Very early at 4:30AM on Thursday July 9th 2015 we got picked up to travel with Amy & David and Brandon & Monica to Gatwick airport for our weekend in Spain to watch the running of the bulls! We booked this trip as a group way back in Nov 2014 and were very excited it had finally arrived since this was to be the last time the 6 of us would be together as a group before we all start moving back to the States.
To start the trip we flew to Madrid. Soon after we arrived and checked into our hotel we set out to explore the city and found some tapas in a cafe for lunch. The day was HOT...about 100 degrees! We mostly tried to stick to walking in the shade. We wandered the city center for a bit but then quickly found some AC and some sangria's to cool down for awhile.
One of the highlights we saw was the Royal Palace. It was really big and pretty impressive from the outside...
Then we were all feeling pretty sleepy from being up at the crack of dawn so we went back to take a siesta. It's a good thing since we never would have made it through the evening since the Spanish culture is to eat late (our dinner reservation was at 9:30pm). We had a great dinner recommended to us from Isabelle who was a foreign exchange student from Madrid at our high school (unfortunately she was away so we didn't get to meet up). Our walk to the restaurant took us through a really nice large park.
By the time we were done eating it was after 11:00 pm and we were exhausted so called it an early Spanish night.
The next morning we took a 3 hour train ride to Pamplona which left at 11:30 AM. Brian and I sat with Brandon & Monica in a 4 seater area while Amy & David sat in a car further back. It would have been fun to sit together but that's just how it worked out when booking the tickets. We were already starting to see people dressed in all white with red bandannas and belts which is the traditional dress for the San Fermin ceremony.
Towards the end of the trip Monica wandered back to see Amy and David since it sounded like their section was getting pretty excited and rowdy. They loved when she came in and she thought it was pretty entertaining too so she told me to go check it out...She failed to mention it was a carriage full of guys who all immediately started chanting and singing in Spanish and wanting to dance with me the second a girl came through...It was embarrassing yet really funny! Amy and David had a pretty entertaining ride it seemed like :)
Towards the end of the trip Monica wandered back to see Amy and David since it sounded like their section was getting pretty excited and rowdy. They loved when she came in and she thought it was pretty entertaining too so she told me to go check it out...She failed to mention it was a carriage full of guys who all immediately started chanting and singing in Spanish and wanting to dance with me the second a girl came through...It was embarrassing yet really funny! Amy and David had a pretty entertaining ride it seemed like :)
When we arrived in Pamplona it was still super HOT! We had a choice to either wait in a fairly long taxi line or hop on the bus to take us into the city center, we choose the second option.
Dating back to the Middle Ages the San Fermin celebration takes place each year in Pamplona from July 6th-14th and approximately 1 million people participate in the festival to honor the late Saint Fermin. Once we arrived in Pamplona we clearly saw the party was in full force, it was a sea of white and red filling the streets!
The 3 bedroom flat that we were staying in was right on the bull run along Estafeta (the longest straight away of the run) and had 2 balconies. This was the main reason we choose to stay there because it meant we were in the center of the party and we wouldn't have to pay an extra 100 Euro/per person to rent a place to stand on a balcony to watch the run...not to mention we'd have to get up real early to get there for the 8:00AM run! The extra money turned out to be well spent for the convenience and prime location just as we had hoped.
The host of our flat rental checked us in and we immediately got changed into our white clothes we had brought. We didn't even have to go out and buy our red bandannas and belts/sashes because the flat kindly provided them to us. When we first saw the view from the balcony and all the energy below we all were pumped!
Now we were in the spirit and party mode!
Dating back to the Middle Ages the San Fermin celebration takes place each year in Pamplona from July 6th-14th and approximately 1 million people participate in the festival to honor the late Saint Fermin. Once we arrived in Pamplona we clearly saw the party was in full force, it was a sea of white and red filling the streets!
The 3 bedroom flat that we were staying in was right on the bull run along Estafeta (the longest straight away of the run) and had 2 balconies. This was the main reason we choose to stay there because it meant we were in the center of the party and we wouldn't have to pay an extra 100 Euro/per person to rent a place to stand on a balcony to watch the run...not to mention we'd have to get up real early to get there for the 8:00AM run! The extra money turned out to be well spent for the convenience and prime location just as we had hoped.
