Crepes and Ice Cream

I remember seeing you when I left the building. I remember there was a crowd of thousands of people, but I still saw you as clearly as if you were the only one there; at least, that's how it felt. I remember we started to walk, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
When we got to our destination, you decided you wanted to eat and sat down on a bench. Then, shyly, you looked up and patted the surface next to you so I would sit down there. I remember it all, but the thing I remember the most is the look in your eyes when you did that. I might have blushed a little bit, but it was so endearing, so simple, so you.
I remember we went into the workshop and we sat silently next to each other. We took a selfie. I still have it on my phone. I remember that, when we had to turn around and look back, I moved a little bit closer to you, and you didn't move away. I felt that it was exactly my place. I felt like I belonged there as I'd never felt I belonged anywhere.
We left the workshop and still had time, so we found a place where we bought something to eat. It was December, so you ordered a hot chocolate crepe. But it was an unusually hot December, so I ordered an ice cream. Hot and cold. Somehow, that was the perfect depiction of how we were: really different, but coming from the same place after all.
We sat down on a hidden park bench and started to talk. The conversation flowed easily. There were no walls, there has never been any wall when it comes to you. I remember that, whenever I talked, you looked at me. You didn't just listen to me without paying attention, you were hearing every single word, and it felt like... like you saw me. You saw who I actually was, which is something not even I know. It was intimidating, because no one had ever paid attention to me that way before.
And we talked about that book we have in common, remember? That book that such few people have read and we both love so much. To some it could seem unimportant, but it was so crucial to us. That book explained something that was in both our souls. And we understood it.
After all this time, that's what I remember the most. That afternoon when I sat next to you and we ate a crepe and an ice cream. Still today, it's one of my most precious moments.


A big big hug,

Acqua

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

Stories

Hi there guys! I feel like I haven’t written a post about my thoughts in ages, and I really felt like it today.

You all know I love stories. From books, to movies, to TV series, to musicals… I love to get invested with the characters, to see their evolution, to see what happens to them. I love a good story more than anything.

I’ve wanted to be a writer for God knows how long. I wrote my first story when I was three; I’ve lost it now, but I remember it being an adventure for the main characters on one of my favourite cartoons back then (so I was already writing fanfiction, I’ve never thought of it like that!). I have these amazing ideas for novels that I plan… and then I get bored with them. I just plain abandon them and move on to the next one.

I love writing, but the thing I like the most is the creation process. You get the characters, you give them personalities, relationships, struggles, good memories, bad memories… you give them a story, in the end. And then you mix all those stories and create that complicated network, and you can see it in your head, and new ideas come to your mind as if they were always meant to be, and you just see where everything’s going. And it’s amazing.

But not everything is wonderful, and you all know that the good things always come with the bad things. I just make a story out of everything. I meet or just see someone and I imagine this story in my head, I imagine myself becoming friends with them, us having adventures… and okay, I know this isn’t that bad, but the problem comes when I don’t see someone in a long time and I create this picture in my head of how they are. And then I see them again and I realise they’re not at all what I thought them to be. That’s because I made up a character, forgetting the person. Of course, this is not the worst thing in the world, but it can be problematic and I try to stop doing it. I guess that’s the curse of all the people who love stories. We make a story out of everything!

This love for writing and stories brought me here. I feel like I’ve changed SO much in the two months I’ve been writing this blog! I’ve made some amazing friends, my English has gotten so much better (hey, some English natives told me they thought I was a native too and it made me really happy!), I’ve been able to express a lot… This is my 20th post, and I have now over 1600 views, which is insane. And sometimes I still wonder what makes a post better or worse, why some of them have more views than the others. For example, Easy and Happy, which you can see is my second most read post [update: third now, but still], only has 4 comments! And it still has a lot of views. Sometimes I feel like clicking on my favourite posts so they will have more views and will climb on the list (like Little Me, it’s fadiiiing!), but I never do, because in the end, you’re the ones who decide :) I don’t know, do you ever think about it too? I want to take this opportunity to thank you SO MUCH because my last post had 29 COMMENTS and a lot of views! I went bonkers when I saw all those comments popping up hahaha Thank you so so much!

But we’re getting off the rails, so back to the stories. I guess what happens when I make up stories and situations is just my imagination working. I guess I love stories so much I try to become one.

And as someone very wise once said… (props to you if you get the reference!) “We are all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one!”

If my life has been a story, it surely has had its ups and downs, but it’s been a hell of an amazing story :) And if you feel like yours hasn’t been good all the time, just keep swimming. I swear there is a bright future waiting for you!

A big big hug!


Acqua