Yesterday I arrived to Pamplona around 8:00 P.M. I went from the train station to the hotel. I went to bed very early because the front office clerk recommended to go downtown around 6:00 A.M for the “Running with the Bulls” event.
Pamplona, Basque Region, Spain
Actually the event starts at 8:00 A.M. with the sound of fireworks; however, it was so crowded that you need to be early to have a good spot. If you get there very early, you can see the bulls in front; if you get there kind of late (like me), then they can only hear the bells and the feet of the bulls. If you are not cheap, you can lease a balcony with starting prices at 50 Euros. The streets are very narrow so the only ones in the streets are the bulls and the crazy people running with them; there are very few spots where people can watch the bulls running (just at streets intersections).
Narrow streets in Pamplona, Basque Region, Spain
It is very exciting to hear the fireworks at 8:00 A.M. Starting time, you just hear all that people screaming and then, the next thing that you see, is a bunch of people running, a moment later, you hear the bells of the bulls. At last, you hear the feet of the humongous bulls running, and it is the time when the bulls are in front of you.
Running of the bulls in Pamplona, Basque Region, Spain
The event is very short (no more than 3 minutes), but they are very exciting!
The past three days have been very unusual.
First, I was stuck in Barcelona for one more night because all the train tickets for San Sebastian were sold out .Since I had one more afternoon in Barcelona, I decided to walk around the Victorian Quarter and then to visit Guadi’s building, a must thing to do. So I walked around 35 minutes to get to the Victorian Quarter, where I took some pretty pictures of the Victorian houses and sat at a coffee shop to drink a “coffee frappe”.
It was time to go to Guadi’s building, so I took the subway, and when getting out of the “Metro” station, I saw a lot of people and it was very noise. I was so scared that actually I did not go out of the station, and I took the train again, this time in the direction of the hotel. Oh no! A lot of people are outside of the station again! Actually, there were two subway stops from Guadi’s building to my hotel.
On my way out from the “Metro” Station in Barcelona, Cataluna Reion, Spain
I asked people around the Metro before getting out to the street (very smart 🙂 ) to inform me what was going on. They told me that it was a protest by the Catalans asking for an independent country (as usual). Anyway, that was the only route that I had to take to get to my hotel, and it took me 20 minutes to cross the 6 lane street.
Catalans' Protest in Barcelona, Cataluna Region, Spain
I was already on the corner of the street, when a person in front of me fainted, and very smartly, I started blowing air into her face and back of the head, two persons next to her held her, and we started walking in between people. Everybody was giving us fast access, and it took me only 30 seconds to walk the same distance that took 20 minutes before.
During the time that I was away from the crowd, it was time to watch the soccer match between Uruguay and Germany for third place in the South Africa World Cup 2010. I went to a nice little place where a lot of young people were hanging out. I ate the most desired sandwich ever (my stomach was empty for 7 hours) and I watched the first period of the match. Then I hit the hotel, where I watched the rest of it.
Yesterday, my train for San Sebastian was early, so I was out of the hotel at 6:45 A.M. It took 5 hours, and I got to San Sebastian in the early afternoon (around 1:30 P.M).
San Sebastian is a small city and it is a vacation spot, rather than touristic. I had only a couple of things to do, mostly to do with sun, beach and partying, which I did not get to do any of them. Even though it was cloudy, it was nice weather. It was kind of hot. Since it was nice outside, I decided to walk from my hotel to the beach (two small blocks away), I was thinking about getting into the Ocean. I wet my feet, and the water was cool, and with no sun, no wonder no one was at the beach (it looked like a ghost beach city).
La Concha Beach, San Sebastain, Vasc Region, Spain
I walked to the Cathedral, then I went to a fort where one of the battles against Napoleon was fought, and then I went downtown. It was a nice walk. I saw a lot of little shop places, and I took some pictures of the narrow streets with wonderful views.
Cathedral in San Sebastain, Vasc Region, Spain
Entrance to the Fort from the top of the hill, San Sebastain, Vasc Region, Spain
City Hall in San Sebastain, Vasc Region, Spain
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San Sebastain, Vasc Region, Spain
The city was kind of dead, between the weather and the San Fermin Festival (known as the “Pamplonada”), nobody was in the city. No big party around, especially for a night when the Spanish team won the World Cup (which I wasted two hours of my trip watching such a terrible match). In a few words, no sun, no beach, no party. However, I really enjoyed San Sebastian. So far, it is the place that I would live if I moved to Europe. The pee odor is still a characteristic in all the Spanish cities that I have visited, and San Sebastian is no exception.