The host of our flat rental checked us in and we immediately got changed into our white clothes we had brought. We didn't even have to go out and buy our red bandannas and belts/sashes because the flat kindly provided them to us. When we first saw the view from the balcony and all the energy below we all were pumped!
Now we were in the spirit and party mode!
It wasn't long before we went out and joined the action. We found some pinchos and drinks before the rest of the group went to the bull fight.
Brian and I decided not to go to the bull fight. It would have been a cultural experience to see and an exciting atmosphere being in the bull ring but we decided it was going to be too much to watch/handle (mainly for myself) since they kill the bulls. I attempted to watch a YouTube video to see what it was all about but couldn't even watch the first few seconds without covering my eyes so decided it wouldn't be worth spending the money to go in person.
Instead we walked around and observed the action and plenty of partying going on. We found a good corner bar to have some drinks at and watch the band play that was set up across the street.
Then we went back to our flat where we could watch things from above on the balconies and even heard a one man band.
Watch the video to listen...
And then there were multiple bands and cheering crowds that went past...
Listen below...
It wasn't long before the rest of the group was back and we all set out together for a night of fun. We explored the chaos, saw some great people watching, there even were fake bulls with fireworks coming out of them being brought through the streets. We had to duck from the flying sparks and got a couple tiny burns. What a night!
Saturday morning we got up at 7:15AM to get ready to watch our first bull run which began at 8:00AM. The streets had been cleaned overnight and the balconies were full. You could feel the anticipation and excitement in the air!
The corner of the street is known as "dead mans curve" because until recent years when they fixed something with the pavement the bulls would fall or get turned around when making the curve. This made them really unpredictable and lead to many people getting trampled or gored. (There have been 15 deaths in Pamplona since 1925).
We could hear as the first firework went off to signal the first bull out of the corral, starting the run and the second firework to signal that all the bulls were out. We also could see them making their way toward us on TV in the balcony across from us. As the bulls came close to being in our sight we could see a stampede of runners pouring from around the corner of "dead man's curve." Then there were the bulls...And people desperately getting out of their way!!!
They stayed in a pretty straight path right down the center and their bells clanked as their hooves rumbled past.
There was lots of yelling, cheering and screaming from the balconies and probably the runners too. Luckily we didn't see anyone get hurt beyond a few falling down and getting run over by other people!
It all happened so fast!
After seeing this run the guys were tempted to participate the next morning, "it didn't look that bad." Thankfully we were able to convince them that each race is different and it could be a completely different story the next day! Since the excitement was done in just a few minutes and it was still real early we all headed back to bed for a couple more hours of sleep (we were up late the night before!)
Later we walked around and had some lunch and drooled over freshly sliced Iberian meat.
Soon the daring, brave and crazy runners began lining the street below. We saw them stretching, jumping up and down getting pumped up and ready and prayers being said...
And we all couldn't have been more excited to watch and were so happy we had prime location on our two balconies!
The corner of the street is known as "dead mans curve" because until recent years when they fixed something with the pavement the bulls would fall or get turned around when making the curve. This made them really unpredictable and lead to many people getting trampled or gored. (There have been 15 deaths in Pamplona since 1925).
We could hear as the first firework went off to signal the first bull out of the corral, starting the run and the second firework to signal that all the bulls were out. We also could see them making their way toward us on TV in the balcony across from us. As the bulls came close to being in our sight we could see a stampede of runners pouring from around the corner of "dead man's curve." Then there were the bulls...And people desperately getting out of their way!!!
Later we walked around and had some lunch and drooled over freshly sliced Iberian meat.
The festival was in full force and busy being it was Saturday. People of all ages were dressed in white and red from babies to elderly and even dogs had red bandannas. This was a sight to see in itself.
Bands were getting people in the party mode...
Sunday we woke up again in time to watch the run. This run was not as straight (glad the guys didn't run!)
Amy captured the excitement in the great video below...
After the run we walked around to buy some souvenirs and found some pastries for breakfast. We all were pretty tired and hung out at the flat before leaving for the airport at noon.
A trip none of us will forget...
We all flew to Madrid together, then Amy & David and Brandon & Monica went back to London. Brian and I continued on to Munich to start another week long adventure in the Alps. (Separate blog on that part of the trip to follow).
After the run we walked around to buy some souvenirs and found some pastries for breakfast. We all were pretty tired and hung out at the flat before leaving for the airport at noon.
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