Sam Fermin - Pamplona, Spain - July 11-13, 2008

April headed out to Paris for a week to meet up with her family and then returned to Frankfurt where we hung out the week of July 6th. On July 11th we headed to Pamplona, Spain for the San Fermin Festival. Most people know the San Fermin Festival as the Running of the Bulls - however, the festival is actually held in honor of Saint Fermin, a saint from that area of Spain. We arrived late Friday evening, checked into our hotel and then headed downtown to check everything out. As April put it: "If I had to pick one word to describe this festival it would be MADNESS. If I had to pick two, it would be DRUNKEN MADNESS." This festival rivals mardi gras, New Years in NYC, and St. Paddy's Day anywhere. Truly this festival amounts to one, huge, never-ending party. We grabbed some dinner (it was gross) and then headed back to the hotel room.

The next morning we woke up at 5:30am to go downtown to watch the Running of the Bulls. Before going to the festival I thought there was only one running - not so. The bulls run every day of the 9 day festival. We happen to be there for the sixth running that week (or Sexto Encierro). I actually found a great website that shows the footage from each running - http://www.sanferminonline.net/. April and I tried to find a spot to watch along the route but given how crazy the streets were (people clearly camped out overnight to have a better seat than we could dream of finding) we headed to the stadium. Oh silly me - the reason April and I were by ourselves is because Shaun decided he wanted to run. Unfortunately, he was booted out at the last minute for having a camera around his wrist (amen!). (Kate skipped some details, but the Spanish police officer was not so nice in how he "asked me" to leave the bull run - I thought I was getting arrested... mind you, I was one of the few completely sober people in the run) Watching from the stadium was a lot of fun...we could see the entire run on the big screens. The race concludes at the stadium (Plaza de Toros) with the bulls running in one side and out the other. The race participants also end up in the bull ring and are enclosed. A baby bull is then released into the ring which runs around and tosses the occasional runner. After watching the baby bulls mess with the runners for about an hour, April and I met up with Shaun and our friends Josh and Ellie. We grabbed some lunch, milled around the streets, and then headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap.

At 5pm we headed back downtown as we had purchased scalped bullfight tickets earlier in the afternoon. Let me preface this by saying - I'm sorry to my animal-loving, PETA friends, but yes, we did attend a bullfight where the 6 bulls that ran in the morning were fought. I was very on the fence about going..but decided - when else will we ever see this? I'm glad I went, but have no desire to ever go again. I'll spare everyone the details of the fights but will share only 3 interesting facts:

1. The bull can win. The last bull fought could not be killed and, as a result, was pardoned. This means he gets to retire fat and happy on a farm...and can never be fought again.

2. More than one matador fights the bull. By the time the matador scheduled to kill the bull is one on one - the bull has already taken a beating.

3. If you sit in the first few rows of a the "upper deck" in the Plaza de Toros prepared to have Sangria dumped on you the entire fight! (that's about 3 hours). Thank goodness we had purchased ponchos ahead of time..best 2 EUR we ever spent!

After the fight..I was spent so April and I headed back to the hotel. Shaun, Ellie, and Josh enjoyed a night of revelry. Sunday morning, Shaun was planning to try and run again...but I think the night before did him in (i.e. When I woke him at 5:45am to get ready he said "I don't want to run with the bulls. I don't even want to see a bull.") Fine by me! We slept in! Sunday we did some souvenir shopping. I forgot to mention that the weather was very foul all weekend - 65-70 degrees, overcast and raining (sometimes pouring). By Sunday afternoon we were all just done with being outside..so we headed to the airport early and played cards. We arrived back in Frankfurt just before midnight on Sunday evening. Sadly, April left to go home on Monday morning - but we had a blast while she was here, and especially in Pamplona. Finally - we thought of some tips for anyone who attends San Fermin in the future:

1. Bring rain gear! If not for the weather, for the Sangria at the bullfight! 1 word - PONCHO.
2. We relied 100% on the bus system - 1 EUR each way per person - and it will take you wherever you want to go.

3. Ok - this is a little embarrassing...but we did not really care for Spanish food...we broke down and had McDonald's several times on this trip. It was damn good too! The only food I found that I liked was Tortilla de patatas and churros!

4. Bring a white shirt and pants (you can buy red neck tie and waist sash there) that you never care if you see again! We were not prepared for how messy it would get..and I would have loved to wear some old clothes that I could have tossed afterwards! Also, bring some plastic bags in your luggage to put your dirty clothes in. Shoes too - wear a pair that you can live without.

5. If you want to watch the bull run - don't waste your time trying to find a spot on the stret- just go to the stadium..it is packed..and you can still see all of the action.

6. The run itself only takes about 3-4 minutes since the route is only about a 1/2 mile long. Bulls may look fat and lazy..but they know how to hussle!

Click here for rest of pics from San Fermin.