After an all nighter and an early flight I made it to Madrid and checked into my Hostet. Cat´s hostel is an 18th century monument which has been converted to a youth Hostel a very cool looking place to to stay. In search for a kebab I set out with an american I met in the common area into the city. Getting lost in the district of la latina we spent a good amount of the afternnon walking through the spanish capital. For lunch we enjoyed a hambergeuso y bacon with a nada lemon drink.
Later that night in the bar/basement I happened to run into a friend I made in Barcelona, he had gone to pampolona in the time since I saw him and and gave this new city some familiarity. Saturday night in Madrid is always a good night, Zach (the american) and I headed out and joined with a pub crawl and enjoyed free admittance to the moon club. Enjoying a mix of spanish dance music and american htis the club was full and raging for most the night.
Saturday marked the arrival of Mike, Pat and Bryce. As they fought off jet lag we handled the logistics of the rest of our trip, booking a bus to pampolona and a hostel in San Sebastian.
On our way to the bus station we entrered the 1 metro and were standing mind our business. All of sudden I hear an old spanish lady start ranting/yelling and pointing at me. The only word I catch is americano. Upset about something this lady bolts to the door of the metro as it is still moving and gets off at the next stop. WTF right? We asked the locals sitting next to her and they replied that she was loco.
After a brief siesta we recruited others at the hostel to come to a bull fight at the Plaza del torros. As a pre cursor we ventured to the famous El Tigre tapas bar. Here if you purchase putchase uno cerveza for 5 euro and they deliver you 3 plates of tapas. Our first round was cerrado on a baguette, second was potatoes with chili sauce and third a delicious spanish omlette.
Moving onto the stadium, we purchased tickets for 5 euro and were two rows from the ring. The massive 450 kilo plus bulls move so much quicker than I previously thought, which makes me a tad more nervous about Wednesday morning. The matadors have this presence about them that makes you feel like nothing can happen to them. The fights start out with about 6 matadors around the ring that the bull runs at to tire him out, and then the horses come into the ring (with a few hundred kilos of armor) and the bull charges (and hits) the horse. The guy on top of the horse has a spear and stabs the bull. You can literally see the blood on the bulls back. After the horses leave, another matador runs at it with two swords and stabs it. They do this twice more so the bull has 6 swords in it. The one matador who is fighting the bull then switches to a red drape and gets a finishing sword. The elegance and daring of the actual fight is stunning to see in person, and I definitely gained a new respect for the sport. After the bull is killed, it´s dragged out of the ring by the horses and the next fight starts.
Last night in Madrid tonight then it is on to Pampolona for the San Fermin festival!
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