november-2011

INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS XENIA ALONSO, BARCELONETTE.NET
Neighbourhood Watch: L’Eixample
BARCELONA Home to the city’s two most famous boulevards – Las Ramblas and
Paseo de Gracia – L’Eixample is crammed with markets and modernist architecture,
with high-end outlets next to young designers’ indie boutiques.
CRISTINA EXARCHOU, 24, STUDENT
Favourite local restaurant? “Cup & Cake
[145 Carrer d’Enric Granados; tel: +34
932 002 872] is the best place to go for
afternoon tea on a Saturday. Cakes are
having a revival and this is the best place
for them.”
Favourite shop? “In my opinion, Uterque
[65 Paseo de Gràcia; tel: +34 934 872
010] has L’Eixample’s best accessories –
shoes, bags, jewellery, everything! I would
buy the lot if I could.”
Secret tip? “Wandering along the
picturesque Carrer d’Enric Granados is
an absolute delight.”
BERNARD RODRIGUEZ, 31, WAITER
Favourite bar in the area? “Café Berlin [240
Calle Muntaner; tel: +34 932 006 542]
has a great vibe in the early evening, just
before nightfall. It’s after-work drinking,
but with a huge dose of cool.”
Favourite local restaurant? “Hàbaluc [41
Carrer d’Enric Granados; tel: +34 934
522 928] is the only restaurant in the
area that serves delicious, locally sourced
organic food.”
Secret tip? “My top spot for a few quiet
drinks with friends is the bar-cum-gallery
Cosmos [3 Carrer d’Enric Granados; tel:
+33 934 537 007], a hidden gem.”
OLIVIA FRANQUÉS, 16, STUDENT
Favourite café in the area? “Farggi [94
Paseo de Gràcia; tel: +34 934 870 999]
has a few tables out on the narrow side
street in front. Even in the colder months,
it’s a lovely spot and the hot chocolate is
unmissable.”
Favourite shop? “Hakei [57 Rambla de
Catalunya; tel: +34 934 961 540] is where
I go for the latest clothing trends. All their
pieces go together and the prices are
reasonable.”
Secret tip? “It’s so much more fun touring
L’Eixample by bike. It’s a great way to
avoid the packed pavements.”
THE BUZZ | STREET STYLE
on trend
trendwatching.com scans the
globe for the latest emerging
consumer trends. Here, the
company’s head of research and
analysis, Henry Mason, tells us
what to look out for this month.
reCOMMERCE
Want to buy the latest gadgets, but
not sure what to do with your old
ones? reCommerce is the latest
answer, according to consumer
fi gures, which show that trading-up
has become the new buying.
Although fl ogging old stuff to
aff ord shiny, new things is a process
as old as money itself, a growing
environmental and economic
awareness means that buybacks
are becoming big business. Trade-in
initiatives from super brands, and
marketplaces on smartphone apps,
mean that unlocking cash from past
purchases has never been easier.
eBay’s Instant Sale (instantsale.
ebay.com), for example, allows
users to sell electronic gadgets back
to them, while Gazelle.com and
NextWorth.com will buy any iPad in
reasonable condition.
Fashionistas can cash in too.
Mango for Mango is an initiative from
Spanish retailer Mango that allows
customers who sign up for a loyalty
card to return items within 12 months
of purchase for a 20% discount on
new purchases.
Even experiences are being resold:
Turkish site Kuponomi.com allows
people to resell or trade their unused
daily-deal coupons.
To subscribe to a free monthly trend
briefi ng, available in English, Dutch,
German, French, Spanish, Turkish and
Portuguese, go to trendwatching.com
TRAVELLER | 25