June 13, 2005
Spain: More than Bulls
Seville was little more than a stopover, but I was a lot more than lost wandering through the endless alleys. I met Serena at a hostel in Valencia and accompanied her to Barcelona, her new home.
A glass of Bio Frutas "Pacifico" juice and a bowl of gazpacho at a coffeeshop in Seville.
I met three Canadian backpackers on the train from Seville to Valencia. There was a stadium directly across the train station about to host a bullfight. The four of us had vague ideas about what to expect, but we realized our ignorance once the bullfight began.
Out comes an angry bull. Bullfighters tease and tire the bull, and then three bullfighters stab it twice each until there are six swords dangling from his back.
Two bullfighters come out on blindfolded and shielded horses and one of them stabs the bull. In turn, the bull attacks the horse and the horse remains calm.
When the bull slows down drastically, the matador gives him one last stab and the bull falls stiff to his side. Two horses comes out to drag the bull out of the stadium. Hooray! Workers cover the bull blood with dirt to prepare for the next bull. The Canadians and I stayed for five of the six bullfights.
Serena and I met at the Home Hostel in Valencia. We walked around and when we heard loud bangs, we walked toward them. I think we caught the last firework, but what was left resembled my mental image of a bomb scene.
Serena and me.
A view of the neighborhood from the roof of the Home Hostel.
A smiling lobster resting on a roof along a boardwalk.
This fashion season we offer you Pop Tits.
Las Ramblas is the tourist street in Barcelona. At the end of Las Ramblas was this abandoned cat. I fed him for two days and the third day he was gone.
Street performers and vendors line the sides of Las Ramblas. This businessman was caught in time.
And this man was painting.
On some trains, the subway cars are connected without doors. The train is like one long car.
Antonio Gaudi's work is scattered across Barcelona.
Shadow of a monument that reads:
"To those who died defending the rights and constitutions of Catalonia in the siege of Barcelona (1713-1714)"
An artist risked his ass by vandalizing a wall to warn tourists about pickpockets.
Even the so-called "Designated Graffiti Area" sign is a Designated Graffiti Area itself.
