously a license-built Fiat 600 but is acknowledged as the car that put Spain’s populace on wheels, sort of their VW Bug or Mini Cooper etc.
It’s darn cute too, which never hurts. Larger than a Fiat 500, it’s also rear-engined and this one was in fine fettle. It would be the only one I’d see the entire time there so perhaps they have mostly succumbed to the ravages of the road and time itself.
The front badging though is quite impressive. On that note, we wandered around a bit more, found something to eat and turned in a bit earlier than most of the Spaniards. My wife is the Queen of the Walking Tour and had one set up for us the next morning…
So the next morning we woke up, met our daughter down the street, she took us to her favorite (i.e. closest at the end of the street) bakery, we gorged ourselves on freshly baked goods and acclimated to the change from a 24oz coffee at home to a 1.5oz espresso.
We were to meet our walking tour of “old Barcelona” in front of the Barcelona Cathedral, a fine example of 14th Century Gothic architecture. Now, when we got there, the top of it was covered in scaffolding and a huge Samsung advertisement so I resorted to my favorite trick, which is to go across the street to the nearest souvenir stand and take the best picture I can of the best postcard I can find. Yes, not the same but better than scaffolding/advertising and you, dear reader, would not have known if I hadn’t just revealed my magic. The results are above, it is a fine church with an interesting history but we did not go inside.
While we were waiting for the appointed time, I couldn’t help but notice some of the assorted municipal vehicles that were around us doing their work. At home there would most likely a phalanx of F-450s and various other heavy equipment doing similar, but here it was often small and mostly silent while still very efficient for the work it was doing.
This is a Piaggio (of Vespa fame) Porter. Fully electric, silent, and in a sort of pickup/vanette/hauler configuration.
The cab seems comfy enough for local work.
And the “business” end was apparently good enough too, in this case mainly picking up refuse and other debris.
Can’t go wrong with a Piaggio, I suppose. Pretty logo.
Even more interesting (to me) was this street sweeper truck. Also electric and with extending and articulating arms it would turn tightly around the planters as well as groups of people sweeping and sucking up whatever was on the pavers. It was sort of insect-like with feelers sucking up whatever there was.
The body itself articulates as well, making for an excellent turning circle. Driver visibility is superb.
The thing never stopped, it just went around everything and everyone and did its job and then drove off to presumably the next plaza. Muy bueno.
There’s bigger iron too, including this one that puts any F-series payload space to shame. It was too quick for me to get a frontal shot….
But I caught up with it (or a twin of it) a bit later and it’s a Fiat Ducato single cab very long bed (think RAM Promaster) and yes, it too was electric. That’s when it hit me. I was not noticing or breathing diesel fumes as was usual in Europe until very recently. It was also much quieter. You could hear people, bicycles, birds, and some low humming from these vehicles.
Another Piaggio Porter. They were everywhere, doing their thing as we walked around.
But finally something familiar! A Toyota 4Runner of mid-90s vintage, a genuine CC!
A turbodiesel such as we never got over here. Our equivalent is still very prevalent here in Colorado and likely everywhere that it snows.
This IKEA delivery vehicle is an electric SAIC. SAIC is a large Chinese manufacturer that produces various joint ventures with General Motors. I believe this van is the same body as several other more well-known western makes. It too just hummed as it went by, and as a local delivery vehicle seems a perfect use of EV tech. Around now is when our walking tour concluded and we started wandering around by ourselves after lunch having learned all we wanted to about old Barcelona. My wife and I have been here before but learned much more this time around. It’s a lovely city.
Yes, that’s a Toyota Prius V (Prius Plus in Europe), while they are obviously in North America, I was astounded as to the quantities of them in Spain and further portions of our trip. They are by far the most popular Prius variant and used for all kinds of things, but mainly taxis and in this case, also police cars. This was at the entrance to a large park that for some reason had the gates locked and the police keeping watch. I stuck my hands through the bars (it wasn’t the zoo so I figured it was okay) and took some pictures, safe in the knowledge that there were bars between me and the fuzz.
