¿Que pasa, toro?

  Sevilla, Spain
Friday, April 30, 2004

It's Fería in Sevilla! Ladies all over town are dressed up in their flamenco dresses...the men just seem to wear suits. I haven't noticed anything particularly special going on in the center of the city. The Los Remedios neighborhood has the major event - there are TONS of tents setup (probably about 750), each one like a different restaurant serving food and drinks. Many of the tents have live music and just about every one has people dancing flamenco. I seem to be the only one in Sevilla that doesn't know how to dance the flamenco. (humorous note: a guy on Lonely Planet's website posted a message saying he was going to be in Spain and wanted to know where he could see some flamingo dancing. another person replied "the zoo".) Next to the tents is a large carnival with all kinds of rides and junk food. I can say I went, but I don't think I truly "experienced" it. I think to do that I'd have to be with a group of locals (dinner with a group, drinks and dancing). I'm trying to think what to compare Feria to...maybe Bite of Portland + Mt Angel Oktoberfest + a carnival + dancing. Overall, it's cool.

people dancing at Feria

I went to a bullfight yesterday...it's one of the things to do during Fería. You get herded in through dark corridors to the seats where you're then squished together...the seats are concrete so not very comfortable. Everybody seems to take it very seriously and will "shhh!" anybody talking...not that I could find any reason for being able to hear. It starts with the matadors all parading out into the bullring. They all leave except for one and his like 6 assistants. A bull is let into the ring and they each use their cape-thingy to attract the bull and dodge him (sometimes they run away too). Two guys on horseback are let into the ring and taunt then spear the bull a couple times. The guys on horseback leave and a couple of the assistants use short stakes which they drive into the back of the bull. The crowd cheers when they get a solid hit. After all that, then the matador finally takes on the bull one-on-one, at which point the bull is pretty worn down. He taunts the bull and uses his cape-thingy to dodge it. Eventually he gets a sword and tries to kill the bull with one stab in the back of the neck. This is repeated six times (different matadors). It's not very exciting really. I tried to start "the wave", but the Spaniards didn't seem to get it and told me to sit down. So I inflated a beach ball and hit it into the crowd. This was also met with harsh responses. When Bugs Bunny took on the bull it was MUCH more entertaining.

bullfight

Today is a rough day. Agenda = sleep in, check bus & train times for tomorrow, wander, update web, wander in the park, nap, go to Fería. Though it is a bit chilly and I'm wearing a fleece.

Since the last update in Leon, I visited Salamanca, Avila, Toledo and Madrid. When I arrived in Salamanca, I checked with a couple pensions and they were full so went looking for the youth hostel and got very lost. I was wandering all over for over an hour cursing Lonely Planet for their sucky maps. When I got checked into the hostel, I met two girls from Britain (Gwen & Hannah) and ended up hanging out with them the rest of the day. We went and saw the sites, hung out in Plaza Mayor then went out to some cool bars and danced 'til the wee hours of the morning. It was a fun night out...especially after so many days travelling solo. If LP hadn't got me lost, I probably wouldn't have met them and had an average day so I guess I shouldn't curse LP too much. (Unfortunately, my camera batteries died that evening and I didn't get any pics.)

Plaza Mayor in Salamanca

I stopped in the city of Avila on my way to Madrid to check it out. At the baggage storage in the train station, there were a few of us trying to figure out how much it cost and were asking each other in Spanish...turns out we're all English speakers. Ha! One of 'em, Ray from California, decided to come along with me to see the sites. He was kind of needy and couldn't seem to make decisions himself, but he was an alright guy. Avila has a well-preserved wall around the old city and an old cathedral. After looking around for a couple hours, I went to Madrid then caught a bus from there to Toledo. The hike up to Toledo from the bus station was harsh. Oy! Toledo also has a wall around the city, some old cathedrals and the Alcazar. There's a small plaza in the middle of town where people hung out. The city itself is kind of tight-packed so it's hard to get pics of the tall buildings. Toledo is Don Quixote country, but I didn't see any windmills to go attack.
I bussed back to Madrid and found a hostel right in the center of town. It was quite hot while I was there (or at least I thought so). Madrid has quite a lot to see - numerous plazas, parks, three good art museums. I tried to go see everything I could. AND I found a bookstore with an ok selection of English-language books! I met up with Melissa's friend, Jo, one evening for tapas and drinks. The second day I was there, Ben & Jerry's was having "dia de helado gratis", but the line was always really, really long so I didn't get any free ice cream. :(

park in Madrid

After Madrid I came here to Sevilla. One of the things I forgot to mention from the past was that the airports in Britain list under things you can't bring on the plane "catapults". How are you going to get a catapult on the plane!?!

Tomorrow I'm off to Cordoba then it's Ronda, Granada and the east coast.

"I was down at Sevilla's Feria staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation with this black-haired flamenco dancer
She dances while her father plays guitar
She's suddenly beautiful
We all want something beautiful
I wish I was beautiful
So come dance this silence down through the morning
Cut Maria! Show me some of them Spanish dances
Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones"