The Festival of La Mercè, 24 Sept 2008, is dedicated to the patron saint of Barcelona, the Virgin of Mercy, and involves a fabulous assortment of popular Catalan traditions and mythology. The city celebrates by hosting one of the biggest parties of the year with street music and dancing, fairs, theatre, concerts and parades. Firework spectacles light up figures of dragons and devils, and gigantic folklore icons of Catalonia (gegants) are paraded through the city centre, while traditional teams of Castellers build human pyramids in St Jaume Plaza.
Posted 07/05/08
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Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam - Summer 2008. Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jacob van Ruisdael and Jan Steen - top works of art by these world-famous artists have now been brought together in a single wing of the Rijksmuseum. The 'Masterpieces' exhibit shows the very best paintings, sculptures, and applied art of the Northern Netherlands, as well as the history of the Golden Age. Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch' is naturally the highlight of the collection.
Posted 09/05/08
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The Catholic tradition is strong in Spain, even in the fun-loving, hedonistic resort of Sitges. Corpus Christi, May 25th 2008, is celebrated here, as in many other Spanish towns, with church services, religious processions and carpets of flowers. Here though, the flowers are particularly abundant, carpeting entire streets with colour and fragrance, and with patterns more fanciful and imaginative than most.
Posted 07/05/08
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