ONE SPECIAL DAY

A Memorable Day in Barcelona
"Barcelona is a very safe city, I have to say, but I used to walk home alone sometimes. I was young and stupid, and would walk home - about an hour from where we had the night shoots - by myself. I never felt menaced or unsafe then. The only time I ever felt unsafe was one time when I was rollerblading down by the port. It seemed to me that I was being followed by two guys on bicycles. Being a New Yorker and thinking, Oh, I'm being followed, I looked over my shoulder one too many times and tripped and fell. Immediately, the people I thought were pursuing me ran up to help me and called an ambulance. I had fractured my jaw, and these two strangers took me from one hospital to the next and translated and did everything for me. I had to have stitches; I had to have all of this stuff done. I couldn't have been in a more friendly, helpful place to be injured. People couldn't have been nicer. Everybody was bending over backward to help me, and they didn't know that I was an actress or anything. I was completely unknown at the time, so it was just people being friendly and taking care of somebody."

MIRA SORVINO'S BARCELONA ESSENTIALS

LODGING
Hotel Arts, $304-$456;
(800)241-3333 or
011-34-93-221-1000

Hotel Colón, $89-$133;
011-34-93-301-14-04

DINING
Botafumerio, Spanish seafood;
$41-$51;
011-34-93-218-42-30

Cal Pep, Spanish seafood;
$18-$21; 011-34-93-310-7961

El Gran Café, French-Catalan;
$69 (fixed price menu);
011-34-93-318-7986

Flash Flash, eclectic;
$16-$21; 011-34-93-237-0990

Set Portes, Spanish;
$25-$45; 011-34-93-319-2950

NIGHTLIFE
Barcelona Pipa Club, jazz club;
011-34-93-302-4732

La Boite, discotheque;
011-34-93-319-1789