4th Excursion Trip: Bullfight, El Escorial, Valle de los Caidos and La Granja de San Ildelfonso (Oct. 12-14)

Tuesday, October 17th, 2017
Hello Everyone,

This past weekend was not quite as of an excursion like the other trips I have taken here with the group. We were able to plan 3 days straight of some fun areas to visit that are outside of Madrid. The areas we went to visit were a bullfight which in Spanish is called a "corrida de toros" at the bullfight stadium that is located off of the metro stop Ventas. We also spent our Friday visiting a palace called El Escorial and a cathedral type building called "Valle de los Caidos." The last activity we did was head into the province of Segovia which is located in Castilla y Leon.

We were very fortunate to have a local holiday in the city of Alcala de Henares and also a national holiday for the whole country of Spain. Last Monday on October 9th was a local holiday celebrating the birth of a famous writer who wrote the novel Don Quijote de La Mancha, Miguel Cervantes who is referred to by most Spaniards as Cervantes. And, it was nice to have a local Medieval fair in the city of Alcala de Henares which started on a Friday and continued through for a week straight. I had the opportunity to attend that fair and it was something that I would run into since the fair was smack down in the middle where I attend school, the university of Alcala. 

Besides that, the blog is not about the Medieval fair that occurred in Alcala, I just wanted to highlight that detail since I have not been able to really explain how the week went from October 1st through the 11th. 
Sunday, October 8th I was able to see my mission president and his wife at a stake conference in Madrid

Monday, October 10th, 2017 I spent a P-Day with missionaries from my mission in their area. And, they showed me the Royal Palace of Aranjuez

The missionaries I spent last Monday wih, Elders Jones and Peck and Sisters Saili and Fermin


The official start of the blog begins with the first event we did as a group which was attend a live bullfight, Thursday, October 12th, 2017. It was not the fist time for me to watch, but, I don't think I have ever attended one so exciting like the one that happened on the national holiday. So, last Thursday was a national holiday in Spain which is also known as the day of Hispanic heritage. There was a big parade early in the morning that many Spanish citizens attended which had a theme of different people walking the parade as many Spanish citizens waved the Spanish flag and cheered for their heritage. On that special day we had the honor to attend a live bullfight. This live bullfight consisted of 3 bullfighters that each had 2 rounds of fighting a bull. To sum up what went down for each round was that there was a small orchestra that would play music announcing the start of the round and a giant black bull was let loose to fight. As this happened there are a group of people besides the bullfighter that collaborate. The first event that would happen is that some guys would flag down the bull with these colorful cloth of royal pink and yellow to get the bull running and ready to fight. The second event of the round that occurred is when two men on horseback would come with a spear. The horse was blindfolded and also padded up so the bull does not kill or pierce the innocent horse. One of the two men on horseback needed to pierce the top part of the bull a couple of times. As the man would approach the bull, the bull would tackle the poo horse. It was sad to see for the horse because the horse would almost get lifted off its feet by this powerful animal. There were several stabs the bull would take at the horse. It was amazing to see and as that happened the man on the horse would hang on for his life and also stab at the bull several times. After that event, three men would come out and stick 2 hooked sticks at the bull. So, a total of 6 sticks with the colors of the Spanish flag would be hanging off the top back of the bull as it bled blood. The last event that happened all in the first round was the entrance of the bullfighter. The bullfighter would carry with him a red cape to wave at the bull and also carried a fake sword at first with him. The purpose of this was for the bullfighter to get the bull to take shots and also prove to the crowd how artistically the bullfighter was with dodging the bull. After doing that for a while, the bullfighter would walk over and get a real sword. The important part of this act was to stab the bull with one clean shot. So, in the end every round have a series of acts that create a bullfight. I saw 6 rounds of that. The round that caught my attention the most was how the 2nd bullfighter actually got hit two times by the bull and he bleeding everywhere. I remember seeing the group of men on his team carry him out and the crowd was sure that they just witnessed the death of a bullfighter. But, out of nowhere this bullfighter got up and pushed away his group of friends and wanted to fight to the death with the bull. It was real crazy. The thing most surprising about the bullfighter is how he managed to kill the bull after he himself practically almost lost his life. And, that was the bullfight I saw. 











The 2nd Bullfighter that almost lost his life that day...
On Friday, October 13th was the day we visited two historic sites. Ones was El Escorial and the other was Valle de Los Caidos. I am going to be honest, El Escorial is another Royal Palace that I found very similar to the Royal Palace located in the center of Madrid. El Escorial is located in an area outside of the city where you can see more greenery and enjoy a little bit of better weather. It is said that there are Spaniards that have summer homes located in the area where El Escorial is located. Currently, El Escorial serves as a monastery for the Catholic Church. Inside this royal place you will find pretty much all of the Royal Kings that have ever lived in Spain. There are so many royalty names that I do not know of, but, it was near to be around Spanish royalty and also get a chance to look at the art. Besides that, there is not much visual stuff I can show in this blog because just like the Royal Palace in Madrid, El Escorial does not allow pictures to be taken just outside the building. 





On that same day Friday, October the 13th, 2017 we also went to another site which is one of favorite sites to see in Madrid nearby El Escorial. The name of this site is called Valle de Los Caidos which also had strict rules about pictures being taken inside. I was only able to take pictures of this place right outside. The history about this place is that it was completed in 1959 under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The site is located in a Valley of Madrid isolated from the city and on its own surrounded by a forest of trees. According the Francisco Franco, it is a Cathedral that was built and approved by the Vatican. For me, it looked like a monument or site that represented the Franco regime after the Spanish Civil War which ended in 1939. I do not how many years it took to build this site, but, I know that it took a long time. The reason this site is very controversial in Spain is for two reasons, 1: The losing side of the Civil War built it and the labor was extremely harsh. Many prisoners of war built this and citizens from the Republic side died carving into the mountain a Cathedral. 2: Francisco Franco is buried there and years ago the Spanish people wanted to knock down the site because they hate Franco and what he represents. When I was a missionary back in the days, I remember there were some old Spanish couples that would tell me how they know Spanish families that planned and took a trip to Madrid just to visit Valle de Los Caidos and spit on the grave of Francisco Franco. Another neat thing about this site is the giant cross that sits on the mountain. Besides that, I would recommend one hundred percent to visit this site. Inside it is very dark and sad. According to Franco this Cathedral was dedicated for those who lost their lives in the Civil War. However, due to what is in the Cathedral and what it represents the Cathedral is all about Franco. 





Lastly, on Saturday, October 14th, 2017 we spent the beginning of our day in the province of Segovia which is located in Castilla y Leon. The name of this site is called La Granja de San Ildefonso. It is another Royal Palace similar to the one in Madrid, El Escorial and Aranjuez. I find it extremely funny how I spent this whole week exploring like every single Royal Palace that is in Madrid. This palace has amazing art inside the palace and we were not allowed to take any pictures inside of the palace. The palace also has a giant garden that is similar to Madrid's parque de retiro. 

And, that is the end of the blog. Thank you very much and I hope you have enjoyed this blog.

Love,
Sal Galvan 















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