La Rambla or Las Ramblas (or Les Rambles in Catalan)

Yesterday I rode on the open air bus on the Red Line, which covers much of the southern part of Barcelona.  Here are a couple of photos I took between my hotel and catching the bus.  Las Ramblas (Les Rambles in Catalan) is Barcelona's most well-known and busiest street.  The name comes from the Arabic word "ramla", which means the dried up bed of a seasonal river.  Betlem Church on Las Ramblas is my point of reference for getting back to my hotel.  When I see it, I know that I just have a few more blocks to walk south and then turn west on to Carrer de Hospital.  I picked a good place to stay -- close to Las Ramblas but removed from it enough to be in a quiet stretch of street.