Well, I’m finally back from my school trip to Barcelona and I’m still alive after spending four days with sixty students. Honestly, the students were for the most part well-behaved and we, the teachers, really didn’t have to discipline anyone very much at all — so, it was a good trip.
I wanted to write a little something in this post about an interesting holiday that I just happened to be in Barcelona to see. It’s the day of Saint George (“Sant Jordi” in Catalán) and it’s celebrated on April 23. You see, Barcelona is quite well-known for its Saint George celebration because there it is customary for men to give women a rose on this day. Thus, as you can see in the above picture, “Las Ramblas” in Barcelona gets FULL of people buying roses at outdoor stands that are setup just for the occasion. Continue reading this post…
I went to a Semana Santa (Holy Week) procession here in Burgos yesterday and have placed the video of it above for you to take a look at. Semana Santa in Spain is always something curious for Americans like me because the processions that are celebrated here are not like anything that we have in the States.
I still remember the first time that I saw a Semana Santa procession here in Spain. It was back when I was living and studying in Valladolid in the year 2007. It was actually a bit of a scary experience for me… after all, I wasn’t expecting to see people dressed like the KuKlux Klan walking through the streets of Spain. In fact, I remember that the absolute first procession that I ever went to was with an Irish friend of mine who, like me, also had never seen a Semana Santa procession before. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the “cloaked individuals” coming out of that church in Valladolid, slowly making their way into view, and my Irish friend saying to me with a look of astonishment on her face and a thick Irish accent, “Oh my God, who are those people???” Continue reading this post…
As you can see from the above picture, it’s Christmas time in Spain and even the Corte Inglés is getting into the “Christmas Spirit” with a makeover of holiday lights. It seems to me as though Spaniards start a little later than we do in the USA with regard to “decking the halls” and all that jazz. Of course, us Americans start preparing for Christmas extremely early – I know of department stores in the USA that start putting out Christmas merchandise in September and October – so maybe the Spaniards have the right idea by just starting now. Continue reading this post…
What do jugglers, story tellers, merry-go-rounds, and stilt-walkers all have in common? They were all part of a festival held this weekend in Burgos called Enclave de Calle. In a nutshell, this two-day festival is comprised of a bunch of circus/street performers wandering around the city and practicing their craft. As you can see from the photo above, there was a also merry-go-round at the festival and the Spanish children really seemed to enjoy it. This merry-go-round was actually made in France if I’m not mistaken, so the artwork and carvings on it were very detailed and interesting. Continue reading this post…
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