Barcelona enters the account as a destination in Alice Espanet’s post-event life: she travels there frequently to see the Belgian psychiatrist treating her. The journey is described as a same-day chain from car to plane, taxi, and consultation, then back again—a route that makes the city part of her continuing treatment and isolation rather than a setting explored in its own right.

Role in Alice’s Treatment

Alice’s trips to Barcelona take place within a life described as withdrawn and closely supervised. She rarely leaves home, takes strong medication, and is watched by a nurse whenever Ritxi is at work. The consultations are one element of the care surrounding her; her psychiatrist says she is improving but will need more therapy and medication, and that the risk of relapse remains high.

Ritxi devotes his time, money, and love to trying to recover his wife after the twins’ deaths. In that effort, Barcelona becomes a recurring point of contact with psychiatric care, reached through a demanding sequence of transport and appointments completed in a single day.

A Place Known Through a Narrow Route

The account offers no broader portrait of Barcelona. It is known through Alice’s repeated journey from home to the psychiatrist’s consultation and back, and through information supplied by sources the narrator regards as interested: Ritxi and the psychiatrist. What happens inside Alice’s home, and what her life is like beyond the reported routine, remains uncertain. Barcelona therefore marks the limits as well as the presence of treatment: the visits are known, but they do not make Alice’s private life transparent.