Category Archives: Spain
Menorca Bàsquet
Menorca Bàsquet became the first team coming from the Balear islands that will play the ACB (spanish first division basketball league), after leading 3-0 in the semi-finals of the LEB (second division) against León Caja España. They won the last game 69-73. I hope they will be able to stay during a few years in ACB.
photos – St. Jordi. day of the book and the rose
You could read the article that I have written previously on St.Jordi International Day of the Book and the Rose here !
People in touch with books. St. Jordi, Day of Book and Roses, Las Ramblas, Barcelona.
St. Jordi Day of Book and Rose.. Las Ramblas, Barcelona.
A florist on Las Ramblas, Barcelona.
This lady is lucky !!! She is having hard time choosing as much books as the roses that she received ! 😉 ,La Rambla de Catalunya, Barcelona.
La Rambla de Catalunya, other once-a-year florist, Barcelona.
Barcelona Day of Book and Rose, Sant Jordi
Tomorrow, 23rd of April is the longly awaited day of Book and Rose, St. George’s Day (Dia de Sant Jordi). Although the streets of Barcelona are used to bring joy to visitors, during Sant Jordi feast all the elements that form the city come together magically. It is my favourite day. (It is not only because I like receiving a nice book as a present!)
Every single corner of Barcelona is converted into small and attractive market-places where books and roses are the only merchandise that worth considering. People converge in front of those spontaneous and colourful florists, book stores and hoping to find “that” rose or book to present to their beloveds. (Woman receive a nice red rose while they present a book ..) What a nice occasion to show love and affection : exchanging words and flowers.
It is also a good moment for publishers and writers that hope to present their recent works and promote the older ones. We should not forget the florists neither. Nearly 4 million roses and 400,000 books are in question.
Besides, lots of other activities like expositions, conferences are organised in order to feed the book worms and “serious” intellectuals who are not satisfied with what is going on and might say that this is a marketing trick.
As 2005 is celebrated as the year of reading and books in Barcelona, those activities are held all along the year and not concentrated. 400th anniversary of the first publication of Don Quijote de la Mancha of Miguel de Cervantes is one of the main leitmotifs.
When we learn a bit more on what Book and Rose day is all about, the tribute to Cervantes would make more sense:
It is named after St. George who is the patron of Barcelona. According to the legend, St.George bravely saves a young and beautiful lady who was about to be gulped by a huge and terrible dragon! Where dragon died bleeding, suddenly appears a bush of rose. St.George who is a real “caballero” picks a rose and presents it to the young and beautiful lady… This legend seem to justify half of the story and until 1920s it was celebrated as the feast of the city and the Rose day.
The second part of the story is about some other caballeros who were using words instead of swords: two genious, William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes happen to die the same day: April 23, 1616. This motivated some to conmemorate their death in combination with the Sant Jordi day and it leaded until UNESCO adopted 23rd of April as World Book and Copyright Day in 1990s.
So… briefly, it is a perfect day to be in Barcelona. It is just like being in Paris any 21st of June when there is “la fête de la musique” that converts the city into a huge music box!
and here another link of interest :
Bookcrossing in Barcelona
Menorca Photo
Summer house during winter time, Mahon, Menorca Island, Spain.
Photos and notes – Tenerife
We are back in Barcelona… now it is the turn of Bam,the blogkeeper to travel and spend some time hanging out with its pals, for instance in a volcanic island ..
I am uploading a few photos from Tenerife island to justify my absence.. Briefly, we had pretty good time.
Tenerife is one of the seven islands forming the Canary Islands. There are lots of things to do and places to visit. Being a known spot for massive tourism, it is surely not the same what it was… and as far as I am concerned it is not known to be the best protected of all the Canary Islands neither.
Teide mountain -the highest mountain in Spain with 3800 metres- is an impressive volcano beautifully forming the silhoutte of Tenerife..
Skirts of Teide are surrounded by rocky slopes, some other volcanos and valleys and it is known as lunar landscape and full of lava formations creating unusual and dramatic scenes..
Allover the island there are banana plantations (except the buildings that optimistically we filter out in real-time !) and on the north coast, which seems greener they have wine production especially around Orotava valley and Tacoronte – Acentejo villages ! The reds that we tasted had a peculiar taste and they were easy going that we liked so much.
Here are some photos :
The view of Teide volcano as seen from the town center of La Orotava. In the old district of the town there are old Canarian mansions and houses dating back to 17th century, and it is probably an ideal place to observe architecture of the early hispanic period.
Some views from the Parque Nacional de Teide, with the volcano itself and all the lava formations and desertic landscape !
Dramatic cliffs of Los Gigantes. Ugly urban traces are cropped out !! The scene is still beautiful.
Mazca village is a very well protected and pictoresque point of Tenerife thanks to a very narrow,curvy and steep road. It is inside Parque Rural de Teno.
Sierra de Anaga. It is totally the opposite corner of Parque Rural de Teno. Beautiful landscape where the mountains and the ocean prefer to have a serious clash ! The photo is made from pico del ingles.
With Dorada -most popular beer in Tenerife- inspiration is endless :p This is the christmas labeling of the brand with 3 kings !
And a canarian mermaid watching a fisherman`s boat…!