Then they apparently got called away to a bigger threat than tourists wanting to get into a public park and hotfooted their Priuses down a side road. This is a second one, that apparently sustained some minor lower side damage, perhaps hopping a curb or whatever police cars do.
Continuing on, a Dacia! I’m somewhat fascinated by this low-cost European brand and this is a fairly recent Sandero. It won’t be the last Dacia that we see, the whole line-up seems to be quite popular.
And then we stumbled upon yet another Prius police car, along with some sort of paddy wagon with foldable riot shields for the glass areas. There was some sort of inquisition going on with the guy on the scooter at the left at the center of attention. We thought it best to keep moving, after snapping a discreet shot or two of course…
Here’s a little (electric I believe) trucklet hauling a load of rental e-bikes from one location to another. This is definitely F-350 worthy at home but here it was just a little cab thingy with a flat bed and a looooong trailer.
Above is the same thing in motion. Three seconds and it’s gone…I can’t recall if it was actually a second one or if I was QuickDraw McGraw on the phone cam/video selector…
Another Dacia! A Duster this time, the off-roady one. Pretty color.
And the working man’s Dacia, the Dokker. This panel van is the shorter version and apparently has a payload capacity of 1600lbs. Presumably it can tow as well, just like pretty much every vehicle in Europe. And it has a rack which looks huge but it’s on a smallish car…
As a former motorcycle rider (but tempted again thanks to DougD), this caught my eye, at first I wondered if it was old, then realized it was almost new…
Brixton Motorcycles is an Austrian company that manufactures their wares in China and styles them after old British bikes. Along with various almost too cute touches. But hey, I was looking at it and now you are too. I have no idea if they actually are any good, but they look good which is half the battle.
I’m sure Roger Carr has been waiting patiently and I shall not disappoint with a red Alfa Romeo. Looking quite splendid if a little road-worn, this red with black roof Alfa 156 looks the business.
The paint may be peeling a bit but that just reduces the weight, hence improving acceleration and handling. I’m all in although a wagon version would perhaps be even more encantador (lovely, I think).
Another Dacia in Duster form again like the orange one earlier but lower-spec and therefore cheaper.
Visible tow hook in the bumper! I told you it was the off-roady one.
And off it goes, leaving an early to mid-2000s SEAT Ibiza in its wake.
The Blanco Carros continue with this Peugeot 406 sedan, the successor to the 405 of course, the last Peugeot sold in the US. The 406 is quite attractive to my eyes.
Not Alfa 156 attractive but still very attractive, in a lithe way. The Gwyneth Paltrow of Peugeots to the Alfa a la Keri Russell… something like that. Or maybe The Noxzema Girl whom you may recall if of a certain age. Anyway, enough of that moment.
The happy thoughts come to an unhappy ending with the sighting around the corner of a Ssangyong.
It’s a Ssangyong Rodius, which may be the least odious of the Ssangyong line-up but that’s still not saying much if anything. I suppose it’s useful. But otherwise only included due to not being here and not coming here, for once our import restrictions seem to be paying off in a good way.
And that, mi amigos, takes us to the end of the day on an open air rooftop terrace restaurant serving some very fine Sangria before our meal and looking forward to the next day in Barcelona for more sights of cars that may be of some interest to someone, perhaps mainly me, and a few random sights along the way as well…Adios!
Looks like a great time! That Peugeot reminds me of a late ’90s Volvo S80, another nice looking sedan from that era.
I had a 406 wagon turbo diesel, beautiful cars the last good looking large Peugeot.
The real dreamboat of the 406 line is the coupe.
How terrible – to find a favorite meal, with the catch that you have to buy an international plane ticket to get it.
And how cool is it to be in a place where you can buy a burnt-orange Duster!
Most cars are small in Europe just as in many large cities in the USA. Guess that is largely due to narrow streets and limited parking with few garages. Saw this in San Francisco and even more in Boston, where I was surprised to learn that once people were fortunate enough to find a parking space, they often left car parked until absolutely necessary to use it for travel outside the city! Picked up at airport, friends drove half an hour to find a parking space three blocks away from home! Even Chicago is difficult for street parking! Very thankful to have a garage and live in a city with ample parking. However now as the city grows, parking spaces in central business area are becoming increasingly difficult. But being a big car man, I will always find an appropriate space where I don’t have to worry about some IDIOT banging into my car!
Gasoline around $8-$9 a gallon making people really consider their actual needs accounts for some of that, the tradeoff is excellent (quick, cheap, clean, plentiful) public transportation funded by some of that. My daughter lives further away from where she’s going to university this semester than she does back here in the US and compared to driving and finding paid parking here (really the only option) it’s generally quicker, cheaper, and less hassle to just take the subway or bus over there.
This was one of my first trips abroad of many where I was very happy to do without a car for the vast majority of the trip and it worked out wonderfully. Less stress, surprisingly a greater sense of freedom, and monetary savings overall.
*mis amigos 😉
I use electric vans at work and they’re perfectly suited. We use older Mercedes sprinter and new SAIC maxus which are a direct lineage from the relations of Leyland vans/Leyland Daf.
Sprinters are sloooow with a low range, under 80 miles and the Maxus modern EV quick with about 110 mile range.
7 good driving around the city is rarely much over 30 miles, and a recharge before handing over to the next shift is between 15 and 40 minutes, times with a break.
Jim, this brings back some very pleasant memories of one of my favorite places.
I hope you got to see Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Barcelona also has a wonderful Picasso Museum. The main drag, Las Ramblas with its bird sellers leads down past the Hotel Continental (where Orwell stayed during the Spanish civil war) to the beach where one can relax in the sun whilst partaking of an excellent Paella Nero. The Dali Museum at Figueres and his house at Cadaques, a wonderful drive along the coast from Barcelona, are also worth visiting. If you like sailing and windsurfing, Sitges is not far along the coast, either.
If any curbivors visit Europe this is one of the most culturally interesting cities to visit….
Si senor, yes a wonderful city to visit (and/or live in). Nothing against the rest of Spain which we’ve also traveled previously but Barcelona just feels a bit different in comparison, I guess that was part of the point of the semi-recent Catalan independence movement. I think we were last there in the mid to later 90s so it was great to re-see stuff with the kids this time (That are old enough to understand/appreciate at least most of it).
Glad you are enjoying it with your kids – mine is only 6 at the moment, but this is one of the places I have to show him when he is old enough (how old is that, BTW?).
Waiting for your next installment!
My opinion is it’s best once they have had some history and/or sociology classes in school. So early to mid-teens? Before that a city is just a city like any other and there is no appreciation that there are different types of people and cultures or where people came from and/or how a place came to be. You drag them to see the La Sagrata Familia or the Barcelona Cathedral and it’s huge and perhaps interesting from that perspective alone but at the end of the day not fundamentally that different from what’s at home. Or it’s just a vacation in a city with a beach and then there’s that and hopefully some ice cream. Which is perfectly fine too 🙂
Meanwhile, there’s this.
Brilliant song, amazing footage of La Sagrada Familia, and Spanish subtitles.
Thanks Jim – that’s great advice! Your article really made me think about this – my wife and I both loved travelling and exploring cities before our son was born, but you can’t be selfish and must see things from a child’s perspective. We live on the coast, less than a mile from some lovely beaches, so the little guy is a little spoiled in that respect. We are taking him to Lapland this winter (to meet Santa Claus), but cities are maybe still quite a way further in his future. The last thing I want to do is put him off travelling.
I hope you continue to have a wonderful time exploring a city you love with your kids and experiencing their insights and reactions. Enjoy!
It’s a bit hard to tell from the angle of the shots, but that Ducato seems to have an even longer wheelbase than the regular long version.
Interesting and practical choice on the Prius V cop cars; makes sense, for several reasons. That would not go over here though…we’d be deprived of all those high speed chase videos on Youtube.
You’ve documented many small but obvious reasons why the per capita emissions of CO in Spain is about one-third of US per capita CO emissions.
