Day In My Life: Sant Jordi!

Good morning guys! I'm really excited about today's post because it's my first "day in the life" and because I get to share my favourite day with you! You all know that the 23rd of April is the International Book Day, but what you might not know is that this is a pretty important day in Catalonia, where I live, because it's Saint George's Day and Saint George (Sant Jordi) is our patron saint.

There is a legend that is told to every little kid at school: Once upon a time, there was a city that was threatened by a dragon. People used to give animals to feed the dragon, but soon there were no more animals to feed it and they decided that they should give a young maiden every day instead. They picked up a name from the box and it turned out to be the Princess. The King said that she should be spared, but she said that it was her turn and she would go. The King was devastated. When the dragon was about to kill the Princess, a young warrior riding a horse appeared and defeated the dragon. The warrior was Saint George. Roses grew from the dragon's blood and he gave one to the Princess. Some stories say he then went on to marry the Princess and rule the kingdom, but many more say that he then left the city to save more people that needed his help.

This is the reason that there is a beautiful tradition for Sant Jordi: boys give girls a rose, and girls give boys a book. Nowadays, everybody gives books and roses to their loved ones, and honestly, I think it's such a beautiful tradition. I always go to Barcelona for this day because it's full of little stalls selling books and roses (and when I say full I mean it, there are thousands of them.) There are stages with people performing, writers signing books, and the spirit of the day is so festive and cheerful. I absolutely love it! I was really excited and I kept my phone out all the time to capture everything so I could show it to you guys. Allons-y!

I got on the train with a friend at 8:32 a.m. so we could be in Barcelona by 10, because being a Saturday we knew there would be too many people later. 9:45, we got to Barcelona and we got straight to La casa del llibre (The book's house), my favourite library, so we could buy before it became impossible due to the overcrowding. We met another friend there. I bought the first part of Endgame, which I'm REALLY excited to read, and Insurgent and Allegiant in Catalan so my sister could read them (she's always angry at me because I keep buying books in English and she wants to read them hahaha).

Afterwards, we stopped by the Casa Batlló, a building by Gaudí, a really important Catalan architect (he designed the Sagrada Família and Parc Güell, among other things). They covered it with (artificial, of course) roses for the occasion and it was beautiful!

We took a lot of pictures there and then went to the central square, Plaça Catalunya.

There, we stopped by the TV and radio stages, to see the shows being filmed and recorded there live. It's always fun to see TV people really close to you, even if you don't get to talk to them!

Then, we went to the Rambles, and we got to a stage where we saw a couple of nice bands last year, but unfortunately the bands were scheduled for later.

Barcelona was full of these, it says: When I read, I'm everything I want to be, and then in small: A princess in armour, a prince in love with roses and a vegetarian dragon. I absolutely loved it!

 
We walked in the Rambles for a bit, and then went to the Cathedral Square because there are always shows. We saw a lot of people dressed up (in a rose-selling stall there were a couple of guys dressed up as princesses and it was hilarious hahaha). Then, we went to see a friend of my friend's, who was working at a pharmacy shop (she actually gave us a couple of product samples, so watch out for nearby reviews ;) ).

We went back to Plaça Catalunya and stopped by the Disney Store on our way because we just couldn't help it hahaha

Then we visited FNAC, a place where they sell cultural and electronic products, to see if the had the other two parts of Endgame, but it was SO full of people we could barely walk, so we went out and I thought I would buy them on Amazon. We actually spent a lot of time to get out of there, it was late (12:30) and Barcelona was starting to be suffocatingly full, so we decided to take the train back home!

A cute bag I bought to carry the books! It's supposed to be Saint George kissed by the Princess after he saves her!

When I got home I went to the local library with my mum and sister to see what they purchased. My mum wasn't sure which book to pick up, so I told her she could choose one to buy and I gave her the other one as a gift. My sister picked up Omnia by Laura Gallego García, which I'm definitely reading when she finishes it!

In the afternoon I slept a bit because I was exhausted and I had an exciting evening ahead: my choir was singing a Sant Jordi concert, and I needed to be at my best! We had been working so hard and we were excited to show the result. Quite a lot of people came, and everybody liked it very much! Many people said they were so emotional they almost cried, so that's good hahaha In the end, they wouldn't stop clapping! I think it was one of our biggest successes and I'm really proud of me and the girls because I think we did really well and people saw it. It was amazing!

So this was my day! I figure you understand why I'm behind in commenting on your blogs hahaa I'm gonna get to it this afternoon! I hope you enjoyed this post, tell me if you've done anything exciting this weekend! Have a nice week!

A big big hug,


Acqua