Olé

We recently had the pleasure of attending one of Spain's oldest and most revered cultural events, the bullfight!

Bull fighting is very closely associated with Spain and can trace its origins back to 711 A.D. This is when the first bullfight took place in celebration for the crowning of King Alfonso VIII. It is very popular in Spain with several thousand Spaniards flocking to their local bull-ring each week. It is said that the total number of people watching bullfights in Spain reaches one million every year.

Bullfighting was originally a sport for the aristocracy and took place on horseback. King Felipe V took exception to the sport however and banned the aristocracy from taking part, believing it to be a bad example to the public. After the ban commoners accepted the sport as their own and, since they could not afford horses, developed the practice of dodging the bulls on foot, unarmed. This transformation occurred around 1724.

So what happens during a bullfight?:
Firstly the bull is let into the ring. Then, the top bullfighter called the Matador, watches his chief assistant wave a bright yellow and magenta cape in front of the bull to make it charge. He watches this in order to determine the bull's qualities and mood, before taking over himself.

Then a trumpet is sounded and several fighters called Picadores weaken the bull by placing spears into it. This takes around 10 minutes.

Another trumpet is sounded and the Matador now removes his black winged hat and dedicates the death of the bull to the president or the crowd before beginning his faena.

The faena which is the most beautiful and skillful section of the fight and where the matador must prove his courage and artistry. The faena consists of a running at the Matador carrying a muleta. This is a piece of thick crimson cloth draped over a short stick, which can be held in either the left hand or draped over the espada, the killing sword, which is always held in the right hand. Usually the muleta, in left or right hand, is first held in front of the matador to make the bull charge and is then swung across and away from the matador's body hopefully taking the bull with it.

This is a show, basically a dance with death - one wrong move and the Matador could become impaled on the horns of the bull. It is the Matador's job to make this dance dramatic and enjoyable for the audience.

The faena continues until the Matador has demonstrated his superiority over the bull. Once this is achieved the bull is ready to be killed.

The matador stands some ten feet from the bull, keeping the bull fixated on the muleta and aims the espada between the shoulder blades. The matador attacks pushing the espada over the horns and deep between the shoulder blades. If the sword goes in to the hilt it is an estocada but if it hits bone it is a pinchazo or media-estocada. An estocada usually results in the bull dropping immediately to its knees and dying, but if the bull fails to die the matador may take the descabello (a sword with a short cross piece at the end) which he stabs into the bull's neck severing the spinal cord. The fight is over.

The matador may be awarded trophies by the president, according to his skill in working with the bull, which can be one or two ears from the bull, the tail and the hoof. The crowd will often encourage the president to award the trophies by waving white hankerchiefs, and this waving continues after the trophies have been awarded in an attempt to get the matador to throw his trophies into the crowd. The crowd in return hurls flowers which are collected by the matador's assistants. (08/14/2010, http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/bullfighting.htm.)

I borrowed the info but the pictures were all me!

La nostra avventura Italiana: Terza parte ~Napoli~

Naples was not exactly a gracious hostess while we were there, but all the same her colors and charms out weighed her bad manners. The rumors of trash in the street and the craziest driving in Europe we both true, but there is also a very intense energy that runs through the veins of the city, that emulates the pride and zephyr of her people. Not unlike the rest of Italy, Naples is veritable lasagna of history. Ruins around every corner, and monuments in every piazza.

The only official tour that we took while in Naples was the Sotterranea, or the Naples Under Ground. We learned about how the passages were made and how after the black plague the miles and miles of caverns were used to house people during the war.
Our guide was a the perfect example of a typical Neapolitan, bold, colorful(even a little off color) and very personable. He learned to speak English from American TV, movies and music.

Our last day in Naples we had planned on going to see Pompeii but as usual a transportation strike foiled our plans. Instead we wondered around Naples since we hadn't nearly seen all of the city during our stay. The grandeur of the architecture in a normal European city will definitely be something we miss when we go back to the states. They just don't build cities like this in America.
We managed to catch up with our friends John, Gillia and Alex for one more amazing meal before we headed back to Spain the next day. We did a little prefunking at "The Cheshire" (Alex's up and coming speak easy style bar) and then headed out for a walk through city and some traditional Neapolitan pizza. We put away 6 pizzas between the 5 of us so needless to say it was a great way to end our trip.
An extra hour at the airport, was the final taunting notion that we may never get out of Naples on our own terms!! Neverless, we made it out loaded down with mozzarella di bufalla, and memories of all the fun we had.

Grazie Italia, Ciao!