The whole time I was there I was wondering about the ubiquity of the Prius Wagon (Prius V in the US, Prius Plus in Europe which is a better name), I finally just looked it up and while it was discontinued here in 2017, in Spain it was apparently sold through 2021, so far more recently, partially explaining the number of excellent condition examples on the roads there being used in high-mileage or heavier duty usage applications (Police, Taxi, Delivery, etc). There were a number of regular Priuses there as well, yet over eleven days in three countries I only saw one of the recent ugly generation one, which perhaps weren’t even sold everywhere over there (?). The V may have been considered a bit of a failure in the US relative to the normal one, but surprisingly as it is the larger version it sure seemed a hit over there.
The Prius V/wagon was available with 3rd row seating in some markets; I doubt the cop cars were so equipped though.
That Brixton motorcycle appears to be either a 125 or 250cc, utilizing a copy of the Honda “third world motor” that has become ubiquitous in mail-order motorcycles. Think all those off-brand bikes you find on Amazon for $2-3,000.00 shipped directly to your door, some minor assembly necessary. As well as a bunch of YouTube videos documenting the purchase and assembly as such. The motor has a good reputation for longevity, definitely not for performance. It will, however, get you around on your daily commute.
Excellent choice for a few days holiday. I have been there a couple of times, and grabbed the opportunity when my wife had to be there at an international conference. Years ago I had to work some weeks at the local branch which was ideally situated, just a short distance from the beach. Great to have your lunch at a beach restaurant. 🙂
What is surprising (compared to the Netherlands) is the huge number of scooters. All kinds of business men and women use these as transport in the city.
We walked down to the beach from that park where the police was which is just outside the old town area. Beautiful beach, but we didn’t stay long as we’d packed for slightly cooler weather and weren’t really prepared for it. Yes, many scooters everywhere!
Piaggio logo reminding me of something… the Major League Soccer logo, maybe
That Piaggio logo dates back the 1940s, I guess they are using it again now. I’m guessing that predates MLS quite a bit. 🙂 But shield logos have been common for centuries, we’ll see some more later on.
Great way for us toi see Barcelona! To wit, the machinery. Love it!
Thanks, I’m kind of over taking tons of pics of tourist sights that I rarely go back and look at. I well remember sitting through slide shows of relatives’ vacations when young and don’t plan on doing that….but the cars and stuff is interesting, so it’s a habit to snap away, often mid-stride, and CC is the only outlet that can even remotely appreciate some of it…
Excellent pictures!
The white Duster was not only a lower-spec model, which it was, but was also an older model. The reddish one is extensively facelifted, with a new interior, most exterior pieces are changed also, the windshield angle, and several engines.
Thanks for the clarification there, I knew there was a Duster and Sandero and realized that there are now several generations etc and there are multiple other models as well. Dacia’s established enough that you can’t just say you have a Dacia anymore, you need to be specific!
You’ll find that in South America,most of the Renault models currently sold there are in fact rebadged Dacias.
The cheapskate in me dearly wishes that Dacia would cross the pond. Thanks for sharing, Jim.
Me too but it’ll never happen for various reasons. You’re welcome!
Very cool! We recently hosted a foreign exchange student from Madrid. I presume at some point my wife will insist we visit. Looks like a great place full of culture and curbside finds.
Several years ago my parents wintered in Albuquerque and they befriended some neighbors with ties to Spain. They had a Fiat/SEAT 600 in their backyard that was her first car. I recall the husband joking that boys/men loved those cars due to their how their doors open and that most Spanish girls wore dresses… I’ll leave it at that.
Seeing the Seat 600 made me want to reread Graham Greene’s wonderful novel Monsignor Quixote. The trusty Seat 600 in it is called Rocinante, which is the name of Don Quixote’s horse in the original by Cervantes. In Travels with Charley (which I also need to read again), John Steinbeck calls his truck by the same name, Rocinante.
Steinbeck’s Rocinante ties in with some recent CC posts, as it was a 1960 GMC pickup. With automatic transmission and a “powerful” (his words) 305 V6.
Those electric trucks are slowly catching on over here though theres nothing bigger than a 4wheeler class 2 on offer so far that Ive seen,
nice Toyota Hilux/Surf/4Runner the vast majority of those here are NA or turbo diesel but have begun rusting long ago they will be around basically forever, new cylinder heads can be got online to cure their biggest failing, New Thai Hiluxes still sell well in competition with Thai Rangers, Im not even sure gas engines are even offered anymore in that class.
