A Madrileño Weekend - Un Fin de Semana Madrileño

Parks, Pubs, Clubs, and Bullfights

This past weekend, our friends David and Andy came in from Barcelona.  They just graduated from Texas State and only had 2 classes left for their degrees so they were able to walk at graduation and go to Barcelona to take their last classes--what an awesome deal.

Our weekend consisted of a day in Parque de Oeste (West Park near our apartment in Moncloa), a swim at the IES pool, a night at a pub, an evening at Parque de Retiro, a night at Kapital (the infamous 7-story club), a bullfight and a trip to the oldest restaurant in the world to finish it off.  Successful weekend I'd say and now I'm paying for the lost sleep by having a lovely cold!

I never got around to posting photos of the IES center, so I'll give a photo tour here:

Courtyard

Pool in the courtyard--the building behind it is where the classrooms are

The Lounge/Cafe area

The guys were set to come to Madrid on Friday and we told them we would be waiting on top of the Moncloa Metro Station at 1PM...Which we now realize is much too vague for a couple of American students without phones to reach each other--word of advice:  be very specific when meeting up with friends!  After around an hour and a half of waiting, giving up and grabbing coffee and checking to see if they were there one last time, we walked right into each other!  Lucky! The rest of the day was spent at the park tanning, "Botellón-ing" (a common Madrileño thing to do: bringing beer to the park), and swimming at the IES pool.  It was a very relaxing day to say the least.

That night we went to an Irish Pub called "Dubliners" and met all sorts of people--Spaniards, a group of Englishmen in for a bachelor party, Australians, geography teachers, you name it.  Who doesn't like a pub I suppose?

After recuperating from the night before and a relaxing evening in Parque de Retiro, we went to the infamous club in Madrid, Kapital.  It is a 7-story club that we have been told time after time to go to--so we finally got around to it.  We got to the club around 1:30 AM and did not leave until 6:15 AM... I've never danced so long in my life!  My feet were swollen for ~2 days after, too...So I must have done something right!  The main dance floor was jam packed, with barely any space to dance, but it was still a great time.  The music they played was mainly American and techno/electronic mixed in.  Each floor has at least 1 or 2 bars, lounge areas, televisions, and restrooms.  Overall, it was very enjoyable but I don't think I would go every weekend because 1) Its rather "caro" (expensive) - 20 Euro for entrance + 1 drink unless you get a card outside from a promoter for 15 Euro + 1 drink and 2) It is a commitment!  If you're going to Kapital, expect to be there until the next morning, because at 6:00 AM, the dance floor was still as packed at it was at 2:00 AM.

Sunday was a day for recuperation, A Bullfight, and Botín (the oldest restaurant in the world).  The bullfight was by far my favorite part of the whole weekend.  It is unlike anything I had ever seen before.

CORRIDA DE TOROS

The correct term in Spain for "bullfight" is Corrida de Toros.  Before going, I made a point to be at least somewhat knowledgable of what actually goes down at a bullfight--and I'm glad I did!  Though bullfights can be very controversial and thought of as cruel, there is another side to it much different than many would think.  Some even call it a 'fine art', and I now see why.  Here is what happens at a Spanish bullfight:

• There are three different toreros/matadors who fight 2 bulls each--totaling in 6 bulls--each of which are between 4-6 years old and must be at a certain weight.  

• Each torero/matador has six assistants which comprise a unit called "cuadrilla": 2 picadores (lancers on horseback), 3 banderilleros/subalternos (torero who plants the baderillas into the bulls' back), and a mozo de espadas (sword page).  To tell which one is the main "torero",  look at the sizes of the banduras:  the main torero has the smallest bandura.  Also, the torero will typically have a distinct suit--usually embroidered in gold.  

• There are a total of 6 bulls fought.  Each "fight" is broken down into 3 stages or "tercios".  The beginning of each stage is marked by the sound of a bugle horn.  

• The participants first enter the arena in a parade, called the paseíllo, during which, band music is played. Next, the bull enters the ring to be tested for ferocity. This is the first stage, the tercio de varas ("the lancing third"), and the matador first confronts the bull with the capote, performing a series of passes with his cape to get a feel for the bull's behaviors.  
Next, a picador enters the arena on horseback armed with a vara ("lance"). Don't worry, the horses wear a protective armor, called "peto". However, before 1930, horses did not wear this--which would be really hard to watch.  Supposedly during this time, the number of horses killed during a fight was higher than the number of bulls killed.  The picador stabs just behind the morrillo, a mound of muscle on the fighting bull's neck, weakening the neck muscles and initiating blood loss. 

• In the next stage, the tercio de banderillas ("the third of banderillas"), each of the three banderilleros attempts to stab sharp barbed sticks into the bull's shoulders, called banderillas.  These get the bull agitated and they help to further weaken the bull for the final fill by the torero.  

• In the final stage, the tercio de muerte ("the third of death"), the matador re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape, and a sword.  Interesting fact--people always think of a torero with a red cape, however bulls are color blind so they are not particularly attracted to red.  It is thought that they use red capes to mask the bulls blood that ends up being on the capes.   The matador uses the cape for passes and to wear the bull out--this is called a faena.  Finally, the torero gets the bull into a position to stab it between the shoulder blades and through the aorta.  

• Unfortunately, many times the bull doesn't get pierced through the heart initially and repeated efforts must be made to finally bring the bull down and end his life.

The last bull--about 10 minutes after this photo was taken, I was holding this bull's ear!

