Saint Jordi slayed the dragon for a princess...

And now everyone claims him as their own.  He’s the patron saint of Catalunya (and all kinds of other places) and today is his day of celebration.  Millions of roses and over 800,000 books are sold today in Barcelona.  The boys give the roses...like Sant Jordi slayed the dragon, the girls give the books...because in the 1920s, a clever bookseller noticed that Shakespeare and Cervantes both died on his day too.  We “swam” in a hoard of people (think Times Square at New Years) through Plaza Catalunya to the Palau de la Generalitat, which opens its doors once a year to the public on this day.  A beautiful gothic structure, the seat of government and Sant Jordi is everywhere, in paintings, statues, carvings and tapestries.