Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Los Toros



I only have two full days left in Sevilla, and as usual, I'm way behind on my blogging. But even though I'm a couple of weeks late, I have to give you the 411 on "Los Toros."

Bullfighting has been a part of the culture of Spain for many many years. When most people think of Spain, they immediately think of the gigantic bulls and glittery costumes associated with the bullfights.

We had the opportunity to attend one of these bullfights, and even though I found it difficult to watch the matadors kill the bulls, I'm glad I was able to experience a taste of the culture of Sevilla.

Dr. Douglas Inglis, the director of the TTU Center in Sevilla, gave us a little bit of information about Los Toros before we attended the fight, so hopefully my explanation and my pictures will help describe my experience.

I have to start with the two main rules of the bullfights (according to Dr. Inglis, of course).
Rule number 1: Whistling=bad,
Rule number 2: Clapping/waving a white handkerchief = good.
(This came as a surprise to us Americans who are accustomed to whistling when we approve of something).

The fights begin with the "aguaciles," or marshals, who begin by entering the ring and asking the president for permission to hold the bullfight. Of course, the president says yes.

I really enjoyed the ceremonial aspect of this part of the bullfights.



You will notice the bullfighters wear a beautiful outfit called la "Traje de luces" which literally means, "Suit of lights." My pictures aren't great, but seeing the different suits was definitely my favorite part.



The pink and turquoise was my favorite. : )



As most everyone knows, the bullfights begin when they release the bull from tunnel. The bull, a little disoriented after spending several days in the dark, usually walks around a while before he realizes he is not alone in the ring. (Most of the bulls usually weigh between 1200-1400 pounds). These bulls are bread for bullfights and until the day they enter the ring, they never see a two-legged animal. Thus, when the bull sees a human for the first time, he feels threatened.



There are three matadores and six bulls per fight. Each matador kills two bulls. The picadores (men on horseback) and the sequitos (men with yellow/pink capes) injure the bull before the matador enters the ring. The primary goal of the picadores and the sequitos is to weaken the neck of the bull, so he is not able to hold his head up when the matador enters.

This picador knelt directly in front of the gate where the bull was released. Brave or stupid? You decide.



Here are some more pictures of this part of the fights.









Every bull that enters the ring will be killed, unless the president pardons the bull. Very seldom does this happen, but should a bull be pardoned, he must have shown exceptional bravery and stamina during the fight. The only reason the president will pardon the bull is because he/she believes the bull will be good for breeding other brave bulls.

During the fight we attended, one of the bulls broke his horn on the wall. The president ordered that the bull be dismissed from the fight, so several cows were released into the ring, and the bull was killed immediately upon entering the tunnel.



The artful display of the matador's fight with the bull is truly spellbinding. The matador must study the steps of the bull, so he knows which way to rotate. He must learn whether the bull steps with his right foot or left foot first. I especially enjoyed watching the matador wave his muleta (red cape). He must keep the cape very close to the body, yet turn in a small enough radius to avoid being injured by the bull. This is the key of bullfighting: a man can easily turn inside his radius, a bull cannot. The matador continues turning and enticing the bull until the bull's head is low enough for the matador to pierce the heart with his sword. It is considered a good kill if the bull dies within a short amount of time after being stabbed.

Here are a couple of pictures of the skillful matadors.





Matadors who perform exceptionally well are given an ear from the bull after the fight. I didn't have the opportunity to see this (thankfully), but it's an interesting tradition.



As I said before, I found it very difficult to watch the bullfights. Even though we weren't allowed to cheer for the bull, I secretly wanted him to win...but doesn't everyone root for the underdog?

Until next time! Ciao!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Family Night in Sevilla

Well, I'm back from Italy (which I will blog about soon), and I only have four days left in beautiful Sevilla. I think I've been in some kind of denial phase because tonight is the first night I realized how sad I am to leave this place. Part of it has to do with the fact that Isa, Ale, Kristen, and I have finally become like a little family. My Spanish is finally good enough to crack jokes, and I just now feel comfortable having meaningful conversations with Isa. But enough with the reminiscing, I'm sure you'll get an eye-full of that, later.

First, I want to tell you about tonight’s activities to give you an idea of how our "family" functions here in Sevilla.

It all began when Isa rushed into my room tonight, pointed at my "GINORMOUS suitcase and said (in Spanish), "Why does your suitcase weigh so much? You're not going to be able to get back to America with that."

"Yes I will," I said. "I'm strong, and there's no way it weighs more than 25 kilos."

"No you won't," she argued, "I called Ale in here to try and lift it earlier, and even he couldn't pick it up."

Our playful banter continued like this for a few seconds before she called Ale and his 6'3" friend, Luis, into my room to try and put my suitcase on Kristen's scale. After a long struggle to fit my suitcase onto the scale, Ale and Luis peaked at the number and began laughing hysterically. My suitcase weighed 34 kilos!!!

