On Sunday, April 23rd the city of Barcelona celebrated Sant Jordí, which is essentially the Catalonian version of America's Valentine's day. the day is marked by a festival of romance, roses and books all inspired by the legend of Saint George. Sant Jordí is the other patron saint of Catalunya alongside the Blessed Virgin of Montserrat (see "Day Trip to Montserrat" blog post). The day of Sant Jordí is celebrated on April 23rd to commemorate the death of the saint in the year 303 A.D. The legend of Sant Jordí is that he slew a dragon in order to save a princess and subsequently picked a red rose for the princess from the rose bush, which had sprouted in the spot where the dragon's red blood had pooled on the floor.You could see many forms of celebrating Sant Jordí in the streets of Barcelona, particularly on Las Ramblas. The street was blocked off from vehicle traffic and there were countless vendors of red roses and romantic books that went all the way down the street. Many other buildings throughout Barcelona put up red roses to commemorate the day such as the famous Gaudí designed building of Casa Batlló.
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