Sunday, November 13, 2011

Passeig de Gracia has become my favourite shopping destination in Spain



Passeig de Gracia (or Paseo de Gracia) is one of the major avenues in Barcelona (Spain) and also one of Barcelona most important shopping and business areas, containing several of the city's most celebrated pieces of architecture.

I had a great time doing some window shopping in this street. The street is as beautiful as Avenue de Champs Elysees in Paris, but without Place de la Concorde or Arc de Triomphe. The pedestrian areas were wide enough and accented by beautiful trees whose leaves had changed colour to its autumn theme.

For me, strolling along Passeig de Gracia is very much enjoyable, as the buildings are just beautiful and classic and the renown Casa Batllo and Casa Mila also have the address on this street. Renting a space in this address is told as the most expensive rate in Barcelona or even Spain.

All the premium brands have their stores in this street and well-known Spanish brands like Zara, Mango and Massimo Dutti can also be found here. I managed to pay a visit to Hermes, Chanel, YSL and Loewe stores on sunny and warm Saturday afternoon. The first stop was at Chanel store. It was relatively small store but  most of Chanel classical items were available. Surprisingly the store was not too crowded on Saturday afternoon and I met a very sweet SA who patiently assisted me and my friends. In Hermes store, I enquired on the goods that I was looking for but a handsome SA told me that at that time they run a very low stock of leather goods. Yet he kindly advised my that they expected new shipment and more bags and SLGs on Monday and asked me to come back on Monday afternoon. Sadly, I had to leave Barcelona on the next day, so I had no chance to come to Hermes store. I then unintentionally entered YSL store just because they let doors open (it was very warm inside the sotre, no wonder the open the main door widely) and I saw a stunning Muse two bag in bright cobalt blue. My friends and I tried on few bags like Muse two medium and large, and Muse, and I had to admit that I still adored YSL Muse two but could not stand its unique metal button for opening/closing the main compartment (which was still troublesome for me). And the last stop was Loewe store. Again it was an impulsive stop having seen stunning multicolor Loewe Amazona bags on the store display. Full story about my acquaintance (and 'almost' affair) with Loewe has been posted here.

By the time the stores were closed (around 7.30 or 8.00 pm) I finally left Passeig de Gracia empty handed and spent the rest my evening for having a nice Japanese dinner at Placa Catalunya. Altough I did not do any shopping, but Passeig de Gracia has become one of my favourite street names *wink* 


By the way, I took this picture of Passeig de Gracia from the rooftop of Casa Mila at dusk. Casa Mila itself is a must-see building and please ensure to go to its roof top. The view from the roof top and its chimney designs were just simply breathtaking. Antoni Gaudi was truly a genius!

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