La nostra avventura Italiana: Seconda parte ~La Costiera Amalfitana~

Our second week in Naples we got out a little more to enjoy the beauty and culture that the city had to offer, and also spent some time with our awesome friends John and Gillia. We spent some time during the week making plans for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend. We all agreed that there was no better way to celebrate our independence than to spend our long weekend enjoying the beautiful views and beaches of the Amalfi coast! We set out bright but not too early on our way toward the coast.

Once we reached the coastal road the views were nothing short of mind blowing! Between the excitement of navigating the treacherous cliff side bends, and trying to take in all the beautiful sites we were all more than happy to put away a bottle of wine with our first amazing meal in Amalfi.
We made our way into the Piazza del Duomo, and up the grand staircase to the iconic Cattedrale di Sant' Andrea.
After touring the Duomo, we headed back to the car so we could try to find our hotel for the night. Luckily we brought the GPS with us, or we may have never found it! The booking site we used said it was in Amalfi, and when all was said and done we were a few kilometers up the mountain in quiet little Agerola. We spent part our evening getting a private tour of Agerola from a friend of our friends. Our guide only spoke Italian, but luckily we had Gillia to translate. It was great to experience the cultural immersion while strolling through town and listening to our guide.


The next day we drove to Ravello to take in the beauty of the 19th century gardens and the epic coastal views. We also decided to take a hike down into Amalfi to have lunch. The sights, as usual, were to die for, but so was heat in combination with the trail! Halfway through our hour long trek the trail turned into steps! And not just your average regulation cookie cutter steps. These were old stone and concrete steps that ranged in size from regular to Shaq sized strides. The varying widths, depths, and condition of each step, made this trek the quad workout of the week! We were more than happy to take the bus back to Ravello after we enjoyed yet another amazing meal in Amalfi.
With our destination in sight we came upon section of the trail that had been blocked off! Refusing to turn back, we carefully surveyed the area for danger and finding it perfectly sound enough for us, we crawled through the blockade and made our way on down the trail. It would have taken a black hole or grand canyon sized crevice to convince us to turn back up all those stairs!
We had had plenty of excitement for one afternoon, so after returning to Ravello by BUS, we headed out to Sorrento to find our next "hotel", explore the city a bit and of course have yet another meal. We stayed at a camp ground that had small personal cabin's, not the Ritz but the price was right.


The next morning came with an early sunrise, sore muscles and the intent of a nice easy day at the beach in Nerano. We decided to take a little hike before we headed to the beach. The hike turned out to be a little more intense than we had intended but the views were worth the sweat.
We managed to find a well positioned rock, so we could catch a group photo.
We took a break in town upon returning from our "little" hike, picking up some provisions for an Italian style beach picnic lunch. We made our way through town and hiked around the bend to a gorgeous little cove where we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, lunching, and lounging. It was a nice contrast to our extra intense morning hike.

The last day of our weekend get away was spent on the island of Capri. The world famous Blue Grotto was our first destination. We took the tram to top of the island, and then a bus to the other side. We thought when we saw the sign "Blue Grotto this way" we were close by, so we didn't bother catching the bus. As underestimating our physical activities had been a sort of running theme throughout the trip, we should have known that skipping the bus was going to result in another long stretch of walking! About an hour or so later, we finally arrived at the grotto. From the outside it was quite a mad house! Boats full of tour groups competing with a stairwell full of tourist who came by bus for the attention of the small group of boatmen who would ferry us through the very unassuming cave mouth of the Grotta Azzurra.
Inside the grotto was the most breath taking natural blue glow in the water, and all the boatmen sang an Italian love song at the top of their lungs as they rowed us around. It really was an unforgettable experience.
To finish off a once in a lifetime weekend we rented a small motor boat and cruised around Capri, taking in the awe inspiring cliff face views, lunching on the boat, and swimming in the gorgeous waters.
We motored back to port to catch our ferry back to the mainland. We could have spent many more hours exploring all the cliffs and coves along the coast.
Back in Sorrento we enjoyed our last meal of the trip, and reflected at the epic weekend that was coming to a close. It sounded much more like a week long trip while we talked about all we had done over the past few days. We returned to Naples that night with refreshed souls and tired bodies, and enough wonderful memories to last a life time!

La nostra avventura Italiana: Prima parte ~ Roma~

After arriving in Spain I was assigned to a job that required me to go to a school, lucky for Brad and me, that school was offered at the base in Naples Italy! The Navy paid my way so it just made sense for us to pay for Brad to come along too! We had the awesome opportunity of spending three weeks in Italy with only a little time at work getting in the way! An old friend of mine lives in Naples, so we also had the privilege and pleasure of having a local guide to all the best of Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. We couldn't have dreamed up better traveling companions, especially since John's wife Gillia is fluent in Italian. We spent most of our time during the first week, bumming around the base, doing home work and watching world cup games, but the first weekend we made up for lost time and took a world wind two day tour through Rome!

