Learning about Police in Barcelona

While Bill and Bryce went biking, Sue and Laurel had an adventure of their own - totally unexpected.  The plan was to go to an Invention Museum, and upon arriving there it was closed for another five minutes.  So the girls went and got a bite at a nearby Pinchos bar.

A loud Texan woman was chatting up the waiters, and engaging Sue and Laurel.  Sue had her purse on a hook underneath the bar, and at some point she stood up for two seconds to grab another pincho and her purse was gone!  Somebody stole it.  Inside was about 100 euros, some credits cards, some family photos, Sue's drivers license and other knick-knacks.  Sue explained the situation to the restaurant owner, and since she now had no money, and was probably making a commotion in the restaurant, the owner let her and Laurel leave without paying to go report the theft to the police.

The girls spent the next two hours in the police station, filing a report.

Sue and Laurel met some other unlucky travelers at the police station, including a British couple on their second visit to Barcelona, with as many visits to the Police station to report a pickpocket.

Later on, someone called our landlord, telling him that they found her purse and gave it to a policeman - which is kind of weird. We assumed they got the number from a notebook in Sue's purse, yet when we went to three police stations in the area, not one had her purse.

On our unsuccessful journey to retrieve the purse, we learned that there are two types of Police in Barcelona: Guardia Civil and Mossos Esquadra. We went to both types of stations, and they each pointed to the other.  Our landlord Xavier also did some calling around, and apparently Sue's purse is in a lost-and-found somewhere.  But the money and cards have disappeared, and we've canceled the credit cards, so we may not even bother at this point.

It's an unfortunate episode that tarnishes an otherwise loveable city.