Great News! The Dacia Sandero is still available in Europe!
Looks like a great place to visit, never been to Spain but I do think of European cities as being very noisy and diesel-y, so your experience seems like a definite improvement.
Glad you had a good trip.
The red Alfa was a series 3 156, 2003-2007 and the black roof is aftermarket.
And, more Great News, the Dacia Sandero is (or often is, month by month) Europe’s best selling car
Great pics…that small street sweeper is brilliant engineering.
The Piaggio Porter looks Kei-sized. You may have seen Mitsubishi and Nissan recently brought out a Kei BEV here in Japan (eK X EV/Sakura) – but its a sedan, not a van. Japan still way behind in the transition to BEV.
Hope it was a enjoyable trip for everyone…
Yes the Porter is definitely Kei-sized. Which is perfectly adequate transport anywhere it’s legal to ride/drive something like a motorcycle or a VW Beetle.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the same was the Mazda Porter you wrote about a while back.
More to come shortly…
Does that van in the background of the IKEA van picture have graffiti on it? Or is it a graphic of some kind?
’tis graffiti. Or street-art depending on perspective I guess.
Good choice to visit Barcelona around this time before the summer heat. I was there in 2014 in mid summer and it was really far too hot, and I used to live in Senegal so I’m used to heat!
The amount of old cars there at the time suprised me, many Fiat based Seats were still around from Abarth style sporty restored cars to beat up Marbellas. Maybe you can visit the Seat museum in Barcelona, I’m sure that if you show up there they will atleast give you a few minutes, especially since you’re American.
Here in Holland we got the Seat 600 from about 1970 until 1973 after Fiat discontinued their 600. They were Fiat badged, just like the replacement 133.
Funny how Americans take pictures of cars that seem completely normal to me, cars I see in traffic every single day. I get a little bit too excited whenever I see a Lumina or 2000s Impala too though.
Have a safe and good flight home after your vacation, I’m glad that I’ll be driving my Firebird to Paris in a few months rather than flying there. I always have severe pain in my ears.
I too remember a lot of old SEATs the last I was there which I believe was the end of 2000. Barcelona is a far wealthier city than I had remembered it as being and it shows in some of the cars being driven around (not just what I too pix of). A wonderful place. I actually travel around Europe on my German passport (as do the kids which they get a kick out of after we got them a couple of years back now), although it’s far easier now with Schengen.
Forbidden fruit is forbidden fruit, no matter where you are…Enjoy the Firebird to Paris, you’ll have lots of people taking pix of you in that! I get an absolutely debilitating horrendous pain in my ears on descending for some reason on my first flight in a series, then it gets better after that until a few months go by and starts again the next time…
THANK YOU for all the pictures ! .
-Nate
My pleasure, I wish you could all be there…
Welcome to Barcelona mr. Klein! I wish you a nice trip, and a great studying experience to your daughter. It’s nice to see one of the best contributors of Curbside classic in our country (I live in a town about 40km – 25mi north of Barcelona city).
Being an habitual reader of this absolutely amazing website, I’ve learned a lot about totally diferent automotive landscapes to ours. Thank you all.
Nice finds from your part, especially considering that practically the whole city is affected by the Barcelona Low Emission Zone, that does not allow to drive cars and light vans without at least Euro 3 (petrol-driven) or Euro 4 emissions level (diesel-driven), Monday to Friday from 7 am to 8 pm.
The nicest find of this post is the Seat 600, of course, being the most popular version of this car, the 600-D, the last one with suicide doors, made from 1963 to 1970 (this one is registered on july ’69), and powered by a tiny in line four water cooled engine of 767c.c. (46,8 c.i.).
Thanks Jordi! Thanks for the info on the low emissions zone, without knowing about it it’s clearly making a difference in air quality while seemingly not negatively affecting the usability of the city’s core. Come back tomorrow for the next installment…
It’s always nice to hear from CC readers that we’ve never heard from before, or rarely so. Thanks for the complement; it’s what keeps us going. 🙂
Hmm, “some sort of inquisition going on”, I didn’t expect that… 🙂