The excitement surrounding our weekend get away to Rome was quickly transformed into stress when we learned about Naples summer time scourge...STRIKES! We had planned an amazing fast paced weekend that started with our train ride from Naples to Rome, and that was also where is started going wrong! We set out from the base, hoping to be able to get on the train before the strike started but we had no such luck. We waited 45 minutes for a bus that is suppose to run every 20 minutes, arriving in Piazza Garibaldi we could immediately see that something was amiss, the square was absolutely brimming with travelers, lines of buses and the largest queue of greedy taxi drivers I have ever seen! We spent almost two hours here first trying to get a straight answer out of someone about whether or not we would be able to buy a ticket and get on the train, and then after giving up on that, try to find a car rental place that still had cars to rent. Frustrated and agitated we decided to go back toward the base and the airport where we hoped they might still have some cars. We zipped from counter to counter asking the same less than amiable Italian faces if they had any cars for rent, and received the same less than enthusiastic head waggle indicating that there were non to be had. Brad and I split up while he waited in line and I checked out a couple of the counters that were tucked over in another corner. I arrived at the counter at the same time as another gentleman, and out of courtesy I allowed him to go in front of me. Just after that Brad motioned for me to take whatever they had, since his search had not yielded anything more than frustration. I motioned back to him as he crossed the lobby that there was someone in front of me, and he was getting a car. Since I was lingering so close and so nervously, the gentleman at the counter felt compelled to ask where I was trying to go. I told him we were just visiting and had planned a trip to Rome for the weekend. He was actually heading to Rome himself, with his son, to catch a flight since theirs had been canceled because of the transportation strike. After a little more introduction we all came to the conclusion that it was in everyone's best interest to split the cost of the car and all go up together. The father and son were Italian which made them much more qualified to safely drive us the two hours to Rome. After all was said and done, we arrived at our hotel 10 HOURS after we had left our room in Naples. It was quite a day, but it ended well, we had made it to our destination and the next day was bound to go more smoothly!

Our first tour of the day was through the Vatican. The pine cone courtyard, the museums of religious art, the Michelangelo rooms, modern religious art, and of course the Sistine Chapel. Our guide was a very knowledgeable and bubbly young woman who was attending college in Rome. She had more information than I could fathom to regurgitate here or even remember, but there was probably as much history as there is raw wealth contained within those walls.



We, like almost everyone else, broke the rules and snapped a couple quick pictures in the Sistine Chaple, but we did it in the most reverent and reflective way possible ; )
After the Chapel we made the climb to the the dome atop St. Peters Basilica. It was an epic climb, but the views were worth it.

It was kind of difficult to get a great picture of us on the cat walk inside the dome, but at least this one has a comedic value.


After a little walk, a short metro ride and a quick street lunch, we were off to our next tour at the Colosseum and the ruins of Palatine. Our guide Bruno, told us the history of the Colosseum by building a story with the members of our tour group as its players. It was quite entertaining as well as educational.

The Colosseum is one of the worst preserved artifacts of Roman history, much of its facade was destroyed during the many scourges of Rome. Its metal supports pried out by raiders to be melted down for making weapons. During the height of its usage it would have been covered in plaster and fresco and completely round with seating all the way to the top. All the seating was actually covered by a linen shade, only the arena floor was open to the sky.
We ended our busy day with a stroll through the forum discussing all the funny things that had happened on the way there ; ) As we reached about halfway through the forum, the cloudy sky darkened and split open like someone turned on the shower! We booked it to the nearest metro station(along with the rest of Rome's pedestrians) and proceeded to take the hottest, most humid, and tightly packed train ride across town back to the hotel. It was a fitting ending to our rather perfect day.
Our last day was spent walking from monument to monument, doing our best to hit all the hot spots! Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and just about everything in between. Just before our lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe we sought out the Harley shop hoping to get my dad a t-shirt for his collection, but much to our aching feet's chagrin, the shop is closed on SUNDAY!!

Of course Gerome was in tow the whole time, and we let him out for a photo op or two. He enjoyed just being along for the ride!

Luckily, our train ride back to Naples was much more easily executed. We had a great time in Rome, and there was still so much to see, but now we know that going through Naples to get there, is definitely not a good idea!

Madrid and Rock in Rio

Brad and I got invited to a concert on the outskirts of Madrid, and figured why not make a trip out of it! We headed out on Friday morning to catch a train for Madrid. A 4 hour train ride and a 17 euro cab ride later we arrived at our luxurious 4 star hotel...A little word to the wise if booking a hotel in Europe, 4 stars is more like 3, 3 is more like 2, and 2 is more like only in case of emergency, but all in all it was a nice place, and only a few blocks from a metro stop. Once we got checked in, we were right back on the road headed to the metro, and out to see the sights.