The original San Sebastian plan was to be one whole day on the beach, and a morning walking around the town, but I changed all the plans, because there was no way I would stay at the beach for more than one hour. So today, I walked again around the city, since I really like it.
I’m on my way to Pamplona, and I already bought my red belt and my red handkerchief to be a doc with the festivities.
I took the hotel train from Granada to Barcelona, it took 12 hours to get to the final destination, and I shared a room on the train with 3 other people. The awesome part is that my roommates for the night were from Mexico City!
The train departed from Granada at 10:00 P.M. And it arrived to Barcelona at 9:45 A.M. I checked into the hotel around 10:15 A.M., and since that time I walked all around the city until 11:00 P.M.
I went to the Sagrada Familia, to the Picasso Museum, to the Cathedral, to the Gothic Quarter, to the Guadi Museum, and I took a long walk on the Passeig de Gracia where Guadi’s buildings are in each corner.
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Cataluna Region, Spain
Cathedral, Barcelona, Cataluna Region, Spain
Gothic Quarter, Barcelona, Cataluna Region, Spain
Parc Güell, Barcelona, Cataluna Region, Spain
Today I walked all of Rambla Street; it is a touristic street that takes you to the ocean. Now, I am sitting in a nice little place drinking beer and enjoying the day (which I think that is one of the coolest days since I arrived in Spain).
Guadi's building in Barcelona, Cataluna Region, Spain
Doggie made of sand: Playa de Barceloneta, Barcelona, Catalua Region, Spain
Today I went to the Alhambra, which consists in four buildings: the Nazari Palace, Generalife, the Alacabaza fort (all these buildings are Moorish) and the Charles V’s Palace (built next to the Nazari Palace when the Moors were expelled from Spain.)
All the Moorish buildings were spectacular, with exquisite details everywhere. So beautiful… I can’t say anything more.
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Nazari Palace in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Nazari Palace in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Nazari Palace in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Generalife in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Alcazabar Fort in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Alcazabar Fort in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Charles V's Castle in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Courtyard of Charles V's Castle (center of the castle) in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Inside of Charles V's Castle (center of the castle) in Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Today we went to Ronda. Ronda is a very typical Mediterranean town with just one, but amazing attraction: the Gorge Bridge. The bridge is really impressive. I saw the bridge from two different views, and I cross it. Since the train to Granada doesn’t depart until 5:38 P.M. and I got to Ronda at 11:00 A.M., I visited little touristic places, such as the Lara Museum and Don Bosco’s House.
I really enjoyed the Lara Museum because you can touch everything in the museum. I jumped into an old carriage and I took pictures of me in torture tools of the inquisition in the museum.
Gorge Bridge in Ronda, White Hills / Andalucia Region, Spain
View of the Gorge Bridge in Ronda from half way to the bottom of the bridge, White Hills / Andalucia Region, Spain
Carriage
Torture tools from the Spanish Inquisition
Torture tools from the Spanish Inquisition
Don Bosco's House in Ronda, Spain
Country side in Ronda, Spain
Everywhere I have been so far in Spain is very hot, with a temperature above 90 F (32 C) and high humidity. I drag myself along when I have a few hours of sleep. I try to get early to go tourist around and I always try get to bed early, but it is very difficult to go back to the hotel when there is still lots of sunlight at 10:00 P.M. Also, most of the touristic places close around 8:00 P.M., and that’s when I go to eat. Everybody is out at night, and I sit wondering, listening conversations, and walking around, and before I notice, it is already 11:00 P.M. So I go to the hotel and I get ready to go to bed. By the time that I am in bed, it is around 1:00 P.M.
Neither the weather nor the few hours of sleep stop me of having fun over here. Yesterday I got to Malaga around 3:00 P.M.. Malaga is a small and nice city next to the Mediterranean Sea. I visited the Cathedral and the Plaza Mayor; unfortunately it was the hottest day so far on my trip, and it made it impossible to walk around without taking long breaks in coffee shops where I ask for lemonades, beer or just plain water. In the evening I went to an amphitheater that was built around the 11th century by the Moors. Malaga was under the Moors Empire at that time. At the end of the day, I went to see a Flamenco show that was amazing!
Cathedral in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain
City Hall in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain
Amphitheater in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain
Today, I went to the Gibralfaro Castle and the Alcabaza Fort; beautiful places. I’d seen some Moorish style construction in photographs and magazines, but it is just fantastic see it in person, the castle is such a beautiful building, with lots of details from top to bottom (walls, ceiling, floors, doors, etc.).