"Kate, are you sure you didn't kill a man and put his body in this bag?" Ale asked.

After the suitcase incident, round two of our comical night began. Ale began modeling clothes his cousin had given him. One-by-one he came into our room for Isa's approval. The first shirt he modeled was cream with pearl snap buttons.

"I look like I'm in a mariachi band," he said while pretending to play a little guitar. Isa agreed and waved him away to try on the next shirt.

He then came back in wearing a blue and white striped shirt.

"Que chulo," (How cool!), he said. Isa immediately intervened and pointed to his rainbow-striped pajama pants, "It looks really nice with those pants. You should wear this outfit when we go to Rome."

Ale laughed, ran out of the room, and then came back wearing the same clothes, except this time he was wearing the striped button-up shirt, rainbow-striped pajama pants, and a blue and black striped scarf. Kristen, Isa, and I all laughed while he began to strike model poses.

"I look like a "payaso" (clown)," he said.

Here is a picture of Ale in his "fashionable" striped outfit.



Ale then left the room for a third time and came back in a faded denim button-up shirt.

"This looks like a rancher," he said, "a cowboy."

Isa laughed, stood from my bed, and began to "shoot" her "cowboy" son with the two fake pistols she had withdrawn from make-believe holsters. While Isa played cowboy, Ale began making clip clop noises while pretending to ride a horse.

Ale continued to try on more shirts before finally wrapping up his make-believe fashion show. As soon as he and Isa left the room, Kristen and I looked at each other and said, "We are so lucky."

I've had so much fun seeing the world and living in a new city, but it's moments like these I will miss the most when I leave this place.

Until next time...Ciao!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

London...home of good food, English, and Reese's

Here's a little something to start us off with, a picture of me pretending to use a famous London phonebooth...typical. (Might I add that all of the pictures you see in my blog were taken by either Whitney or Zora. I've been having to steal pictures since the pickpocket incident in Paris.)



Let me begin this blog with my first discovery in London...the English have the French beat on flattery. Although I only visited for three days, I was able to compile quite a long list of “sweet talk” or “pet names” I heard during my short stay.

For example: Our Russian/English/(not really sure what nationality he was) concierge at our B&B referred to my friends and I as, ""Darling" and "Lovely", and the man from whom I bought a waffle topped with chocolate, whipped cream, and strawberries (yes, it was AMAZING) called me "Love" as he handed me my waffle. The woman who gave me my change at a pastry shop didn't leave the table before dropping a "Thanks, dear," and last but not least, I asked a policeman for directions and he said, "Sure, love."
These are just a few of the reasons why I loved London.

Now, let me begin with the details of the trip....

As soon as I stepped off the train in London, I felt at home. I heard passerby speaking English, saw English newspapers, and was FINALLY able to read the signs. It was such a relief! I immediately bought a Glamour magazine for 4.90 pounds which was probably way too expensive, but definitely worth it. So, it was with magazine in hand, that I set out (with my friends) to find our Bed and Breakfast, Elizabeth House Inn*.

*I hope when you read "Bed and Breakfast" you weren't imagining a tiny cottage run by a cute little old lady, because if so, you would be wrong. I never I thought I would say this, but our hostel in Barcelona had Elizabeth House beat on cleanliness. I should have known it was going to be bad when I stepped through the door, placed my foot on the doormate, and felt my foot sink a couple of inches. However, setting aside the fact that our red-carpeted B&B smelled of mothballs and the ancient bathrooms had little hot water, Elizabeth House was cheap and provided for an interesting experience.

After checking into our B&B, we headed in the direction of our first stop, The Tower of London, but I had to make a quick stop on the way to check the prices on tickets for the musical, Wicked. Whitney, Zora, and I were able to buy three good seats for a reasonable price, so our plans for our first night in London were set...a date to Wicked : )



I'm getting a little out of order with my pictures, but here are Whitney, Zora, and I at Wicked just before the show began.



Our tour of the London tower was definitely a highlight of our trip. We were given our tour by a cute little "beefeater" who was extremely funny and full of knowledge about the history of the tower. He was able to give us full accounts on the stories of the executions of people such as Anne Boleyn and James Scott.

Here is a picture of us with our precious beefeater!



Following our tour, we visited the building containing the royal treasury. The pieces inside are ABSOLUTELY STUNNING...so stunning that you have to stand on a moving track to see them or else you could probably stare for hours.

On Friday morning we were able to catch the tail end of the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace. I wasn't close enough to the gates to see very much of what was going on, but I did catch a glimpse of the guards with the huge furry hats (not sure what they're called, but I love them)!





Some of the other things we saw in London were Big Ben (it made me want to watch Peter Pan), Parliament, and the London Eye.





