We flew into to Valencia LATE on a Tuesday night and promptly got ripped off by a cab driver who charged us 30 euro for a 20 euro drive. I was assured that that's what happened at airports but i kept my eyes peeled for the rest of the trip.
As you would expect, the weather was balmy, even at 1:00 am when we arrived at our FOUR STAR HOTEL. 4 star hotel? you ask . Why yes say I, it was cheaper than the remaining hostels at less than 20 euros a night and when they say 4 star they aren't kidding. It was a suite. five of us stayed in it. Two people shared the master bed bedroom, one of us on the single bed in the "office" and two people shared the pullout couch. I was seriously considering the floor plan as potential apartment material it was that good. And a kitchen to boot! We didn't get the TV working but it had one and i also used the phone to place an important call (sorta, it was to the airline..).
The Wednesday morning after a refreshing 3.5 hours of sleep the crew prepared for a full day of fun in the sun and tomatoes. we're talking several layers of waterproof sunscreen, garbage clothes and what seemed like an infinite number of hopefully tomato proof plastic baggies courtesy of Iberia air.
We were headed to Tomatina. This festival happens once a year in the town of Bunol. Don't worry, the point of this whole day, if not currently clear, will be profoundly so after this explanation.
First thing to note is the shear number of people that seemed drawn to the idea of tomatina. I would say that the great majority are tourists but there are several distinct often more mature figures in the thick of things that have the aura of past experience about them. Local tomato pros, no doubt.
The morning begins with the trek from the Bunol train station down to the main street where the festivities are to be held. This I felt a little bit bad about. I'm not sure how long the clean up turn around is but it must be interesting for the locals to have this happen directly in the middle of their town...They do take precautions though. The majority of the first story shops are boarded up and about the first three floors have tarps around balconies and windows.
A couple of the braver shops, or perhaps the ones with the most maneuverable security walls were open and keeping the crowd happy with liter glasses of beer and delicious sangria. A note on the glasses...complete structural failures and require at least two hands on them at all times otherwise they collapse and you are left with crumpled plastic, and early stain on your shitty shirt and no more sangria. Likely supremely disheartening.
We spent the early hours enjoying our sangria and watching the organisers grease up a 30ft pole. I'm not sure what the significance of this portion of the event is, feel free to do some research, but before the fight can start, this greased pole is fixed vertically and topped with a ham. yes ham. a huge leg of ham. if this were to fall on you head, say, it would certainly break your neck and possibly cause some collateral damage as well... The idea (apparently) at this point is to get to the ham. The crowd must work together, or more often take advantage of "the other guy" to try to reach this delectable prize. When the ham is recovered, the fight can start.
This year, the ham was not successfully rescued. Unfortunately, due to extreme bladder discomfort, Rachel, Steph and I had relocated to a small square ( after dodging the wet t-shirt fight, i guess they couldn't wait for the tomatoes, and making use of a most questionable porta potty) where we proceeded to indulge in one of the best water fights I've experienced. We were completely water proof so no rules apply and we had that hot Spanish sun to warm our sopping backs.
The actual tomato fight last one hour. The crush of bodies was enormous. So much so that were we found ourselves, we could only get hit in the head because all other body parts were protected by someone elses head....
We weren't right in the main street but tales of tomatoes up to their knees reached our ears. By the looks of them afterward i believe it. unfortunately I have no photographic evidence due to said waterproofing problem But I'm sure you can all imagine it. If you are still having trouble trying Googling Tomatina images....
We headed back to our hotel and promptly clogged up both showers( did I mention there were TWO bathrooms!). Once clean we headed to the pristine Valencia Main beach and indulged in a little swimming and sample some traditional Valencian cuisine, paella. unfortunately the kindest description we could come up for our waiter that night was "a complete hack" but the food was marvelous.
Day two we hit up the city of the arts and sciences. i'm not really sure what the history is but i think there was a decision to build architecturally amazing white buildings and use them for museums and parks in a possible efforts to inspire more tourists... i'm not sure that just the feeling i got. nevertheless worth it though.
we got the pass that gained us entrance to both the oceanographic park and the science museum. The oceanographic park was like sea world but a little more European, less ostentatious and very cool. not many specifics to say about that except that we saw a pretty cool dolphin show and then everyone wanted to know how to become a trainer after that.....
the science museum was wicked cool. kinda like a the science center mixed with an x-men / spider man exhibit and the one whole floor dedicate to everything. i couldn't discern a pattern at all. music theory, history, genetics you name it and it was the there. very interesting though. i'll admit that i was lagging at the end. between the 35 degree heat ( though they use there air conditioning liberally) and the severe lack of sleep i definitely was slowing down....
