Sant Jordi Day

April 23rd is Sant Jordi Day here in Catalunya. This day is only celebrated here in Catalunya, so it is a big deal. I know I have written about the books and roses before, but each year I learn a bit more about the legend of Sant Jordi.

Back in medieval times there was a Catalan village who had to deal with a ferocious beast of a dragon. The dragon lived right outside the village walls and had to be fed, otherwise he would eat one of the villagers. Each day the people of the village would take food to the dragon. A spare hog. A sick chicken. Leftover stew. A dead bird, perhaps. This dragon ate everything in sight and eventually the people ran out of food to give to the dragon. The king decided that someone had to be sacrificed for the good of the village. Everyone wrote their name on a small piece of paper and these were placed in a box, which was taken to the king. Imagine the king's surprise and horror when the name he drew was...the princess. That's right, his very own daughter. Gasp! Now, the princess was a brave girl and she was ready to take one for the team. She marched out towards the dragon as the king cried. She reached the dragon and was preparing herself to be his next meal when a knight rode up on a beautiful white horse. The knight slayed the dragon with his sword and the dragon bled to death. His blood lay in a puddle and strangely enough, a rose bush with shockingly red roses began to instantly grow. Sant Jordi gave one of the roses to the princess and rode off to carry on with his adventures. The village was saved and from that day forth, the day was known as Sant Jordi Day, where all the men of the village would give a rose to their loved one.

Fastforward to modern day and the day is huge festival here in Catalunya. La Rambla is full of florists and the day is also el dia de los libros in the rest of Spain, so that is where the book tradition began. More books are sold on this day than all other days combined, so you can imagine the frenzy on La Rambla as people walk from table to table buying flowers and books. The entire city is packed and it is difficult to get anywhere. It is basically the Valentine's Day of Catalunya, times 10 (because we take holidays and festivals to the next level here in Catalunya!)

My Sant Jordi Day was fantastic, though Rory was in Belgium. We left for school a few minutes early, knowing there would be a bit more foot traffic. Eston purchased roses for his teachers and Aurelia was not about to be left out, so she bought roses for her teachers as well. The teachers were absolutely delighted as it is such a fun day of love and friendship.

Setmana Santa

It is Tuesday morning and life has returned to its normal pace. My parents departed for California on Friday evening and Rory left for Rioja and France on Saturday morning, so the children and I were left with a quiet Easter weekend. 

Before my parents left, we toured the cathedral and surrounding area. My parents had visited before, but it was a beautiful day in Girona and we enjoyed walking around. I do think the cathedral is a good place for kids over the age of four. Eston loves looking at the tapestries and hearing the stories of what happened here over the years.

 My dad purchased Eston a sword on his last visit, so this time around he took Eston to the shop to choose a shield. This purchase made his week and he has been playing with it non-stop as he begs me to tell him another story about the history of Girona. We have a huge history book about Girona and I am slowly (very slowly) reading it to Eston. The book is in Catalan, but thankfully it has some great pictures as well, hahah!

 There are several parades during Setmana Santa and we usually attend the ones that begin a bit earlier in the evening (8pm) instead of the 10pm parade. The kids love seeing the soldiers and horses. 

 On Easter morning the kids were so excited to run around the apartment in search of eggs. They were even more excited to discover the eggs held a jellybean or two! I let them have a bit of candy freedom and they were thrilled. We decided to balance it out with a long walk through town.

The walk tired them out, so we stopped at a cafe for their favorite drink--cafe con leche, sin cafe. Yes, just steamed milk. They go nuts for it. I think they just like the grown-up cups and the process of sitting in cafe and having conversation over "coffee." I had a cup of tea as they ran around the square in front of the cafe.

 We were thrilled to discover that one store was open on Easter. Very odd for Spain, but that's okay. The garden center was open. Kaitlin joined us for a trip out to the garden center, which actually has a bit of everything. The kids love looking at the fish and the ponies. Yes, I told you it has a bit of everything! We spent some of my birthday dough on new plants for the balcony. Eston picked out a ton of veggie plants and he is convinced that we will never have to buy food again. I hope he is right.

We spent the afternoon planting and re-potting things. It took us nearly two hours to get everything the way we wanted, but it was worth it. I am so thrilled with my lemon tree.

Cadaques. Just Go.

Cadaques is one of my favorite spots on the Costa Brava. There is just something about this particular place that brings a smile to my face. I love walking around the town and popping in to various boutiques. It is just about an hour from Girona and located on the gorgeous Cap de Creus peninsula. Many famous artists often visited this ancient fishing village, including Dali and Picasso, which adds to the charm of the rocky streets. Cadaques is now a tourist destination, so I will only visit September through April. The rest of the year the streets and beach are packed with vacationers and it takes away from the character. Visit in the off season if you can!

We left Girona by 9am and made it to Cadaques just a few minutes after 10am. The road to Cadaques is quite narrow, even for European standards, so I like to take my time. It was the perfect day to visit because the sun was strong and the wind was not! It can get quite windy here, so I was grateful for the reprieve. 

Eston and my dad explored the beach and surrounding area while my mom and I did a bit of shopping. Aurelia was at nursery school, so she missed the fun excursion this time around. We enjoyed a nice lunch on the water and then picked up a few fun things for family members back in California. The wind began to pick up at lunch, so I was glad we had arrived in the morning. The drive out of town was just as spectacular, though it was quite busy with tourists coming in for Setmana Santa.