Palacio De Maldonado Ciudad Rodrigo

... to get some food and then stake out a spot for the Running of the Bulls. That's right...the running of the bulls. Not Spain's biggest, but certainly just as entertaining. Apparently in Rodrigo, they run all four days. The race culminates in leading the bulls and the runners into a huge arena, where then ANYONE is allowed to participate in about two hours worth of angry bull taunting. This, actually, turned out to be probably the best thing I've ...

... and the Spanish civil war. Among the many topics that came up in my conversations were online dating, 9/11, the cost of private education, the Iron Man triathlon, and, of course, Spanish cuisine) 1:00pm to 2:00pm, Two on Two (two English speakers and two Spaniards are paired up with a list of questions they can randomly choose from to jump start the conversation. Among the topics I discussed were women in the workplace, childhood pranks, and the question: "What ...

... you do with 5 million Euros?" Mom and Dad, you will be happy to hear I allocated at least 1 million of those Euros to you, which won me some major points with the moms in my group) 2:00pm to 3:00pm, Plated lunch at tables of 4 3:00pm to 5:00pm, Siesta (while this is typically a time for napping or resting, Casey and I often used it to venture to the nearby village, La Alberca, just a short walk from the isolated hotel. La Alberca is a world heritage sight and it looks ...

... to a drag line accident in his 20´s, raises money to provide prosthetics and wheelchairs to India´s poor. Liam was a good man from Scotland who educated us on all things Scot and blessed the place with his charm. Everyone talked about past struggles in their life from Eve´s dad committing suicide to Eileen´s terminal breast cancer. Many people had tears in their eyes while saying goodbye with a traditional two kisses. I will miss them.

... and hot dogs and also the Spanish favorite churros con chocolate. During the day people spend time at the bars, in the streets, and just hanging out. There is a lot of drinking, dancing, and having fun. The bars and streets were packed with people. In Ciudad Rodrigo there was a running of the bulls and La Corrida (bull fight). We were able to see both some of the running of the bulls and the bullfight. It was funny to see ...

... nearby town called San Martin.It's gorgeous! While La Alberca is very pretty, it is also quite touristy with lots of souvenir shops etc. San Martin is not touristy at all, just a regular little village in the area. It has an old bull ring bordered by castle ruins, and a quaint little bakery where we bought tasty little cookies. Manuel is from Salamanca (the province we are in) and so he knows a lot about the area and makes a fantastic tour guide! Thanks ...

... Later that night a bunch of us headed in to La Alberca for one last night at the disco. We even managed to drag Barb along, who got out on the dance floor with all of us to shake her groove thang! As a common theme to the week, there was of course more dancing, and more drinking. Followed by a car ride home where Pablo and Borja were cuddling in the back seat...I tried not to ...

... dancing and drinking and general merriment. A good finish to the day anyway! Tuesday morning we walked in to La Alberca and had a tour of the village, which I had on the previous time I was here. So halfway through a few of us ditched out and went shopping instead! At lunch everyone at our table was exhausted since the earliest most of us have gone to bed has been 3am so far...after the bar closes or when we have come back from town ...

... of information! Saturday night was our first skit presentation; Laura, Borja, Graham and I did one where a couple is dating (Laura and Borja), and their "thoughts" (me & Graham) stand behind them and interpret what they are really thinking...it was pretty funny, though a LOT of dialogue! That night there was a football game on, and the hotel doesn't get the channel it is broadcast on, so a bunch of ...

... and Diego, who not only provided great service, but told great stories, kept me laughing, and gave out heaps of free drinks! My bar tab was shockingly low ;) For our last night we headed in to town for one last time, this time for a medieval dinner and awards ceremony. The Spaniards so thoughtfully had got gifts for all the Anglos, and teh results from the voting were presented. Andres of course cleaned up, he ...