Soaking it up

It was not so far to walk from the end of the train line to the museum, so we did. There is always something to see.

Notice the Papereria on the upper right-hand tile that was outside

this paper good store. I love that!

I like the music building, too.

We could not take pictures in the Picasso Museum,

but I snapped a couple of the exterior and

I couldn't resist this picture from inside the museum. There we were, among amazing
artwork in a beautiful building, but everyday needs still must be met. I love seeing laundry!

I could not take pictures of Picasso's pigeon series, which was new to me,
but I did take a picture in the gift shop. You can read more about the pigeons here.

After the museum we were going to catch a different train and again chose to walk and stumbled across this belated Earth Day celebration. There was a lot of delicious vegan food and a variety of things for sale. Unlike at home there did not seem to be a lot of environmental groups educating people and sharing their ideas.

Our trip finished with a visit to the electronics store, which was filled with many temptations.

I will miss the ease and low cost (two euros) of getting to Barcelona!

Books

These were a couple of promotions related to the holiday.

Not only was the weather good, some people had a nice setting for book buying and selling.

There were many organizations selling books,

including local political groups.

There were discount books, 

books for kids,

old books, and

miniature books.

This is what we ended up, thanks to a used book store in London.

Roses

Part of the pleasure of the day was seeing the variety.

roses to plant

rose with Sant Jordi reading a book

lots and lots of organizations selling roses

so many roses, including spray painted? dipped? roses

Some roses came with a sprig of wheat, which is a symbol of being lucky financially.

Some people sold clay or cloth roses and crocheted Sant Jordi, damsels, and dragons.

These are the roses from the 3D printer and laser cutter.

I wish I could buy things from this store near the monastery!

Sant Jordi

Also known as St. George.

A few days before the holiday our teacher explained that the tradition was for women (not just wives and girlfriends, but also mothers, aunts, and maybe friends) to receive roses and men to receive books. Slowly there is a change and books are given to women, too (or mostly girls), but it seems like men do not receive roses. The language school had a little book swap and I got Born to Run, the one about actual runners, not a rock star.

We were told the holiday is the only day that there are more Catalonians than tourists on La Rambla in Barcelona. Being able to tour city hall was also an unusual event that day, but there were plenty of events in Sant Cugat, too. In the end we decided to try to squeeze everything in.

The lines were long at city hall and people were encouraged to go a few blocks over to a building with a lookout area.

Not what we had planned, but not bad, either.

After walking with the crowds we headed to Sant Cugat, which was also crowded, but not in an uncomfortable way. There were more activities, including drummers, bastoners, and plenty of people in costume (Sant Jordi, the distressed maiden, and the dragon).

There were quite a few political groups selling flowers and books, a group of kids selling their homemade flowers, and local artists selling Sant Jordi-related items. We were surprised to see people with a 3D printer and laser cutter selling things from their facility.

If we had skipped going to Barcelona would it have been enough? It is hard to say. As time zips by there is a feeling of not being able to do everything before we leave.  Better to squeeze in a quick visit than be sitting in California a year later wishing we had!

Holiday traditions

Around here you can tell a big holiday is coming when Loteria de Catalunya has a big advertising campaign.

Big sign in the grocery store.

Free bookmarks at the checkout counter.

This is just a portion of the advertising at the train station on the walls

- all the walls, and also on the stairs and along the halls.

The tickets are sold alongside the roses.

According to the lottery site:

Draw on April 27
The draw of The Fat of St. George will be held on April 27, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Catalonia Lottery. The new product, which repeats the payout structure of the Fat Year, has a circulation of 12 million, 10 million and 2 million in paper virtual support. In total have been released 80,000 numbers, at a price of 5 euros per ticket. 

There will be five grand prizes. The first will be worth 20,000 € per euro played, ie € 100,000 € 5 per ticket. The second prize awarded 6500 € per euro played (32 500 € 5 € per ticket); the third, € 3000 per euro played (15 000 € 5 € per ticket); the fourth will play 1,000 € per euro (€ 5,000 € 5 per ticket), and the fifth 500 € per euro played (€ 2,500 € 5 per ticket).

We found other ways to enjoy the holiday.

Time to Eat

A few more London photos

Near the Royal Exchange

A little embarrassed that I wasn't paying attention and we missed the tolling of 12 noon.

St Pancras

Half-size replica of the famous Arsenal clock that was at the old stadium

Ethiopian food in Greenwich

Nando's was on A.'s must-do list.

Temptations we passed on.

Temptation that could not be resisted.

Not shown - Cadbury, Mars, Aero, and other tempting English candy. No fish and chips this trip. I guess we'll have to go back!

Diversions

I forgot to mention one of our favorite diversions while we were in London.

Theoretically tickets are made available each week, but realistically
we could not get or afford tickets, much to A.'s disappointment.

A. has been reading a lot of Agatha Christie books this year so this
was a popular second choice. We thoroughly enjoyed the suspense of the play.

Plenty of other things made me smile, too.

an enormous paella

repurposed log at overground station

I saw plenty of Look Left and Look Right notices, but not many like this.

I have never seen a time capsule that lists what is inside in such an open manner.

Seen all over Alexandra Park.

This sight made my jaw drop. I first went to Trafalgar Square as a five-year-old and my memory is of pigeons everywhere. This was the only pigeon I saw. Literally. I took this one picture and wasn't sure it was any good so I looked for another pigeon so I could get another shot. I did not see another pigeon. What will they do next, add a statue to the fourth plinth?