I know it's been a week but things were a whirlwind right after they started settling down! We just had a crazy weekend here of bulls and campeones (champions)! In case you are wondering, when I get home, I'll post pictures so you can see what I was talking about! I don't have a way to do so here.
Wednesday 7/7:
Normal day with class and an extra-long siesta, which cut into our abilities to be productive before heading out for the Germany vs. Spain futbol game that evening. We found a bar a metro station over with some other USAC people. It turned out to be pretty nice despite the shady appearance with neon lights on the outside. We had nice seats so I was able to actually watch the game instead of going off reactions of the crowd. Talked to some locals while getting my drink, which was funny. People are a lot more friendly than I thought. I've learned that in general, people here want to practice their english as much as we want to practice Spanish, so a lot of patience is involved both ways. Unfortunately I started feeling sick on Wednesday, so I stuck to just one mojito. They played great defense, could be better with shooting. It was great to witness another Spain victory, but this time sending them to the final game! The city was going crazy yet again. People running in the streets, horns heard for miles, flags, songs.
Thursday 7/8:
Rob arrived in Madrid in the afternoon so I hopped on the metro soon after class to pick him up. It was great to see him again in 3D rather than on a Skype call! His flight was delayed almost an hour so I got some homework done as I waited. We came back and chilled out for a bit, then went out to Tigre with the apartment buddies so he could get some tapas and hang out. I wasn't feeling to well, so I scheduled an appt for the doctor for Friday morning.
Friday 7/9:
I found the doctor alright in the morning. It looked like an apartment building with a doorbell that let me in to the waiting room. The doctor didn't speak as well of english as everyone claimed, but we communicated well. It felt like I had a sinus infection, but it turned out I just had a cold type thing that Susan (USAC) had, which was worse because I would just have to ride it out. He gave me some antihistamines for my throat, but I didn't really feel better until today.
We made our train for Pamplona (just barely) out of the Atocha Renfe station. It was a 3hr train ride, which was cool because I got to see some of the countryside on the way. A lot of flat, brown land but also some mountains in the distance. My favorites were the fields of sunflowers. We sat across from a dad and daughter who was finishing grad school. He had stacks of information on Running of the Bulls, maps of the course and a schedule of festivities.
We arrived in Pamplona in the evening where the weather was a lot cooler (thank God). We didn't have a good map, so we had some trouble deciding how to get to where we needed to go. We eventually got on the right bus and with some help from a friend in Madrid through texting, found the succession of streets that led to our hostel, which ended up being a little isolated in a strange location. It was nice though, had a bar-restaurant on the bottom floor. Double bed, bathroom, AC, TV, good water, near a little town called Burlada that had stores and restaurants. We went out and got stuff for breakfast and snacking during the day, got our white shirts and pants and our red scarves and belts, picked up some pizza from PizzaMovil on the way back (made things easy, got a good deal) and relaxed to prepare for an early morning with the bulls.
Saturday 7/10:
We headed to another bar down the street that had some tapas and drinks. We got free bufandas (scarves) from the bartender that have faces of the soccer players on it. Kyle got an amazing chocolate pastry that was only 1 euro, so naturally he got another one and we all shared.
Thursday 7/8:
Rob arrived in Madrid in the afternoon so I hopped on the metro soon after class to pick him up. It was great to see him again in 3D rather than on a Skype call! His flight was delayed almost an hour so I got some homework done as I waited. We came back and chilled out for a bit, then went out to Tigre with the apartment buddies so he could get some tapas and hang out. I wasn't feeling to well, so I scheduled an appt for the doctor for Friday morning.
Friday 7/9:
I found the doctor alright in the morning. It looked like an apartment building with a doorbell that let me in to the waiting room. The doctor didn't speak as well of english as everyone claimed, but we communicated well. It felt like I had a sinus infection, but it turned out I just had a cold type thing that Susan (USAC) had, which was worse because I would just have to ride it out. He gave me some antihistamines for my throat, but I didn't really feel better until today.
We made our train for Pamplona (just barely) out of the Atocha Renfe station. It was a 3hr train ride, which was cool because I got to see some of the countryside on the way. A lot of flat, brown land but also some mountains in the distance. My favorites were the fields of sunflowers. We sat across from a dad and daughter who was finishing grad school. He had stacks of information on Running of the Bulls, maps of the course and a schedule of festivities.