We weren't able to go to Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's on Friday because they were both closed to do Holy Week festivities, so we made a mad dash Saturday morning to see both before our flight. Westminster Abbey contains so much history and is incredibly beautiful...it was probably my favorite thing we visited on our trip. We didn't tour the inside of St. Paul's because it cost about 20 pounds to visit. There was a sign in the front of the cathedral which said they have to charge so much for tickets because it takes millions of dollars a year to maintain.

Whitney and I outside Westminster Abbey...

I can't wrap up this blog until I discuss the BEST thing we encountered in London...I'll give you a hint, it's a topic that comes up frequently on my blog...Yep, you're right if you guessed food. But seriously, the food in London was AMAZING, and so American. It gave me a little taste of what I am going to appreciate when I get back to the states. The best place we ate was this little restaurant called Nando's. They have pitas, sandwiches, and wraps, but the best part about all this is they are all filled with CHICKEN. It was such a relief to not have to dissect my pita to make sure it didn't contain sardines, pate, lentils, or goat's cheese before I ate it. This place was so delicious. Zora, Whitney, and I went back for round 2 a day later! : ) Here is a picture Zora took outside of our favorite restaurant!!



After our first DELICIOUS lunch at Nando's we walked across the street to a, yep, you guessed it, BAKERY called Patisserie Valerie!! Zora and I shared the best chocolate cake I've had in Europe.



So before I wrap up this blog, and finally stop talking about food, I will say, I did try the infamous fish 'n chips. I enjoyed London's most famous dish, but Nando's chicken trumped the fish. This about wraps up the short version of our London trip!! Until next time!

WAIITTTTT!!!!

I can't believe I almost published this post without mentioning my life-changing experience. I was standing in the metro after my wallet was stolen pouting/crying/laughing at my bad luck when I looked in the direction of a newspaper stand and much to my surprise, I saw the glowing rapper REESE'S on the shelf!!! AHH!! Jeremy saw my excitement and bought me one (knowing it would drastically change my mood), and my day immediately took a turn for the better!!

I even had my friends take a picture of the wrapper, so when I came back to Spain, I would know I wasn't dreaming...my favorite candy still exists!

Paris



Hola Todos!! Prepare yourself for a slightly boring blog sans pictures (except for the ones I steal from friends). My camera was stolen in Paris, so all of the AMAZING pictures I planned to show you are probably being uploaded onto someone else's blog as we speak (okay, maybe I'm giving myself a little too much credit...my pictures weren't that great). So, hopefully you'll be able to get through this without visuals...

Our trip began Monday, March 29, at 6 a.m. We caught the bus to the airport and checked into what many would consider the WORST AIRLINE ON THE PLANET (Ryanair). I feel a little bad for bashing Ryanair on my blog because the flights are cheap, and it flew me safely to Paris, but you definitely get what you pay for.

The first lesson I learned is...when Ryanair says your carry-on has to be 10kg or less, they mean it!! But never fear, I was somehow able to force my suitcase into one of the "bag check devices" which measure your bag to make sure it will fit into the overhead bins on the plane; however, it took me (and two of my friends) 15 minutes to get it OUT of the device! Needless-to-say, the woman who forced me to put it in there regretted her decision.

After the bag checking drama (Whitney and Chelsea ended up having to check their bags), we finally boarded the plane just in time for a nice long siesta...well, at least my plan was to take a nice long siesta! My plans were ruined when the “auction” began. Within five minutes of the flight, the flights attendants began walking the aisles selling everything from perfume, to toys, to smokeless cigarettes. Our tiny Ryanair plane soon became a circus. You can imagine my excitement once we finally made it to Paris.

Our hostel, St. Christopher's Inn, was MUCH MUCH better than our hostel in Barcelona. It was a lot cleaner and there were curtains on each bed (to keep the peeping toms from peeping). We even had the opportunity to talk to some of our roommates, one of which who was a 50-year-old man "celebrating" his birthday with a trip to Paris and NYC. He was hilarious. He snored loudly and spoke very little English, but somehow we bonded over borrowed blow dryers and sight-seeing recommendations.

Our first night in Paris, we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower, and we made it just in time to watch the first light show. It was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! I've heard people say that the romantic feel of Paris is a little overrated, but there is nothing more magical than the Eiffel Tower at night. However, part of its charm might have been due to the fact that I was able to view the show while devouring a chocolate and banana crêpe.

A picture of Whitney and I in front of the Eiffel Tower (courtesy of Whitney's facebook)



The next day was a very busy day. We visited Notre Dame, Musée d'Orsay, and the Arc de Triomphe (Arch de Triumph). The line to visit the tower of Notre Dame was too long, so we were only able to enter the main part of the cathedral. The architecture and tranquil atmosphere of Notre Dame were awe inspiring. The inside was packed with tourists, making it a little difficult to see everything, but we were able to watch a Holy Week ceremony which was basically a “performance” of a funeral for Christ.

