Barcelona's Day of Books & Roses

Today is an important holiday in Barcelona and Catalonia- Dia de Sant Jordi, a Catalan festive day that can most (although barely) be compared to Valentine's Day. Albeit not just a Catalan holiday (many other nation's celebrate the patron saint George), Catalans celebrate the day by women giving men books and men giving women roses. Entire streets are blocked off and filled with vender upon vendor selling sky-high stacks of books and bunches of roses in every imaginably dyed color. The sight is truly amazing. When I lived in Barcelona and experienced Dia de St. Jordi firsthand, I of course opted out of attending university classes that day to peruse the streets and take-in all the sights (it also didn't help that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona were playing in the championships that evening--a huge deal...think the Giants and Dodgers in the World Series together-- and staying in the hotel next to my apartment!) Famed Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi even immortalized the patron saint and corresponding valiant saint-fighting-dragon story in his architectural masterpiece, Casa Batllo.