I just came back from Europe and would like to share my experience in this coffee shop to help the tourists in Barcelona. Before I start, I want to make it clear that I'm sharing my story because I want to help people avoid what I went through in this coffee shop. My intention is not to blame anyone and any business or say bad things about the police in Barcelona.
I recently went to Barcelona to watch a soccer game. In a late afternoon, my brother, my husband and I planned to go to Sagrada Familia. While we had an hour free time (our admission time to Sagrama Familia was 5:45PM), we decided to go to this coffee shop, which is across from Sagrada Familia for a short coffee break.
When we walked into the coffee shop, we saw people sitting around. Everyone looked relaxing. There were about 3 staffs (2 guys and 1 girl). We found a table with 4 seats near the front door and sat there. When my husband and my brother went to order drinks, I sat on a chair against the wall and put my small backpack next to me (My backpack and I were on the same chair. It's a small Longchamp navy backpack. It's light-weight and doesn't take up much space so that's why I was able to put it next to me on top of my sweatshirt). There's camera was on top of where I sat. I thought I was pretty safe so I could relax. My brother came back shortly. We chatted for a couple minutes and then checked our phone. My husband came back with the drinks a few minutes later, and we just sat there and never left our table. About an hour later..when we were about to leave Costa Coffee to go to Sagrada Familia, I realized "my backpack was gone". I was confused and horrified. Although I didn't have a lot of cash, I brought two credit cards, my driver license, my passport and my husband's passport out in case we decided to go shopping. I couldn't think clearly when I first found out my backpack was stolen. At first I thought I left it on the tour bus, but I knew that it happened in Costa Coffee as soon as I recalled I took out my coin purse to get something for my brother in the coffee shop. I thought I was dreaming because how could I not feel anything when someone stole it from the chair that I was sitting at. My brother was sitting across from me for the whole time. My husband was sitting next to me. There are people in the coffee shop. The camera was just above where I was sitting. How could this happen?!
My brother went to the staffs in Costa Coffee immediately. One of the staffs (possibly the supervisor of Costa Coffee) heard what happened and went to the front door. There was a homeless man sitting outside of the coffee shop the entire time we were there. We don't understand Spanish, but it seemed like he asked the homeless man if he had seen anyone (You could probably guess what his answer was). After he came back inside, he said some Spanish words to a local who was sitting across from us. The girl immediately moved her backpack to her legs. I was wondering why he didn't say the same thing in English to warn others since there are many tourists in the shop. We didn't know what to do. I was so scared. I know a few customers saw my face and were wondering what had happened. My mind was blank. We were only staying in Barcelona for 2 more nights and we had to fly to Athens after the FCB vs. Man City game. I lost 2 passports. How were we going to continue our trip? How could we fly to Greece and return to Los Angeles? I started to shake and blame myself in my head. I travel many times and always try to be very careful. I was just having coffee in a coffee shop and my purse was with me. How could this happen?
We were helpless. We didn't know what to do except for sitting there. The staffs in Costa Coffee didn't come to us. They looked at us, avoided making eye contacts, and did nothing. When we went up to them, they told us that they could not let us see the camera. We asked if they could call the police. The answer was "No" (I guess things are different in Spain). The staffs told us that the only thing we could do is to go to a police station and report the lost. They gave us the address of a police station nearby and that was it. We asked for the address of the coffee shop in case the police asked. They did not even write down anything. The staff said, just tell them it's Costa Coffee-Sagrada Familia. I assume this must be a "famous pickpocket spot" to the police in Barcelona that they don't even need to have an address and they know where it is at.
We missed our opportunity to visit Sagrada Familia. We had to go to the police station instead. We took two subways and waited 3 hours in the police station for a police report. If you will go to this coffee shop, please pay close attention to your personal belongings. No one will do anything to help you even they have cameras inside the coffee shop. read more