Plaza de la Puerta del Sol was one of our first stops. The "La Latina" area of Madrid is famous for its tapas. Tapas is actually many or any kind of food which is served in a small portion with a drink. The most common tapas found all around Spain include manzanilla olives, jamon iberíco, queso, and croquettes of all kinds. Usually you get tapas while your waiting for your lunch, or to tide you over in between lunch and dinner since Spanish lunch is usually from 12 to 2pm, and dinner isn't until around 9pm. Madrid was a beautiful city to just walk through, there is a lot of street art, and endless plazas with mouments, merchants and city goers.


We planned our every move with the expert advice of our Lonely Planet travel book. My sister -in-law Jenny introduced me to these books, and now I want one for every country in Europe! They make it so simple to find all the coolest things to see, with maps, tips, itineraries and more. The METRO system in Madrid is AWESOME! There is pretty much a train to take you anywhere you want to go, you may have to change lines a time or two but it really is an efficient and affordable way to get from point A to point B.


After some delishious tapas we were ready to tackle the Palacio Real. Unfortunately for us the when we tried on Friday to get a tour we found out that the palace was closed for the weekend! The outside, the courtyard and the gardens were still very beautiful and worth the walk from the metro.





Departing the palace courtyard; we stumbled upon the Cathedral Santa María la Real de la Almudena. This cathedral is dedicated to the Patroness of Madrid. Its was over 100 years in construction, starting in 1883 and culminating with a Papal consecration in the year 1993. The final architects used the Palacio Real as inspriation for the finishing touches so the two buildings would stand together harmoniously.



The interior of the cathedral was absolutely breath taking, lined with Stained glass windows, chapels housing religious sculptures, and all framed in beautiful stone work.

To round out day 1 we took a turn through the famed Museo del Prado which houses a very large collection of religious art, and sculptures. It was not a museum trip for the faint of heart, make sure you take water, wear comfortable shoes, and maybe bring a snack. The collection seemed to go on forever!

On our second day, the weather was not the most cooperative, but the Parque del Buen Retiro was still quite picturesque. It definitely wasn't crowded and that was a treat.

Located in the centre of the park there is an imposing glass palace modeled after London's Crystal Palace. It was built 36 years after its London counterpart in 1887, and designed by the architect Ricardo Velásquez Bosco who worked on such prestigious restoration projects as the Mezquita in Córdoba (See Los Patios entry for pics) and the Alhambra in Granada ( Haven't been there yet but its on our must do list.)

The Palacio de Cristal, in the shape of a Greek cross, is made almost entirely of glass set in an iron framework on a brick base, which is decorated with ceramics. Its domed roofs makes the structure over 22 metres high. The glass palace was created in 1887 to house exotic flora and fauna as part of an exhibition on the Philippines, which was then still a Spanish colony. The palace is used today for contemporary art exhibitions organised through the Reina Sofia Museum. For us the palace simply provided a shelter from the rain and a few chairs so we could rest our aching travelers feet.

When we were recharged after our short break in the palace, we continued strolling through the park and found a beautiful courtyard with stunning rows of ivy wrapped columns and peacocks strutting around.

After the all the traditional art we saw at the Prado we were excited to take a turn through the Reina Sofia which is packed with modern art pieces; from sculptures to room sized exhibits. It was a great way to spend a few hours on our last full day in the city.

On Monday we got up early to try and get a tour of the Palacio Real which had been closed all weekend. When we got there we found out that a special historical exhibit was open to the public but that tours of the palace its self would not be available until the afternoon! Since we didn't have time to wait for the tours to start; we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags and start our long metro journey south to the outskirts of Madrid, a little town called Arganda del Ray. After 45+ minutes on the metro(23 stops!) and a 27 euro cab ride we finally arrived at our hotel for a little down time before we headed out to the concert.


The concert we were invited to was ¡Rock in Rio! It was a huge out door venue and the performances took place every couple days over the course of two weeks. We got tickets for the June 15th show, whose headliners included Sober (a Spanish rock band), Motorhead, and the big mama-jamma METALLICA!!

Due to fear of getting my camera confiscated I I only have a few pics from our friends phones, but they are enough to show that we had a great time.

When it was all said and done we were back in our hotel room with ringing ears and 3 am staring us in the face. Morning came all too early, followed by thrilling 6 hour drive back to Rota....needless to say, I need a long weekend to recover from that long weekend.