soundtrack as i write this: victim of love by the cars
… continued from dressed in vino
after literally every man, and by every … i mean every single man we saw was carrying roses – one search online on the party we weren’t invited to and all was revealed.
turns out, it was st. jordi’s day — only celebrated in barcelona and the catalan region, not the rest of spain.
so what’s the deal?
it’s basically catalonia’s version of valentine’s day, but way cooler and far more poetic. every april 23rd, the streets turn into a sea of flower stalls and book stands. the tradition? men gift women a rose, women gift men a book — though nowadays everyone just trades both (and sometimes a few extra presents because, why not).
the festival of love, books & roses celebrates sant jordi (st. george) — catalonia’s patron saint — who, legend has it, slayed a dragon to save a princess (obviously). from the dragon’s spilled blood grew a rosebush, and he plucked a single rose for her.
outside catalunya, april 23rd is mostly just world book day, so the full-blown roses-and-books extravaganza is really a catalan cultural gem — how lucky and ridiculously romantic for us to be in town for it. we already had a busy day and a date night planned for tomorrow, so the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
set scene: 23rd april 2025 in barcelona
happy st jordi! after a phone call to my sister, because she now not only shares a bday with shakespeare and world book day but barcelona goes red with roses for her – anyway, we got ready dressed in my best (and only packed) red outfit, we set off for the day.
today’s agenda was more relaxed as we had done most of the touristy spots, museums we (could book) and cultural spots. so alongside the 20k+ steps, people watching, feeling the love and immersing ourselves in the occasion, we ate a lot of good food.
a cup of coffee in hand and then quickly chugged, we spent the slightly chilly late-april morning inside the picasso museum. i love art museums. not so much the contemporary or abstract kind, but the ones that hold pieces from the previous century – drawn, painted, and created in a time i wasn’t around to see and can barely imagine. it’s basically time travel if you think about it: one day, he’s standing in front of the canvas 100 years ago, brush in hand and a century later, you’re standing in the same spot, staring at his last stroke.
something that surprised me was how long picasso was actually around. he was born in 1881 and lived until 1973. the man spanned two world wars, the invention of cars, telephones, television, and basically every major cultural shift of the 20th century. imagine keeping up with that much change.
after our museum moment, we treated ourselves to lunch at cañete and if you’re planning a trip to barcelona, you’ve probably already heard of it. if not, you’re welcome. it’s a well-known tapas bar with delicious food and even better wine. we somehow managed to snag a booking for their opening hour (a small miracle) and i’m so glad we did because it absolutely lived up to the hype.
oh, and yes – mr boyfriend did get me a rose, first thing in the morning. i had to part ways with it during our museum visit, but we were reunited for lunch.
on that note, i’ve realized i’ve been quite the rambler on this one, so i’m going to press pause here and wrap up the food reviews and the rest of the day in the next post. see you then,
by loshani
by loshani, 
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