Segovia & a bullfight!

My digital camera ran out of battery on one of the busiest days here so far :( Booo. I will add pictures shortly as soon as I charge my camera and steal some of Jobie's pictures.

Today we went to Segovia, which is about an hour away from Madrid. Segovia is an entirely different town with such a different atmosphere. It was less like a city and more like a quaint town. A huge pillared aqueduct stands in the middle of the town's old plaza. We visited a gorgeous cathedral and old castle which Ferdinand and Isabel lived in! (The ones who sent Columbus to discover America.) The weather was lovely and breezy. We had a nice, long, relaxing lunch in the main plaza with friends.

As soon as we arrived back, it was time to hop on the metro and go to the bullfight! The exterior of the arena is absolutely gorgeous, it looks as it was made out of tiles. I was expecting not to like the fight and to want to leave after one bull, because many people told me I wouldn't like the violence of it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the fight. It is just as practiced as baseball or football in the states. There is immense artistry in the way the bullfighters and matadors twirl and hold their capes. The crowd has certain chants and cheers, and it is hard not to catch on to their adrenaline. If the bullfighter does a good job (this did not happen everytime), the crowd gives him a standing ovation and waves white handkerchiefs in the air, which I learned tells the matador to "ask" the bull for his ear. Then, the matador parades around the arena with the ear. The matadors are also young and very cutee :)

We headed back home to another one of Consuelo's huge but great pasta meals, and she again rolled her eyes at us when we didn't want seconds. She was delighted though that we saw such a good fight (the fight was on TV) because she told us the fights usually don't go this well. So all in all it was definitely a great day!!