A parade at the Running of the Bulls
We went to the Running of the Bulls this past weekend in Pamplona. Oh my god...It was soo much fun! Pamplona is almost in Basque country, so it was really fun to see what it was like. The city is in the foothills of a mountain range and the weather was noticeably cooler, which was nice. Other than that, it was alot like Madrid. The city wasnīt a small town like I was expecting it to be. Also, the European architecture was alot like the type you see in Madrid.
There was probably 100,000 people in this tiny city. There was trash and people EVERYWHERE! The place is a constant party for one week straight, I hear. We ended up going with a tour for international tourists/students. It was pretty nice because everyone was around our age. Blake used the same touring agency when he went to Pamplona last time, and he said it was crazy.
Weīre figuring that the tour company might have run into a lawsuit or something because it wasnīt what he described. Blake said that the last time he went, people were eating and drinking on the bus, everyone was getting to know each other, etc. This time is was toned down quite a bit. No eating or drinking on the bus and everyone pretty much kept to themselves.
Even though we didnīt meet that many people on the bus, we did meet a few. We met two asian girls, one from Hong Kong, and the other from Taiwan. We were talking to them about going to southeast asia, and they told us something we didnīt know - Singaporeīs main language is English!!! All right!
We also ran into a guy named William, and itīs ironic, because we had met him the first time when we were in Chueca partying with the gay guys! (Heīs not gay...it was just the cool place to go that night.) Anyway, William speaks English, and he is fulfilling an internship here in Madrid for one month. This weekend is his last weekend here. Heīs from southern France. Weīve hung out with him a few times, and he gave us his number so that when we get to France, he can meet up with us for a day. Other than that, we didnīt really meet anyone on the bus. (ALOT of Americans though.)
The festival was great. It was a 6 hour bus ride, and when we got to Pamplona, it was about 8pm. The first thing we saw when we got off the bus was a big splat of pink puke on the sidewalk. (This was a perfect impression as to what the festival was like.) Blake and I walked around for a bit, and then we went to find something to eat. Everyone at the festival wears red and white because itīs also known as the festival of red and white. The main parts of the city were like a concert! You had to push your way through to get anywhere! All of the bars were open, and the dance clubs were free! There were free concerts in the middle of the street, and everyone was just getting totally obliterated!
There was also a section of the city that had a free carnival with a huge ferris wheel, food and games. There were really good fireworks, (although I think they were illegal by US standards...way too close to the people!) It was great though!
Oh, another thing is that while all of these cool things are going on, all of the little convenience stores are open, and they really stock up on beer and wine to sell. Itīs nice because they donīt mark up the prices. Blake and I pretty much had our fill on boxed wine that cost less than 2 euros!!! HA!
In the middle of the night, we met these 5 guys that we really liked. They had been at the festival for 2 days straight already! I couldnīt imagine that. I forget most of their names, but I talked to one of them for like an hour straight - IN SPANISH!!! How cool is that?! (Even if we were a little toasty.)
It was pretty hard, but we stayed up all night. I think staying up was a far better alternative to sleeping in the parks like most people do. Thousands of people just find a grassy spot and sleep, but the ENTIRE city was COVERED with trash, and pee! Iīm not kidding! I actually had my first experience with a squat toilet there in Pamplona! One time with toilet paper, one time without! HA!! It was pretty groass, but I donīt think I was that concerned at the moment.
The bulls ran at 8am. We secured a pretty good spot to watch them run, but it was alot different than I thought it would be. I thought that the people would get a head start and run...then the bulls would chase after them and it would be really violent. Iīm sure it can be really violent, but the day we saw them wasnt bad at all. The people did have a head start, but they were more or less running alongside the bulls. The bulls werenīt really violent. I guess thatīs a good thing, but I donīt know if it justifies standing in one place for 2 hours. Iīm glad I saw it. (I think people enjoy the festival a little more than the actual running.)
We got back to Madrid, since weīve been back, the weather has been pretty nice. We slept all day yesterday. Our bus left Pamplona at 9am yesterday. We were only there for like 15 hours or something. Itīs good to be back in Madrid.