El Plaza del Torro: Bull fighting arena

We got a tour of the bull fighting arena in Sevilla. There are a bunch of bull fights next weekend, however, I will be in Granada and Malaga, so I won't be able to catch them. Part me is bummed, but part of me is relieved.

In Spain, they kill the bulls, so you literally sit in an arena, and watch a "matador" (direct translation: Killer) slay a bull fr entertainment. The matador has to stab the bull in it's spine to make it the least painful for the bull, however, it order to do that, you need to be like less than two feet from the face of the bull.

The matadors ride horses during the event, which makes me feel terrible for the horses, since often, they are the ones getting injured. We visited the horse stables here.

Bull fighting season runs from April-October, and for the first two weeks, during the "Festival of Spring," (a big celebration in Sevilla) the plaza has a bull fight almost every day for two weeks. After that, there is a fight almost every Sunday. Each Matador has to kill 2 bulls. A show consists of 3 Matadors, so all in all, 6 bulls are killed every week. During the Festival of Spring, those are daily statistics.

However, if a bull kills the matador (which does happen), then it is considered bad luck (obviously), but then the bull's whole family, including it's mother and siblings are euthanized. Seems a bit drastic, but who am I to judge I suppose. The youngest matador ever actually fought in Sevilla, and was only 14 years old, and he is considered one of the best ever. He died fighting a bull though, and the face of that bull is now showcased in the museum part of the plaza.

The arena can fit up to 14,000 people, but most shows don't usually have more than 5,000 people. Standard handstand picture in the arena.

I validate that this sport is an activity of physical fitness and courage, discipline, and challenges, and I can validate that this is a huge part of Spanish culture and plays more of a role in defining a country in today's globalized world, and I can even validate that the slaying of the bull is done out of honor, because EVERY SINGLE part of the bull is used after it is slain, even to this day. However, I do not know how strongly I can validate that this morally entertaining nor a pleasant way to spend my Sunday afternoons.

Paseo por Barco

We went on a little river boat tour the other day (Tuesday the 17th)! It was really cool to see the bridges from a better view and appreciate all the scenery around us. It was also nice to see the other side of the city (farther than I usually walk) and now I know the running trail is a 5K trail! Of course, I have a ton of pictures of the Torre del Oro, but I just love it.

^
This is Triana, the neighborhood across the bridge. It is not as touristy as the Centro, and has Calle Betis, home to many of the sterotypical European discotecas (clubs).

People commented on how they don't like the graffiti, but I think it is kind of cool. It is organized graffiti, with the aim to decrease vandalism, and bring some color to the city. The other thing is it shows it is actually a city. It has a sense of hip hop, art, and appreciation fr the streets, and knows that the "city life" is part of what makes Sevilla, Sevilla.

To me, the bridges are just so freakin' cool. Each bridge is different, and has its own character.

This is Seville's only skyscraper, and it is not finished yet. Look at Seville go- keepin' up with the times!  But it is super modern!

The sunsets over the river are unheard of. This was at like 9pm. The sky is ACTUALLY those colors, and the palm trees and the bridges just add to the ambiance. It really is a romantic city too, and with views like that, that rationale is obvious.

Definitely worth my nine euro.

Paella y Sangria!

We keep getting pelted with free food this week! Last night we went to this restaurant that has American food because we organized a free dinner with them, and they gave us pizza, burritos, hotdogs(on like croissant bread:AMAZING), and bottomless sangria with some shots. It was so much fun! Then when we were walking home, we ran into this American who started a student travel business here, and was having a free Paella night with sangria tonight. I always wanted to try Paella, so I really wanted to go. They brought out the paella and it was HUGE... like 4 feet in diameter. It was made with meat and was really good! Really oily, but still great! I even got carried away and got a second plate. However, my eyes were bigger than my stomach, but I couldn't bear to throw it away. Then, I had a great idea! I pass so many homeless people on my walks home that I could just give it away! I walked past the Cathedral where I know many sit, and just walked up to one man that is always there with his dog. I didn't say anything, just set the plate down, FILLED with rice and smiled. He was so surprised and happy! I hope it made his day. Then I passed another man who I always see, but he was just sitting on a bench with all his belongings listening to the street performer. It was so peaceful. I wished I had seen him sooner, because I pass this old man more often. Tomorrow when I pass him, even though he is usually asleep in the morning during my walk, I am going to leave him one of my custard croissants I bought in a pack of 4 today (I don't really care for them anyway.) It just made me so sad. Each day watching these men and women on streets reminds me how lucky I am to have this experience. I decided I am going to go to this Paella thing every week and walk out with a plate (it is unlimited, and people eat it out in the street, so no one will even notice), and give my extra to someone I pass on the street. #gooddeeds

El Torre del Oro Naval Museum/ Faces of Sevilla

Free museum day! During siesta I headed over  to the lookout tower, to check out the naval museum. It was small, but still provided me with entertainment for about 40 minutes (I'm talkin' real small). We saw the skin of a shark, and the jawbone of a whale, which were both real cool. There were a lot of models of boats, and old boat pieces, of which I would assume sailed out of the Rio Guadalquivir (I still can't spell that- who came up with that!? I'll have to look into that history...
Ok, just looked into it: it is Arabic for the "Great Valley," however, the Phoenicians called it Betis... Which makes so much sense because the street that runs along the river in Triana (the nighborhood across the river) is called Calle Betis! Makes so much sense! Glad I got to the bottom of that!

  You can also climb to the top of the Torro del Oro- and see what the lookout has to offer, the same building that was build in the 700s by the Arabs!

I also thought I might do a piece on the "Faces of Sevilla." I post all these glamourous pictures, but the truth is also- this is what 27% unemployment looks like... This was just one street, and a touristy one at that, no more than 400 meters.

There are more to come.


 I also really like this t-shirt.

Plaza De Espana

I was bored yesterday afternoon and had a few hours until dinner. It was really nice out so I decided to take a walk and see what I would find. I walked along the river, but in the opposite direction that I usually walk in and found my way to Plaza De Espana! I had been meaning to find it so  I was very excited about it. The Plaza was built in 1929 for the Iberio-American Exposition where they re-designed Parque Maria Luisa (originally the palace gardens but turned into a public park in 1893). Anyway, the plaza also is a hot spot for films apparently! And he made appearances in Star Wars Episodes I and II, The Dictator, and Night and Day. It was also really cool that you can rent a row boat and paddle around the mini river. The river was supposed to be a full circle, but they ran out of funds when they were building it so they had to make it only the semi-circle! there are also 4 bridges that connect over the river, each one uniquely decorated to represent the 4 ancient kingdoms in Spain (Castille, Aragon, Navarre, and Leon). I just thought it was so pretty!

I absent mindedly asked a guy with a camera if he would take my picture and turns out he is a professional and was about to start a shoot for engagement pictures! Either way, he made this picture look really cool!

There are 52 benches lining the building, each uniquely decorated to represent the provinces of Spain over time.

The detailing was so impressive, they wanted the fair to seem "fun," so they made sure it had a lot of color- they definitely hit that one on the head.

Apparently there is a museum inside, and I will have to check that out another day, but for right now, I can just take in how cool the architecture is! again, they used muedjar influences to showcase Spanish history for the fair.