Madrid, Spain

When our plane landed in Madrid, it was raining. We hopped on a bus advertising a destination we had never heard of and couldn't read (because it was in Spanish, not because we didn't know how to read), and hoped it was the same one the lady at the train station had pointed out. Once we found our hostel, there was alot of gesturing and consulting of Spanish phrasebooks, only to finally discover that there weren't any rooms available. We found a room at a nearby hostel they recommended to us, which was clean and only about $14 a night. The only downside was it had the smallest bathroom I've ever seen. While we were there, we visited several museums, the most famous being the Prado.

The most memorable experience in Madrid, though, would have to be the bullfight. Instead of seeing people drinking beer, it seemed like everyone was drinking whiskey, and it's not just a shot or two, it's a tall glass. The crowd cheers as the matadors circle the arena on foot or on decorated horses, getting ready for the big event. The arena is circular, with small fences inside the ring for the men to hide behind, but too close to the wall for the bull to get at them. They gang up on the animal, it's not one-on-one, the bull vs. the matador like I had imagined. I would guess that there were around 10 bullfighters, not including the head matador who finishes off the bull at the end (or lets him live, if the crowd cheers for it). As the bull chases down one or two of the bullfighters who run behind a wall, two more men run up behind it to stab it quickly or taunt the bull to chase them in order to wear him down. After awhile two men, each carrying a spiked ball attached to a short club, insert them into the bull, which are left there, hanging down and tearing at the flesh, bleeding and weakening the bull. Other matadors will run out and stab the bull with a full-length sword, which is also left in the animal to weaken it. By the time the head matador comes out to finish off the animal, he's pretty much done for, stumbling and falling down. The final blow is done with a short sword inserted into the back of the bull's head (into what seemed like where the brain meets the spinal cord), where he swirls the sword around a little, causing the animal to jerk and convulse one last time, putting him out of his misery. Two horses are then led out to drag the carcass out of the ring, leaving a nice trail of blood in the sand. Then the next bull is brought out, and the process is repeated. They went through a total of about 7-10 bulls during this particular performance, although they did allow one or two of the bulls to leave the ring alive, as they put up a good fight (although I heard that the animal is killed anyway once it's out of public view).

The people who were showing us around Madrid were born and raised there and had never attended a bull fight in their lives, and had no desire to. It seems that bullfighting is largely a tourist attraction, and might therefore be done away with if tourists would stop attending these events. If you ever visit Madrid, please do not go see a bullfight -- It was anything but entertaining.