Sabadell Modernist walk

Sabadell is a town of 200,000 people just to the north of Barcelona and less than an hours drive from Girona. It has  been an important industrial centre ever since the late 19th century specialising in textiles, metalwork and other building materials like bricks, tiles and glass. To show off their new wealth architects were commissioned to build both residential and industrial projects which reflected the Catalan penchant for Modernism.
There are some truly spectacular buildings dotted around the centre of town, and many small details like window shapes or coloured tiles and wrought iron balconies which if you keep your head up you will discover easily. The local banks have done great restoration and preservation work for some of the larger factories which have been transformed into modern offices or exhibition spaces.
From water towers to park benches and lamp posts this urban architecture is still used and hopefully appreciated on a daily basis.

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Barcelona 22@ high tech district

Barcelona is only an hours drive from Girona and a visit to the exciting urban renewal project that is 22@ is easy to get to from the motorway. The first thing you notice is the cucumber building next to the Glories roundabout and along the Diagonal road there are now dozens of really interesting looking modern office buildings and housing projects which are being built to house some of the best of Spains high tech industry.
The Barcelona city council decided in 2001 to revitalise an old industrial and poor housing area called Poblenou using new urban planning codes to encourage replacing old factories and housing with modern facilities and some public buildings including university research centres and an international conference centre. Established businesses as well as start-ups in growth sectors like media, medical technology, energy research and IT were to form the core of this new environment complemented by parks and with the beach only a short walk away this is a great location. The new station for the high speed train is also being built in this area linking Madrid and Paris in a journey which will only take a few hours from Barcelona when it is finished.
As  with many publicly funded initiatives over the last few years some building speculation by landowners in the area is evident from the empty holes with fences surrounding them but my surprise was that quite a lot has been built already and even more are about to be completed.  With the economy here suffering at least as much as elsewhere, and some would argue more, it will be interesting to see if these new offices are occupied, especially by the start-ups and small businesses that were envisaged at the outset.
Meanwhile, it is a great place to walk around to see how an old and run down part of town gets a second chance, and hopefully the mix of resident, visitor and worker will blend into a really interesting and dynamic part of Barcelona.

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Rambla of Girona

The Rambla, or Rambla de la Libertat to be more precise, is the commercial and social centre of Girona from where all activities tend to start or finish. Walking from the Plaça de Catalunya past the Pont de Pedra bridge to the main Tourist Information Office along a wide pedestrianised avenue, this is the Rambla. Whether shopping for the latest in fashion or just wanting a coffee and watching people go about their business, it is the best place to get a feel for life in Girona. There are plenty of bars and restaurants along here with terraces full of tables spread outdoors all year round for both locals and visitors to enjoy. The "paseo" tends to be a bit more purposeful than in other parts of Spain but is equally important on weekend afternoons for families meeting at their favourite cafe to catch up on the weeks gossip or read the paper. Only a few paces from the Adjuntament (Town Hall) everyone passes along the Rambla at some stage.

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