La Bodega de Botin, The Oldest Restaurant in the World

After the bullfight, we had to hit up the oldest restaurant in the world (according to the Guinness Book of World Records at least).  Also, it is said that Ernest Hemingway ate here a time or two.  Hemingway definitely mentioned it in his book, Sun Also Rises.  

We lunched upstairs at Botin’s. It is one of the best restaurants in the world. We had roast young suckling pig and drank rioja alta. Brett did not eat much. She never ate much. I ate a very big meal and drank three bottles of rioja alta. 

—Ernest Hemingway

Being serenaded in Botin  by music students of Madrid's Compultense University

Some Spanish Rioja for the table

My meal -- Chicken Fricassee in Creamy Almond Sauce

Valencia

Last weekend we took a trip to Valencia with the IES program.  The trip was 3 days and 2 nights, though I could've stayed much longer--Valencia is beautiful!

The bus ride from Madrid to Valencia is ~5 hours, though we stopped for breakfast so it look us around 7 hours.  For breakfast, we ate at a restaurant inside of Alarcon Castle, which used to be an Arabic fortress dating back to the 8th century.  It is located in the Province of Cuenca, which was conveniently on our way to Valencia.  The castle is now a parador, which is essentially a luxury hotel usually located in a historical building.

Alarcón Parador

Bria eyeballing the freshly squeezed OJ...

Chorizo, Assorted cheeses, Tortilla de Patata

Assorted fruit plate

Pan (bread) - Croissants, churros, and other Viennoiseries

Once we arrived to Valencia, we went to a galleria for lunch.  And of course, we had Paella.  

Paella is a rice dish originating from Valencia, and to many, it is known as Spain's national dish.  There are three different types of Paella:  Valencian Paella (Paella Valenciana), Seafood Paella (Paella de Marisco), and Mixed Paella (Paella Mixta).  

Key ingredients to Paella include vegetables (peas, asparagus, any other green vegetables), saffron (the key to giving the golden colour), a protein (seafood, chicken, duck...) and olive oil.  At the luncheon, we had a Valencian Paella.  

The Paella being presented...and Ángel in the back

Paella Valenciana

After lunch, we checked into our hotel, Hotel Dimar, and got ready to go on the historical walk of Valencia with Spanish guides (guias).  

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain with the population being around 809,000--following after Madrid (6.5 Mil) and Barcelona (4.5 Mil).  It is located on the east coast of Spain and is one of the busiest container ports in Europe.

On our tour, we saw the Valencia Cathedral, The Llotja de la Seda (Silk exchange), and Museo de Ceramica (Ceramic Museum), different plazas, and the ongoings of the Corpus Christi festival.

Large Ficus trees in Valencia

Our guia, who walked around like this, not exactly sure why!

Our tour group with one of the trees

On our tour, we got to see the University of Valencia, one of the oldest universities in Spain, and considered by many Spaniards, one of the best in the country.  It was founded in 1499 and has 55,000 students.  Something I found interesting was that it was the first university in Spain to found a course on the study of herbs.

Monument in front of one of the historical buildings of the university

Some of our group posing in front of the statues

 As the historic walk went on, we got to see "Europe's Narrowest House".  This "house" is just over a meter wide and is 5 stories high (or was, until the neighbor bought it and knocked it through).  

"Europe's Narrowest House"

My favorite part of the tour was climbing the Valencia Cathedral--the view is amazing!  Definitely a must do if you go to Valencia and you have the energy to climb up ~207 steps!  The cathedral is located in the center of the Plaza de la Reina and is one of the cities' landmarks, not to mention that they have the Holy Grail there, too!  The Holy Grail for those who are not familiar with it is a dish, plate, stone or cup associated with Christian literature and most times a Holy Grail is said to have been used at the Last Supper.  The Holy Grail at the Valencia Cathedral is one of the supposed "Holy Chalices" that was used at the Last Supper.

View from the top of the bell tower of the Valencia Cathedral

Some of the steps in the bell tower

Corpus Christi celebration decor--made completely of flowers.
Depicts the Holy Chalice

The "Holy Chalice" Holy Grail in the Cathedral

The front of the Cathedral

After viewing the Cathedral, we went to the Llotja de la Seda (Silk Exchange).  It is considered a World Historical Site by UNESCO as it "illustrates the power and wealth of a major Mediterranean mercantile city in the 15th and 16th centuries".  It is also considered to be an exceptional example of a secular building in late-Gothic Style.  The original function of the Llotja was for oil exchange, which then turned to silk exchange and is now used primarily for agricultural products.  

Inside the Llotja de Seda

Valencia Orange Trees infront of the Llotja

Outside of the Llotja

Saturday we all went to the beach!  What I had been looking forward to the most.  The beach in Valencia is beautiful--white/tan sand, deep blue water, not too hot, not too cold.  It was perfect.  As far as touristy things to do at the playa (the beach), I would just recommend relaxing and playing some beach volleyball like we did!  And an FYI--people are not afraid to go topless on the beaches of Spain!

Our final day in Valencia we went to the largest aquarium/marine park in Europe--La Oceanografía.  It has 45,000 animals and 500 different species including fish, mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates.  There were numerous buildings--10 total--full of animals.  Also, we got to see a dolphin show! Enough of that, here are some videos and pictures from the visit!

Here are some videos of the dolphin show.  They were taken on my iPhone so they're a bit shaky, I apologize!  Trying to figure out a way to upload them in a better quality, but here's what I have for now!  I must say, seeing a dolphin show when you are a kid at SeaWorld is a lot different than when you're older.  I never paid much attention to how the trainers used hand signals and whistles to lead the dolphins, so it was like a brand new experience!