Lazy Sundays, and more about the Bulls

When I come back to the States, I want to definitely bring back the concept of Sundays filled with a lot of nothing. It's not uncommon for people to sleep until 1 or 2. And even after that, some people take a siesta after lunch around 3 or 4. I woke up around 11:30 on Sunday to go to the Spanish mass which was literally the building next to us. Again, it took only about 35-40 minutes.

Later in the day, the family went out to a Brazilian restaurant and we had lunch with some of Carmen's friends and family. There was about 12 of us, and I got to still at the adults side of the table. I'm getting a little better at understanding questions and conversing, but again, I still have a lot to learn. One of the cooks came by and served us 15 different types of meat, and we also ordered the buffet, which wasn't too exotic, and was quite good. We took a great long walk around Valladolid after that, conversing along the way. We returned quite late, around 7 or so. Carmen's family are very very nice people and are very easy to talk with.

Monday, Eduardo and I biked around Valladolid and visited his grandpa nearby and sipped on some Coca-Colas. We talked a bit about the bullfight I saw the day before and it wasn't until he mentioned that they started building bullrings with roofs on them that I realized how close baseball and bullfighting were.

Here's a quote from one of my favorite movies:

"So I know bullfighting is part of your culture and everything but have you
ever thought about... I don't know, baseball? You know, a bat, a ball."

"A bat, a ball. A sword, a cap. Both are great traditions where men dress up
in tights to impress women. "

The atmosphere of the two is quite the same. You can talk and relax while the event is going on. They have rainouts. There are 6 bulls because it's a multiple of 3. Three is the most sacred number in bullfighting we learned at the Museum. There are 3 matadors, 3 parts to each bullfight. Three is even more prevalent in basebll. Three outs, 9 innings, 9 players, 3 strikes, 90 feet between bases ... the list goes on. Maybe I've found a substitute for baseball over here.

Well, we're coming down the homestretch of this part of the trip. We leave for Valencia on Thursday night and come back Monday. Then next week is our last week. I leave for Roncesvalles, France two weeks from today to start my Camino. I couldn't be more excited and I'm trying to prep myself. I hope all is well back home.

Love,

Jack