Saturday proved to be a full day. I met a few more au pairs and we spent the day in Madrid. With beautiful weather, we all got along and explored Gran Vía, Plaza de España, etc.
At a restaurant, we nearly got our phones stolen by professional "bandits." The kind restaurant staff saved us. Our heroes!
Another place of interest to one of the girls was the Museo de Jamón (Ham Museum). Shortly after opening the door, it was clear that this was the biggest ham shop I had ever entered ...despite the fact that I had never even been in a ham shop before that day.
Side note: The staff was talking about us in Spanish, but they didn't know that we could understand them. "Look at these tourists. They'll probably just take a picture and leave. They're probably English teachers or au pairs. They're not going to buy anything." Right, right, right, and right.
Nevertheless, that didn't get us down. Later that night, I went with a separate group to a bullfight. As tradition tells us, this is necessary to attend a bullfight if you dare go to Spain.
Most people who have gone to bullfights have told me that it was one of the most disgusting experiences of their life. I am going to be so grossed out and appalled--even if I'm not an animal lover!
I was prepared for the worst. Then this popped out of the tunnel:
For some unknown reason, I could hardly believe that they actually dressed like this. Tradition lives!
While still pretty grisly, the violence was really less than I was expecting. Most of the time, I found myself bored rather than wanting to vomit in my purse.
However, the girls with whom I attended the fight were extremely squeamish. Let's just say that if you're a vegetarian like one of them, a bullfight is not exactly your "scene."
Even though bullfighting has a bad reputation, I still maintain that this is a valid form of culture representation. I am very glad that I saw the art form. It proved quite interesting. I may not go to another one again, but I would still encourage travelers to attend. (Unless, of course, you faint at the sight of a paper cut. Then, stay away.)
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