My 1st & Last Bullfight

Do not read this blog if you are against Bullfights (ALL the bulls die)...

I personally do not like bullfights but I told myself that I needed to see the cultural aspect at least once.
April 1, 2008- It was the kick-off for the bullfighting season. The first day of the season locals normally dress up (today was very HOT, black pants were the wrong thing to wear).

The program that I came to Spain with called API bought the tickets for our group. The ticketing price is different depending on where you are seated. The best and most expensive seats are in the shade. The sun seats are about 37euros (That is where the students sat!). This picture was taken before the stadium was filled.

Before the bullfight begins they parade around the ring. There are six bulls each Matador "has the honor" in killing two.

I was happy because it was before the bulls came out...

These pictures really do the Matador justice, it can be a beautiful form of art.

The stadium is silent when the Matador uses his series of movements to bring the bull close to his body. The Matadors even turn their back on the bull showing how confident they are.

Throughout the fight, there is more than one Matador stabbing the bull. They work together tiring the bull. Two Matadors run at the bull and stab the bull with two spikes between the shoulder blades (A Spaniard told me that on the spikes is poison that helps slow down the bull's reflexes and depth perception). Before they even let the bull out into the ring they stone it's neck, that way it is hard for the bull to lift it's head! I think that is horrible.

The Killing blow. I couldn't watch this part of the fight. I wanted to put the bull out of it's misery. Good Matadors can kill the bull with one stab of the sword.

(My first and last bullfight.)

I left out the blood pictures.. and half way through the fight two guys came out on horseback and stab the bull with huge medal poles (Not very honorable). They just hurt the bull and do not have much class in doing it.

London in 2 Days..

London

February 27-March 1, 2008


This City is amazing, I had such a wonderful time. In this picture I was standing in front of the London Eye, The worlds tallest obervation wheel (fantastic views of the capital)

The side walks were fun with all the busy people and street performers it was great to be in an English speaking country!

Kiah and I started our trip off a little risky. I had booked our 72 euro roundtrip tickets from Madrid to London a few weeks back and I wound up a little confused in the process. Some how I wrote Kiah's name instead of mine on the easyjet website and so two tickets were booked under her name! So I left things a little last min and got on a six hour bus to Madrid to see if I could get the name changed (because the website wanted me to pay more than the cost of the tickets just to have my name changed) back to Britta the day of our flight. With only half an hour to wait for our plane everything worked out great and we arrived in London at the Gatwick airport around 10pm and caught the Metro (tube) to central London where St. Christophers hostel awaited our arrival.

London Bridge station was the closest metro and train station to our hostel! To think that in Alaska when I was 5years old I was singing "London Bridge is falling down!" and 13 years later I am really here!

This is the world famous London Bridge! It wasn't as spectacular as I thought :D

Kiah and I woke up early and started our first day off right with a good breakfast (that came with our hostel) and started walking all over central London. Tate Modern Museum was one of the first places we toured. This Museum had some very interesting artwork, I would recommend taking a little time to see this building (Plus it is FREE).

Oh yes, I met James Bond at the Tate Museum he is quite a character really great to talk to!

This picture is taken from one of the windows of the Tate Museum, I believe we are looking at St. Pauls Cathedral, This is a fun looking bridge! The Millenium footbridge. I thought that London Bridge would be a little more creative for example like this one.

Here is the famous British Airways London Eye!

Kiah and I walked down the Thames River and enjoyed all the city life in Central London. Tourists and Locals alike listen to musicians under a bridge, In the distance you can see Big Ben and the houses of Parliament. I miss London already!

A close up with Big Ben..

I am a huge Harry Potter fan! This picture reminds me of the movies, well the 5th movie where Harry is flying down this river with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in the night! That is one thing I miss too about home my Harry Potter DVD collection haha.

Here is my postcard perfect picture of Big Ben, beautiful isn't it! I love London. When my parents came back from London a while back, they brought with them a Big Ben piggy bank to put my money in, I still use it!

Big Ben again with the London Eye in the background.

The beautiful Westminster Abbey.
This church is still in use with daily prayer and worship. The Abbey is designed in the shape of a cross and was founded in the 10th century. This building has witnessed a thousand years of history and the coronation of nearly every king and queen of England. The tombs of many historic people for example: Henry VII, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Geoffrey Chaucer and many more are located in the Abbey.

Behind the Abbey.

Now you can't go to London without taking the traditional phonebooth picture.