After spending the whole morning and part of the afternoon at the castle and fort, I am spending the time on the beach. I’m under a tree in the shade, and I am still very hot. I’ll go to swim in the ocean in a little bit to cool off!
Alcabaza Fort in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain
View of Malaga from the Alcabaza Fort in Costa del Sol, Spain
Gibralfaro Castle in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain
Gibralfaro Castle in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain
View of the Mediterranean Ocean in Malaga, Costa del Sol, Spain
Today is the last day here in Malaga. Tomorrow I am going to Ronda, a town in the White Hills in the Andalucia region
I planed to go to the Royal Palace where Carlos V lived; however, it was closed for renovation. Then I decided to walk the third part of Toledo that I didn’t visit yesterday. It really didn’t take much, since in that third there aren’t any museums, churches or any attractions, except pretty and old buildings with narrow streets. The streets are so narrow that if a person is walking in the street, cars have to wait for the person to walk the street, or if the car came first into the street, the pedestrian has to wait until the car is gone.
Toledo's Castle, Spain
Military Academy of Toledo, Spain
A park in Toledo, Spain
After my walking in town, I walk around the city, following the Tagus river, and then I went into the city by the entrance of the wall. After that, I sat down in a coffee place and watched people pass by. I am done in Toledo, I am ready to swim in the Mediterranean ocean on the weekend.
At the Tagus River, Toledo, Spain
Cafeteria at Toledo, Spain
Today I traveled 60 miles from Madrid to Toledo on the high speed train (300km/hr or 186 mi/hr). When I took a taxi to the hotel, I had a glance of Toledo. At that moment I knew that I would fall in love in the Medieval town with a lot of Moorish style buildings.
Toledo's train station
After checking into the hotel, I went downtown. Wow! Toledo is a very neat place and a very small town. It is a beautiful city, it reminds me to Guanajuato for its pretty, old buildings, and narrow streets. Toledo is a city surrounded by the Tagus River, except by the north, which there is a wall that was built to protect Toledo from invasions (when it was built, Toledo was the capital of Spain).
Main Street in Toledo, Spain
While downtown, I took a 40 min tour bus that took me around the city, following the Tagus River, with an exceptional view of the protected city, and through some awesome places with important buildings.
View of Toledo across the Tagus River, Spain
Tagus River, Toledo, Spain
After the tour by bus, I went to the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo, to a synagogue built in the 12th century by moors for their own religion purposes, but the Jews took over the place when the moors where expelled from Spain and, finally, the synagogue was taken by the Catholics and converted into a church, and today it is just a tourist destination. After the synagogue, I passed by Greco’s house, by the so-called Jews neighborhood (however, there are no longer any Jews in Toledo), and while walking to the bus station to return to the hotel, I came across an exposition called “Tools of Torture of the Inquisition” in a tiny, tiny place.
Cathedral in Toledo, Spain
Synagogue in Toledo, Spain
Greco's house, Toledo, Spain
Old Jewish neighborhood in Toledo, Spain
Finally, after walking two thirds of the city and being on my feet all day, I am sitting in the terrace of a restaurant located in the Zocodover Plaza, the major square in Toledo, eating a Spanish style Lasagna. I am so done for the day!
Streets of Toledo, Spain
Streets of Toledo, Spain
Today I decided to save a little bit of energy, since tomorrow I will go to Toledo, and I bet I will be walking all day long.
Today I just went to the botanical garden, and then I went to eat dinner at the Ham Museum, which also is a nice restaurant. The seafood was wonderful.
After dinner I took my last evening walk in Madrid. Bye Madrid, see you soon Toledo!
Botanical Garden in Madrid, Spain
Museo del Jamon in Madrid, Spain
Yesterday I went to the Modern Art Museum of Reina Sofia. It was really neat looking at famous paintings from Goya, Dali, Picasso and Diego Rivera. I spent almost the entire day at the museum. I was tired, but it was worth it, even though I was on my feet for 10 hours.
Art Center Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain
Yesterday, I ate one of the most delicious stews in my whole life, the Spanish stew. But, my grandma’s recipe is still the best.
Eating Spanish Stew in “La Bola” Restaurant in Madrid, Spain
Today, I went to the Prado Museum where Goya, Velazquez and Greco’s most famous paintings are. I spent around 10.5 hours just in the museum, and it was a kind of a painful day. First, I woke up kind of late, and then I didn’t eat breakfast because I needed to be at the museum by 9:00 A.M. There, I drank coffee and ate a small piece of cake around 11:00 A.M. for breakfast.
I am eating my lunch/dinner near La Puerta de Alcala after a long day! What a day!
Purta de Alcala in Madrid, Spain
