For the past week or so temporary stands and booths have been being constructed in Plaza Nueva and in Plaza de San Francisco. I discovered first that, in addition to celebrating the Day of the Book on April 23, today begins the Sevilla Feria del Libro--a ten day festival celebrating the book. When I was in Barcelona, I discovered that they celebrate el día de San Jordi (Sait George in English-- you know the guy who killed the dragon) which also happens to be April 23; it is like their Valentine's day, except they exchange books and flowers. Anyway, the booths in Plaza Nueva and Plaza de San Francisco are filled with books from the bookstores around Sevilla. If you did not already realize, this is Lit Major Heaven, and I need not say that this could be very dangerous for my wallet. (Sevilla, you have a city-wide book fair!? Do you know how much I love you?)
This is not the only way in which Spain has stolen my heart. In Barcelona I visited the Chocolate Museum, or the Museu de Xocolata as it is known in Catalan. Besides the fact that sweet chocolate was a Spanish invention (the Spanish took the bitter chocolate used by the Aztecs and mixed it with milk and sugar which was the beginning of what we know as chocolate), the first mechanized chocolate factory was in Barcelona, Spain. Many of the displays are chocolate sculptures, including various well-known Barcelona buildings and illustrations from various stories. It is owned by the Gremi de Pastisseria de Barcelona (the city pastry-makers' guild) and on the other side of teh courtyard is the school for pastry chefs. The wall of the building is practically all windows, so I stood there watching them bake for a long time. It was like the Food Network, only better.
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