The Musée d'Orsay was probably my favorite thing we visited in Paris (besides the Eiffel Tower, of course). It contains paintings from some of the most famous Impressionist painters including: Degas, Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh. A couple of my favorites were "Danseuses Bleues" by Degas and "Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette, Montmartre" by Renoir.

Here are examples of my two favorite paintings (pictures courtesy of Google) : )





The next morning, we caught an early train to Versailles. The inside of Versailles was beautiful and just as extravagant as I expected. I especially liked Marie Antoinette's bedroom. Unfortunately, the monsoon hit just as we were leaving Versailles, so we weren't able to visit the gardens. Due to the blowing wind and rain we quickly left Versailles and made a mad dash for the nearest cafe (this is when my camera was stolen). After I realized I didn't have my camera, it kind of put a damper on the day, but I didn't have long to be sad because we were off to The Louvre.

After reading The Da Vinci code and hearing so many things about The Louvre, I was extremely excited to visit this incredible museum. It was absolutely fascinating. I can’t begin to describe its enormity and content, but this fact might help you put it into perspective: Supposedly if you spend four seconds gazing at each object in the Louvre, it would take you 3 months to see the entire museum. Because of this, I left feeling as though I hadn’t seen enough, but I my favorites were definitely The Mona Lisa (of course) and the Venus Sculpture.

Unfortunately, the weather and the stolen camera incident made my Paris trip a little less magical than I expected, but hopefully someday I can return and spend more time soaking up the less touristy side of the city.

I will have an update on the London portion of my trip soon!! Until then…Hasta luego!!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Semana Santa



Hola Todos! I'm back from a week of travelling in Paris and London, and although I returned short of my camera, money, and all my credit cards (beware of pickpockets in these two cities), I had a wonderful time! I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the monuments and museums I grew up learning about, i.e. The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and ever since I saw the great Big Ben, I've been fighting the urge to download Peter Pan and watch it! But before I divulge all the details of my trip, I should probably fill you in on Semana Santa, simply because this is the reason why I had a free week to travel in the first place.

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is literally what it sounds like, a week for members of the Catholic faith to commemorate the last week of Christ's life on Earth. Members have participated in Semana Santa for hundreds of years and still maintain the same schedule beginning on Palm Sunday and ending the day before Easter Sunday. Because this holiday is steeped in symbolism and tradition, it is a little hard to for me to understand/explain, but hopefully my pictures will help clarify.

The majority of Semana Santa is comprised of hermandades, or brotherhoods, which are the oldest institutions functioning in the city. In fact, they are older than Sevilla itself. The brotherhoods are civic-oriented institutions which basically control all the major decisions in the city.
During Semana Santa, members of the hermandad dress in túnicas, or robes, (which Americans may realize greatly resemble KKK uniforms), and they walk the streets for hours upon hours with their pasos, or floats. Each paso commemorates a different stage during the last week of Christ's life on earth.



Each paso is made of gold or silver plated wood and is extremely heavy. Once can weigh anywhere from 600 pounds to 3 tons! The pasos are carried upon the shoulders of the strongest men in the brotherhoods, the costaleros. These men, too, walk for many hours. When they are not carrying their paso, they can be found wearing a thick belt and what appears to be a turban on their head. The turban helps lessen the pain of carrying 100+ pounds on their shoulders for hours on end.



Here is a picture of my Spanish brother, Ale, and I. He is a member of the La Paz brotherhood which literally means "The Peace" in English. Ale walked the streets of Sevilla with this brotherhood for about 12 hours on Palm Sunday. Although Ale's uniform has a negative connotation for Americans, it actually represents something very powerful for the members of the brotherhood. The people who wear these uniforms are called Nazarenos, or people from Nazareth, and their robes symbolize an anonymous penance. The inability to be identified symbolizes their commitment to their faith. Many of the members even walk barefoot to show their commitment.



Here are some pictures of some of the other pasos I saw.





Here is a picture of the cruz de guía, which is the cross carried at the front of the procession. The person allowed to carry the cross is considered an honorary member of the brotherhood.





Many of these pasos are also accompanied by a "banda de música" which plays music for all of the processions except for the silent ones.



The pasos containing the Virgen, or the Virgin Mary, are supported by varales, which are silver/gold poles supporting the palio (canopy) of the paso. The Virgen pasos often produce a very solemn, respectful atmosphere.







The cutest monaguillo (child dressed like a priest) I saw all day! : ) (sorry, I know it's a tad creepy)



It's a little ironic that the children hand out candy to the old people...don't ya think?



Although I was only in Sevilla for one day of Semana Santa, I was very moved by the people's devotion to their faith. Semana Santa was truly worth seeing, and I'm grateful for the experience! Until next time...adios!!