Thieves and Bulls.

I was so surprised...Giana got her camera and wallet stolen. :(

Well, we went out to "fiestas" on Saturday. It was so much fun. There were people littering the streets and crammed in the bars. We got hit on almost constantly--and I somehow kept ending up with the ones who couldn't speak English. I have to say, I was pretty proud of my Spanish skills. So anyway, after roaming the streets and dancing everywhere, we finally ended up in one bar, with Giana and Michael pushing and goading me into trying to talk to some hot Spanish dude. First, I ended up attracting the shorter, not-as-cute one. Second, Giana came hurrying over to me, a look of distress on her face. 

She proceeded to tell me that her camera had been stolen. She was really upset about it, so we sat for a little bit, and I checked every single pocket and crevice of her purse, before peacing out and heading home. By the time we got home, Giana realized that her wallet had also been taken--leaving her with no cash, no debit card, and no driver's license. That, on top of the missing camera (with over 900 pictures), did not make for a good night. She called her mom, worked things out with the bank, and we went to bed. 

In the morning, we ate a very Spanish meal of McDonald's, then hustled down to the tourist office and asked for advice, where we were told to inform the police. Realizing that it was ridiculously hot and sunny (and we wanted to change), and that we only had an hour before we needed to leave for the bullfight, we decided to visit the police after.

Finally, we made it to the Plaza de Toros, ready for some authentic Spanish culture. Nothing can compare to the real thing, in person. It was amazing. Our novella (young guy, 21, in training to be a matador) was Juan del Alamo, and he was pretty darn cute. Just watching the grace and arrogance of his movements, though, made me practically fall in love. He moved like a dancer, all straight lines and fluidity. Gah, I loved it. 

There were definitely some scary moments during the corrida (bullfight in Spanish), too. If you didn't know, Juan fought six young bulls, a completely new event for Salamanca. This being said, we pretty much understand the sequence of a bullfight now. First, they bring out the bull, get it a little riled up with other torreros (guys who aren't matadors, but still swing a cape around and entice the bulls), and set it loose on the matador or novella. Juan would step in, all confidence, and begin leading the bull around him with a huge pink and yellow cape. 

My favorite picture ever.

After a while of this, some horses would trot out, confusing us at first. The bulls, for some reason, were really intimidated by these padded-up horses, so they always attacked. We learned real quick that the horses were blindfolded (so frickin calm as they were rammed!) and super-padded to protect them against the bull. The bulls always seemed to be trying to flip the horse over, freaking us out considerably. But those horses were so sturdy and calm! And eventually (if you don't want details about injuring bulls, don't read until the next underlined words), the guy on the horse would stab a spear-thing into the bull's back, and the torreros would lead it away from the horses to let them run away. Then, torreros would take turns sticking two decorated arrow-like things into the bull's back. It took a lot of skill and concentration to get them on there, since the bulls always charged, too. Scary! 

Juan, on his knees, with his little, red cape. Amazing!

Our dear Juan del Alamo would then come back out with a short, red cape and a sword. He would play around with the toro some more, using more daring and beautiful moves than before, and being an all-around bad ass, basically. Finally, (quit reading again until the underlined words, my faint-of-heart friends) Juan would prepare himself, raise his sword, and run at the bull head-on, leaping over a horn and stabbing the sword right into the middle of its back. I won't include the next moments, because they're not important in the scheme of things, but if Juan did really well, he received one of the bull's ears--if he did really, really well, he would receive two. By the end of the whole thing, he ended up with a lot of ears, which he mostly threw out into the crowd or handed to people he cared about, I suppose. 

Basically, it was an experience I will never forget, and would love to see again someday. It's not as cruel or mean as it seems, I promise. The bulls are treated with such respect, and are given a very quick end. Plus, one bull got in a good swipe at Juan. Scared the crap out of us, since it managed to flip him over its massive shoulder and tried to stab him right through the ground. Luckily, Juan managed to get in between the horns, rolled up, and picked up his cape again. Seriously, the dude didn't even flinch at the fact that he was almost run-through. So crazy!

We've been pretty chill today, and all that we have on our agenda for this Salamanca holiday Monday is to visit the police station. Hopefully something will happen with that, but if not, at least we tried. I just can't believe Giana got her things stolen. It was really like magic--just how everyone describes it. So if you're ever in Europe, pay very close attention to your things. That's my advice. And, see a bullfight. You won't regret it.