MADRID!
we took the bus in the evening and got to watch the sun set over the Spanish countryside. absolutely stunning. I had a very distinct image of Tuscany Italy in my mind and that drive was the closest thing i have found thus far........
in Madrid we stayed in this very cool, newly renovated hostel. as we arrived a pub call was leaving but we hurried and caught up to them. my favorite bar was a place called Tupperware. i laughed. i'm not sure if it's a mistranslation or intentional but either way.
the first day in Madrid we went to the palace and took all sorts of beautiful pictures. I don't care how much the Spanish royalty had in the bank. there is no call for that much room. we toured the main floor and the area was pretty much just gridded off and then rooms of all the same sizes were built. each ones has it's own ornate theme. doors seemed to lead off in each direction from each room which doesn't makes sense from a traffic flow point of view or any other one for that matter..... but very cool. just a lot more than any person would ever need.
WE went to a giant art museum and saw works by dahli and Picasso. inspiring. i also learned that i only have a medium tolerance for the amount of art i can appreciate in a continuous period....
I got to do some shopping! unfortunately i was limited by the fact that i had only brought a carry on on the plane so i wouldn't have to check any luggage. but i still came home with two pairs of super cool gypsy pants, one gold and one patchwork. a couple scarfs, a couple dresses. not bad all things considered...
we had tapas that night and enjoyed a big plate of octopus, chorizo sausage and many other traditional Spanish dishes. for lunch one day i also had a tortilla sandwich. tortilla is that Spanish omelet made with potatoes and onions. also excellent.
That night we went to a flamenco show. our hostel called ahead for us so we got a bit of a deal and front row seats. the table even had a reserved sign on it for us. during the whole performance i was having an internal struggle because i really wanted to just reach out and touch the dancers. rachel actually got hit by the guys jacket when he took it off.....
The band was made up of five Spanish gentlemen. two flourishing Spanish guitarists, i learned later that these guys mostly make it up as they go along. two singers and feet stompers. and one multi instrument extraordinaire. this last guy, he looked like he was about 18, played the alto sax, the flute and the harmonica. all with more than average skill.
flamenco is fierce. i don't think i could be a dancer simply because of the confidence, poise and speaking eyes that you need to tell your story to the audience.
Next day we took a two hour train out to a small town that has bullfights on the weekends. it turns out that they kill more than one bull per evening. six in fact was the number we saw.
the process is terrible. first the bull is let out and teased a little bit by a half dozen matadors to prove the "ferocity" of the bull. pretty much these men in tight fluorescent suits jump in and out of the ring as the bull runs from one to the other. then a set of two horses and riders enter the ring. the horses are wearing what i suppose would be the equivalent of horse armour and are blindfolded for obvious reasons. long plates that circle the horse like a shower curtain around the bath. The bull is taunted in the direction of the horse and when is charges the horse ( note that the horses didn't wear armor originally so they often killed more horses than bulls in an evening) the rider on the horse severs some of the muscles in the back of the bulls neck with a long spear. this is done to reduce the damage done by the bull if it does manage to gore someone.
now one-three matadors are selected to stab a set of barbed mini-spears into the back of the bulls neck to further weaken it. These are the fuzzy looking sticks that you always see in the pictures.
Now the "big" matador comes out and plays with the bull. the idea is to prove their dominance and control by pulling moves that would, in any normal situation be completely irrational. I'm not sure how good these guys are but they did manage to turn their backs on the bull several times without lasting consequences. one guy did get covered in blood because he got a little to close....
then they stab it in the heart. or try. one stab, nice and clean is what the crowd likes to see. the first matador to go this evening did not get a nice clean hit and had to stab twice. the bull then proceeded to waterfall blood from it's mouth, more than you would think possible, all the while flailing, eventually twitching and keels over. i was and am disgusted. it's not worth going to see. i couldn't believe the crowd who immediately all stand and wave their white handkerchiefs, "praise the matador, he is so handsome" while they scrap up the blood from the area and the matador chops off the bulls ears as a trophy which he will apparently sometimes throw into the crowd. i forgot to mention how cocky and dramatic the matadors act. this must be part of the whole thing but they can flick there hair better than most people I've met, of either sex......
the next day we took the train back to Valencia since that's where our flight departed from. that whole situation was kinda some bad planning on our part but whatever. then we slept in a park fro a few hours until we had to get on the plain. back to cold cold Switzerland. i love you Spain....
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