We arrived in Pamplona in the evening where the weather was a lot cooler (thank God). We didn't have a good map, so we had some trouble deciding how to get to where we needed to go. We eventually got on the right bus and with some help from a friend in Madrid through texting, found the succession of streets that led to our hostel, which ended up being a little isolated in a strange location. It was nice though, had a bar-restaurant on the bottom floor. Double bed, bathroom, AC, TV, good water, near a little town called Burlada that had stores and restaurants. We went out and got stuff for breakfast and snacking during the day, got our white shirts and pants and our red scarves and belts, picked up some pizza from PizzaMovil on the way back (made things easy, got a good deal) and relaxed to prepare for an early morning with the bulls.
Saturday 7/10:
For a little historical context and backgroud: The Running of the Bulls takes place for a week in July every year as a part of the Festival of Saint Fermin (Festival de San Fermin), which commemorates the son of the first Christian Roman general. Fermin was martyred for professing his faith. There are a lot of theories for the white clothes and red scarf and belt, but the main one I have heard is that the white is for the purity and faith of fermin, while the red relates to the bulls and butchering. The bull run is called "El Encierro" which means "the enclosed." There are 6 bulls and 6 steers that are released, the tame steers used to contain the young bulls because if a bull is left alone, they are more dangerous. They usually run the half mile course in a few minutes, starting right at 8am every morning of the festival. They finish in the Plaza del Toros, the stadium where the bullfighting happens later in the evening. The photo above is the site of their opening and closing ceremony.
We woke up around 5:45am to catch a bus at 6:30am to the city. Busrides here are usually 1,20 euros so it's pretty cheap. After getting into our white and red getup and Rob in his running shoes, we had some baguette, bananas, and granola bars for breakfast. We made our way along the course among the hoards of people. The streets were slick from water and all types of alcohol. People were climbing on statues, signs, and walls while others were passed out in the grass as a result of the previous night. There were barracades along the course that are taken down soon after the running to open up during the day's festivities. Rob snuck into the course through a barracade after we set up a meeting spot. I began my search for a good spot to watch, eventually finding a place to stand on a metal railing. I found a side street next to a sweet family with a girl from Spain who was probably in her early teens. It was her first time there too! A little before 8, her mom helped us up onto the railing. 2 shots fired out at 8:00am on the dot, releasing the bulls! I could see the runners on the street below, but was at too steep of an angle to see the bulls go by. It was so fast anyway, said to be at about 15 mph. Rob made it out alive, has a scratch from when he was pushed into the barracade by people yelling "Corre! Corre!" He came extremely close to the bulls, enough to see that there are covers on the tips of the horns, lessening the possibility of true goring. He started near the start of the course and ran all the way into the stadium where much to everyone's surprise, they shut the gates and release the bulls back into the crowd of runners. When he found me at our meeting spot, the first thing he said was "Sorry, I was trapped in a coloseum with a bunch of angry bulls!"
We woke up around 5:45am to catch a bus at 6:30am to the city. Busrides here are usually 1,20 euros so it's pretty cheap. After getting into our white and red getup and Rob in his running shoes, we had some baguette, bananas, and granola bars for breakfast. We made our way along the course among the hoards of people. The streets were slick from water and all types of alcohol. People were climbing on statues, signs, and walls while others were passed out in the grass as a result of the previous night. There were barracades along the course that are taken down soon after the running to open up during the day's festivities. Rob snuck into the course through a barracade after we set up a meeting spot. I began my search for a good spot to watch, eventually finding a place to stand on a metal railing. I found a side street next to a sweet family with a girl from Spain who was probably in her early teens. It was her first time there too! A little before 8, her mom helped us up onto the railing. 2 shots fired out at 8:00am on the dot, releasing the bulls! I could see the runners on the street below, but was at too steep of an angle to see the bulls go by. It was so fast anyway, said to be at about 15 mph. Rob made it out alive, has a scratch from when he was pushed into the barracade by people yelling "Corre! Corre!" He came extremely close to the bulls, enough to see that there are covers on the tips of the horns, lessening the possibility of true goring. He started near the start of the course and ran all the way into the stadium where much to everyone's surprise, they shut the gates and release the bulls back into the crowd of runners. When he found me at our meeting spot, the first thing he said was "Sorry, I was trapped in a coloseum with a bunch of angry bulls!"
