Advertisement
La Corrida del Torros
I promised myself that I would go to La Corrida del Torros when in Spain and I did so with two classmates. Its lunch time Sunday and I’m back in London, the weather here has been mixed since I arrived back last Friday, showers in between bursts of sunshine however today its taken a turn back to winter .
I had an amazing time in Spain developed new friendships and am so glad that I decided to come over here if initially studying Spanish each day was a little difficult.
My limited vocabulary was my weakness during that first week in the language school yet it’s amazing how rapidly it developed mixing with both Spaniards and my friends studying Spanish in the language school.
I will now work hard to maintain my friendships and we have agreed to regularly email each other (in Spanish) to keep up the practice.
Living in Madrid with both friends and a 'family' made the experience that much more enjoyable. We went out every night we lived like Madrileños.
Before leaving Spain I wanted to go to La Corrida in Madrid. Bullfighting as we know it, is a way of life in Madrid especially during the summer where La Corrida is on most days of the week.
To the Spanish, La
A Charged Up Bull!
The Spaniards have the greatest respect for the bull and although some may consider la Corrida del Torros a bloodthirsty 'sport' it is important to try and understand why it means so much to the Spaniards Corrida is more art than sport and when you go to it you understand why. The costumes worn by the participants and the traditional customs carried out are intriguing and very artistic.
I must admit that I went along with some apprehension and the idea of watching six bulls slaughtered in two hours was a little disturbing to me, however having witnessed La Corrida it was less shocking than I imagined.
The final moments of the bull's life can be a little difficult to watch, however I went along to try and understand why the Spaniards love it so much and after two hours of witnessing the ritual slaughter of these beasts I can see the attraction of the event and I'm glad I attended.
Anyway to sum up my time in Spain I would say of the three cities visited (Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao) Madrid is my favourite with Bilbao (sorry Bilbo) my third choice.
I don’t want to be critical of Bilbo as it is a lovely city in a great location however for the tourist it lacks the magnetism of Barcelona or Madrid.
Barcelona and Madrid are two contrasting cities and in
One Man vs One Bull
The Banderillero ready to land a pair of banderillas into the bull's back. reality in two different countries with two different languages. Barcelona is somewhat eccentric in many ways with its Gaudi architecture and weird museums and is perhaps more appealing to the tourist.
Madrid is the more serious of cities, with its golden triangle of museums (the Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofia), its grand avenues and streets and its big city feel.
However despite this the Madrileños still find time to enjoy themselves and as a temporary Madrlieño I took pleasure in relaxing with friends in the cafés near the Puerta del Sol or the Parque Retiro soaking up the afternoon sun.
I loved walking up the magnificent Grand Via towards Puerta del Sol and onto Plaza Mayor to continue on to the old part of town with its great bars, restaurants and labyrinth-like calles.
I cannot sign off from Spain without giving a creditable mention to Toledo with its artistic diversity-it truly is a living museum).
Time to say adios to Spain and while the rain falls down in London I am getting ready to go to lunch. Tomorrow it’s off to Ireland.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.342s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 17; qc: 67; dbt: 0.0821s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb