The kids left us a week ago, and I reckon that it's taken us that long to recover. The good news is that they had a great time, and there was even talk, (between them during the last meal with us), of quitting school in Berlin and coming to live with us in Barcelona. Hmmm... perhaps they should ask us how we truly feel about that idea. Phrases spring to mind that include words such as dead, body, over and my, with some additional curses for embellishment and emphasis.
Catalunya celebrated La Diada de Sant Jordi on April 23rd which is known as St. George's Day in England, and celebrated in about 20 countries and cities - mostly in Europe and the fringes of the Mediterranean.
Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalunya and, in the region, the day is celebrated in much the same way as St. Valentine's Day is celebrated elsewhere. Barcelona lovers are out in force, and it's a given that every opportunity for a lingering kiss must be taken.
Legend has it that in the spot where St. George slew a dragon just south of Barcelona, a rosebush grew from the blood of the beast. He picked the prettiest rose to give to the princess he had just rescued. This tradition carried on, and each Diada de Sant Jordi was celebrated with men and women giving each other roses to signify their love.
In 1923, a shrewd bookseller cashed in on the hype by promoting April 23rd also as the day on which 2 famous writers, Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, both died in 1616. UNESCO also jumped in on the act and claimed April 23rd as World Book Day. A new tradition was born in the Catalunya region and, instead of roses, women started giving books to their men. In cafés around Barcelona, it is common to hold 24 hour readings of Cervantes' Don Quixote on April 23rd.
We had some errands to run in the city, so we decided to stroll down Las Ramblas to see some of the festivities. The avenue was packed tighter than a sardine tin with book and flower sellers lined up in booths on each side with the public trying to move down the middle.
We opted to walk down the roadways on either side to avoid the crush, as well as to evade the pickpockets who we knew would be taking advantage of the crowds to increase their personal wealth.
Occasionally we'd venture into the middle if something caught our eyes - such as this flower seller who was printing little logos onto the roses that he was selling.
Once we neared the bottom of La Rambla, we veered off into Plaça Reial for a break. It's a delightful square surrounded by apartment buildings with busy restaurants and cafés on the ground floor.
Of course, our Sant Jordi day would not have been complete if we hadn't bought the traditional Pan de Sant Jordi - bread made in the colours of the Catalunya Flag.
J needed more coffee for her Nespresso machine, so we popped into the store to replenish her supplies.
From the crowds, it would appear that George Clooney has marketed well for the Nespresso brand. All those people are lined up to buy boxes of single shot aluminium capsules of coffee!
9 comments:
Somehow printed roses and blue roses just don't do anything for me, but the dragon-blood-red ones are awesome.
Great pics as always.
Word Verification - notomph: an anti-speeding slogan?
Oh my.
The blue roses are gorgeous. I love the colour blue, and that shade of indigo is my favourite.
The little one would have gone gaga over the Hello Kitty one. She is nuts about Hello Kitty.
Lovely pics nzm.
How are things otherwise. What are the chances of you giving me your
a) skype id
b) phone number??
Been too long since we spoke.
Hugs
It is always a pleasure reading your blog, always uplifting and very interesting...
Hey guys check out Clark Little's photographs on my blog, they are fantastic. I think you are BIG fans of photography! Bye.
Have you seen any multicouloured roses maybe called happy roses! Incredible! Dutch flower designer Peter Van de Werken created this multi-coloured effect by injecting vegetable dye into flower stalks. The pigment is absorbed and travels to the petals where it changes their hue.
Nice photos. Thanks for posting!
Spain...books...sights and sounds...5DMKII...
yet again, I'm jealous. :)
PB: The reds are my favourites too. Re the word veri - hope that it's not an indication of K's car!
kaya: Hello Kitty is BIG in BCN. There is a shop in the mall opposite us that is dedicated to HK. There are even phone covers! You now have my details!
Sandy: Thanks - and those pics are amazing. I haven't seen happy roses but those blue ones must be either dipped in dye or injected, I'm sure.
DJ: thanks for visiting!
Parv: come on over, I'll let you play with the 5D!
*very big sigh*
The bike hire was much cheaper in Italy, so we're touring there instead of Spain (*even bigger sigh*)
The pics are fab hon & I really smaak the blue roses - so different.
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