After sleeping most of the day and Rob waking up to find his entire body sore from recovering after the adrenaline rush, we went back into the city to enjoy the festivities. The bullfight was really expensive, so we opted out of that. We walked the course of the bull run, stopped in some souvenir shops, got some sandwiches and churros con chocolate. We stumbled upon the beginning of the course when they were putting the steers back, so I was able to see some bulls in real life! I didn't need to run, I was satisfied with seeing them about 50 feet away. We saw the fireworks show, found the cafe that Hemingway was in as he fell in love with Spain (shoutout to Kgirl!) and headed back to the hotel around 2am.
Sunday 7/11:
Since I wasn't feeling to well by Sunday, we decided to not see the running again on Sunday morning and gave ourselves plenty of time to make it back to the train station. We got back to Madrid around 3pm, had our siesta then headed out to the madness for the game with Alex and Kyle (apartment buddies) since the girls were still on their way back from a weekend trip to Bilboa (Basque country, I was sad to miss that). Grabbed some food, headed down to the metro station. We got to the top of the stairs and there were people EVERYWHERE an hour and a half before the game even started. We were watching near the Bank. They had a few big screens set up in the streets to show the game at the stadium and here.
Sunday 7/11:
Since I wasn't feeling to well by Sunday, we decided to not see the running again on Sunday morning and gave ourselves plenty of time to make it back to the train station. We got back to Madrid around 3pm, had our siesta then headed out to the madness for the game with Alex and Kyle (apartment buddies) since the girls were still on their way back from a weekend trip to Bilboa (Basque country, I was sad to miss that). Grabbed some food, headed down to the metro station. We got to the top of the stairs and there were people EVERYWHERE an hour and a half before the game even started. We were watching near the Bank. They had a few big screens set up in the streets to show the game at the stadium and here.
We managed to find a spot on the street, where we were sprayed down by hoses every 10 minutes for the 30-45mins before the game started. I was drenched, but at least I wasn't hot. It was exhausting, but well worth the standing for 3 hours. After the goal, it was chaos and partying until the next morning when things had to be functional again. Songs, flags, jumping, drink stands on the sides of the street, fireworks being set off uncomfortably close, people dancing on trucks, climbing on trees, running in the streets, cars with flags honking horns, "Yo Soy Espanol" "Campeones, Ole!" In the excitement, I felt pretty terrible so we made our way back to the apartment. It was great watching the footage of the celebrations in Sol, Banco de Espana, and all over the country.
Don't know if you heard about this, but there is an octopus that predicted the outcomes of the games. It started out predicting games for Germany, but they did it for the final few games of the tournament. They drop 2 identical jars with food into the tank, each having a flag of the opponents. The octopus (pulpo) chooses a jar and that one is predicted to win the game. It had a 99.9% rate of accuracy, predicting Spain to win the World Cup as well. So everyone had stuffed animal octopus or even real ones. Pretty crazy.
Monday 7/12:
Slept in since I still felt terrible. Ran some errands with Rob, got him a Spain flag to add to his collection and found a nice restaurant for some authentic Spanish food. I took him to the airport in the evening, he enjoyed his time here! There was a parade for the soccer team that some USAC people went to, but I was worn down and needed to catch up on homework since I missed class Friday and Monday because of being sick/doctor appt. Now back to the routine!
Hope you enjoyed my adventure, things will 'normalize' again :-) Hasta luego!
Slept in since I still felt terrible. Ran some errands with Rob, got him a Spain flag to add to his collection and found a nice restaurant for some authentic Spanish food. I took him to the airport in the evening, he enjoyed his time here! There was a parade for the soccer team that some USAC people went to, but I was worn down and needed to catch up on homework since I missed class Friday and Monday because of being sick/doctor appt. Now back to the routine!
Hope you enjoyed my adventure, things will 'normalize' again :-) Hasta luego!
No comments:
Post a Comment