Kiah and I really had a wonderful trip. We walked just about everywhere so that we could see everything. This is one of the places that we just happend to run across on our way to Buckingham Palace, this is St. James Palace (I believe).

Piccadilly Circus of London better than Times Square of New York! Packed with people and double-decker buses. If I wasn't a student traveler I would have attempted to walk into some of the outrageously expensive designer stores. Of course, I did not even want to tempt myself so I just looked at the pretty colors the signs made.

In Piccadily I had Burger King! We don't have Burger King in Sevilla. Well I really only got an ice cream cone which only cost 1 pound, but I still bought it in Burger King.

Another picture you can't leave London without, One of the Buckingham guards.

Here I am in front of the gates to the Queen's Palace. I was in London when the news of Prince Henry coming back from Iraq covered the headlines of every paper in London. That was exciting!

The full view of the Palace.

The second full day in London was very cold. It felt really good to be in England coming from Spain even though the weather was a little blustery.

My brain was very confused first getting off the plane from Spain. I attempted to speak Spanish to the passport guy until Kiah reminded me that we weren't in Spain. I kept reading the menu in resturants thinking I was reading Spanish. Most baffling was driving! I walked infront of a car at a stoplight and didn't see anyone on the front left (normal 'drivers side') side of the car and thought "no one is driving this how is it parked here" until it started moving on the green light and I saw the guy sitting on the right side! Ha

These are two twins that Kiah's brother knew were living in London. The second day we met up with these wonderful girls and they walked around with us and later that night took us to their "flat" and cooked us dinner! Our first real dinner in England. We were so thankful for meeting them, they told us we are welcome anytime (I might take them up on that offer again).

The impressive British Museum.

The English: amazing archeologists, historians, and thiefs (in a good way)

This library was probably the size of 3 basketball courts.

Rosetta Stone- Key to Egyptian hieroglyphs

Egyptian mummys

Terracotta artwork

Roman/Greek temples (how they brought these over I have no idea)

Oh and why not take some of the statues that were located in the Parthenon as well. They even have an exibit displaying some of the Southwestern (Alaska/Canada) Native Totem poles! I told Kiah, hey this looks familar and sure enough it was taken from British Columbia.

Alhambra

The Alhambra

One of the most well known sights in Spain. Many people like to call the Alhambra the 8th wonder of the world. This Muslim fortress sits on top of the mountains above Granada. It was built during the 13th century. Art historians say the Alhambra is the Greatest structure of Nasrid Art the Iberian peninsula has ever created.

The Alhambra is "Red Castle". It was built mostly as a Palace but was continuously added onto. When finally finished in 1391, the Alhambra had six palaces, housed the royal family, high class citizens and even had quarters for the entire garrison of the Muslim ruler!

The Alhambra was built using the same Muslim style as most buildings. Created with white plaster, the walls were easy to carve and create designs. Throughout the palace every room is covered in beautiful carvings and colorful glazed tiles. The Christians later removed some of the flooring and placed expensive marble throughout the building.

The picture is taken from one of the comanders rooms, It overlooks the city of Granada. If you look hard enough you can see the Arabic writing, it's amazing!

A court yard, filled with pools and shrubs... (There are even gold fish in the pool!)

The Nasrid Family started the construction of the Alhambra.

In the past they had difficulty with finding a way to bring water up the mountain. So the Nasrid family discovered a way of using natural water pressure. Fountains were constructed in the courtyards. Even the waterrooms of the private family had "running" water. We are talking the 13th century!

This room called "The Room of the Ambassadors", Is where ambassadors coming to meet the King would first be greeted. The ceiling (which is what you are looking at) is made out of wood. This room is one of the most impressive looking rooms in the Palace.

...oh here is just another little carving on a wall!

The Court yard of the Lions. The Royal family lived around this courtyard. In the center of this courtyard, normaly (it was taken away for construction) are 12 sculptures of lions around a large fountain. It was a gift from the Jewish people to the Arab King. 12 lions for the 12 Jewish tribes.

This picture was taken in one of the many gardens surroundng the Alhambra.

Our tour of the Alhambra lasted three hours. This Palace is huge. There are gardens with fountains like this throughout the entire Palace. It was still a little early in the season so not all the flowers were in bloom.

Overlooking the side of the Alhambra.

In this picture you can see the city of Granada below the mountain. The Alhambra is the large structure on top of the mountain in the distance. Even the archway and garden are considered part of the Palace (the hall in front). It stretches across the top of the mountain.

A local sits under a tree enjoying the sun...