Me trying the local sweet wine that is traditionally eaten with desserts (like the churros and chocolate we just inhaled). Notice the bib. I didn't want to spill because it takes some talent to pour from that lamp-like bottle. The trick is to see how far you can get the bottle away from your mouth without spilling.
Corey fighting a fake bull in the Pamplona bull ring. He never saw it coming...
Me on the gazebo in la Plaza de los Castillos. It was a perfectly sunny day and Tim and I decided that it would be a good idea to take our senior photos here.
Probably the most entertaining thing we found all day! Seriously, we suddenly became school children the second we found this see-saw. It was SO much fun though!
A guard tower along the old wall of Pamplona.
An ALBINO peacock!! Who knew?!
On top of the most dangerous jungle gym we have ever climbed. (Corey (front), me, Tim) One wrong move and you're tangled in ropes with a snapped leg or arm. We decided that they have them in Spain to weed out the stupid kids, sort of like survival of the fittest.
The crazy jungle gym that we climbed. Not only was it really tall, but also really dangerous.
This weekend we went to Pamplona for a day (and then off to la Rioja, the wine country). We had so much fun exploring the city! It's the capital of the region Navarra in Spain so it's a fairly large city, but it has its old charm as well. We stayed in the hotel that the royal family stayed in when their father was sick because it's the closest nice hotel to the hospital there.
During the day, we took a tour of the city that was very intersting. We got to see the bar where Ernest Hemingway always hung out, and the hotel that he wrote about (La Perla), and the place where he always sat at the bull fighting arena.
It was really interesting to go to the bull arena because we learned the actual purpose behind bull fights. They're not just about blood and gore. It's more of a dance between life and death. The bullfighter's job is to honor the bull and hide its flaws from the audience. If you're a bullfighter and you don't do this, then you pretty much shouldn't show your face in Pamplona again because everyone will be really mad at you for dishonoring the bull. The bull's job is to show its worthiness to live by fighting back. If he shows that he has a strong will to live, then they clean him up and take really good care of him and let him live a long happy life with lots of vegetables and cows. But if the bull does not fight back enough, then they "lead it to death."
All in all it was a very fun trip and I had a great time learning about the bull celebrations they have here and seeing all of the beautiful buildings and eating the most amazing churros and chocolate!
Lots of fun to see what you did in Pamplona. Seems like the local wine and spirits are to your liking?
ReplyDeleteIt was good to talk with you yesterday and we'll look forward to another Skype session with you this Sunday.
Dad.
Bay- I climbed a jungle gym just like that in Scotland (when I was 9- it's crazy that I still remember it) and it was so cool! They would never allow those here! Miss you!
ReplyDeleteEmily