Two Useful Things

I find myself so often telling people about the Humana shops, that I thought I?d put up the information here for everyone.  Humana is a chain of charity shops selling second-hand clothes.  Not half as nice and interesting as the charity shops that line our High Streets in the UK, but if you like browsing and are patient, you really can find some fantastic bargains.

Last time Theresa was in Barcelona, she couldn?t wait to hit Humana (they don?t have anything like it down her way). And it paid off. She found the most fantastic Armani jacket, like new, for 15 euros. I was incredibly jealous because it fitted her perfectly. That was in my local Humana shop, opposite the Abaceria Central market on the Travessera de Gr?cia. It was a particularly pokey, cluttered place and has now closed down. Some of the other ones I?ve visited, for example the one at Proven?a 167, are much more spacious. Here are all the Humana stores in Barcelona. Proven?a, 500 Proven?a, 167 Viladomat, 51 Travessera de Gr?cia, 85 Av. Paral?lel, 85 Ronda Universitat, 19 Roger de Ll?ria, 9 Av. Meridiana, 314 Sant Pere m?s Alt, 27 Av. Santa Coloma, 20 (Santa Coloma de Gramanet) Santa Eulalia, 116 (L'Hospitalet de Lobregat) This list is from the Humana website. The other really useful thing is the Ajuntament?s online city map. It?s in Catalan, but being a visual tool, not too difficult to figure out. After 35 years here I still use this all the time when going somewhere new - just print it off and take it with me. You can enter the street and number of where you?re going, and you can customise your map with ?Serveis sobre el mapa? (see right-hand sidebar). ?Transports? is particularly useful. You can select metro, day and night bus, FCG, etc. Then click on Aplica (bottom right) and the stations, bus stops etc will appear on the map. Click on them to see the bus route, station name etc. Here?s the one I did for the Humana shop at Travessera de Gr?cia 85. I?m sure lots of you already use this useful tool, but I?m posting it here again for newcomers or anyone who hasn?t yet discovered it. Happy browsing and happy getting round town! Valerie is the co-author, with Theresa O?Shea, of In The Garlic: Your Informative, Fun Guide to Spain.