Marta's place is in a great location and although we were there for the MotoGP we managed to fit in a lot more sight seeing than we expected. Marta doesn't speak very good English but she greeted us with her lovely daughter who's English is excellent. They gave us a guided tour of the apartment which is spacious, clean and in a great location. They even pointed out some great sights on the map and suggested we visit the commercial center which wasn't on our list but it was the first thing we did and was the best evening we had - the roof top view of the fountains and 360 degree view of Barcelona is excellent. We also had dinner in one of the many restaurants on the roof and then walked up the steps past the fountains. Marta's parking spot is in the next block to her apartment and a very short walk and is located in the basement so it's very safe and away from the street - it is in a tricky corner but once you get the hang of reversing in it wasn't an issue. We had a hire and although every city has it's issues we didn't have any in Barcelona although it is very busy and driving was a bit like playing a video game. The race track is located about 30 minutes away and once out of the city it's pretty straight forward however the only issue we experienced was getting in and out of the actual circuit and even though we left early we spent 4 hours on race day in grid lock trying to get to the car park whilst only being 1km from the track!!
There are plenty of little bars/restaurants in the area around the apartment and we walked to from La Rambla with no issues and took a cab and also a rickshaw to the port/beach which was also a great night out. There is some noise from the street at night as we had to have the french doors open in the bedroom for some cool air but it didn't ruin our sleep or bother us in any way.
All in all it was a great stay and would certainly go back. Thanks again Marta and to your lovely daughter!