Madrid Day 2-8th June 2008

I managed to tune myself to wake up early at 8.30 a.m for breakfast and headed out to explore the city. The first item on my itinerary is the Sunday FLEA market. It is one of my favourite places in Madrid honestly. What else but shopping for GIRLS right? There were all sorts of items on sale from shawls, bags, clothes etc

Plaza mayor on the way...

My Summer outfit @ Plaza Mayor

Where all the artists gather... @ Plaza mayor

The Flea Market...

People are friendly, smiling and saying “Hola” to you whenever you pass by. However, the weather wasn’t that friendly. It started to get gloomy and I was so afraid that the tears of the sky would start flowing… Initially I was in my t-shirt and shorts but after I finished the flea market, I headed back to the hostel to change into jeans and coat… What an irony.. Wearing the same outfit that I had on during winter when Summer is knocking on the door… ? hahahaha.. Anyway, back to the flea market… It was huge and I actually spent about 2 hours whizzing my way through the crowd… Have you ever heard the song by Jolin Tsai “马德里不思议”? If you remember the scene where she skipped past the flea market lined up with blooming flowers, road-side stalls etc, YES that’s the one! It’s AWESOME!

Music by the streets...


More Music..
Nice Hooks on sale.... Compared to those S-Hooks sold in Singapore! :(

After changing into my “winter-outfit”, I headed to the MADRID PALACE! I guess my luck is just taking a toll on me… My hostel is just a 10-minute walk from the Madrid Palace and when I was halfway through, there was the SUN… OUT AND BRIGHT! However, it was still a bit windy so my scarf and coat was put to good use… I love the well-decorated gardens just outside the Palace. There were people sitting around, just relaxing, admiring the sceneries etc…

The Beautiful Flowers....

I hesitated as to whether I should enter the Palace but eventually, I still went in. I wanted to take a good look of it inside. ‘Regret’ is not the word I’d use to describe my post-visit state of emotion..Instead, I would think DISAPPOINTMENT fits better. It is just like any other Palaces that I've visited but the only thing that sets it apart is its white walls which made it looked astonishing..

The only picture of the interior of the Madrid Palace

Knight outfits for CHILDREN

Unlike in my past travels, I practically skipped all museums because they are time-consuming and I don't get much out of them when I don't understand their language. No Prado Museum for me. :) Instead, I headed to the world's 2nd richest soccer club's homeground, the SANTIAGO BERNABEU - Home to Real Madrid FC. It's not as well-furnished as Old Trafford or Emirates Stadium, I'd say it's the equivalent of Stamford Bridge on a larger scale. I was hesitant about paying to go inside the stadium so I just took a walk outside the Stadium and visited the mega store. Football clubs in UK have their Mega Store catered to only their own merchandises but that's not the case with Spain. For e.g. Real Madrid is sponsored by Adidas so you can actually find other merchandise of FC sponsored by Adidas like Spain National Team, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC etc. It's so hilarious. Who would go to Real Madrid and buy a Chelsea jersey?!?! Likewise, it was the same case when I went to Barcelona FC @ Camp Nou. They had Arsenal and ManU jerseys and some other merchandises on sale.

Metro Stop attributed to the Stadium..

Only Raul has the privilege of having his name printed on a ball.... WHY?! Prince of Madrid..

Beckham used to be on the poster I bet. :)

Think back to the time when Barcelona played ManU during the Champions League Semi-finals and ManU fans going over to Barcelona's Mega Store to buy ManU products?!

After the visit, I got a bit tired and decide to head to my next destination-La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas del Espíritu Santo.



You must be wondering where on earth is this place?! Well, it's where BULLFIGHTING takes place!! Before I tell you more about Bullfighting, let your imagination run at this moment and give yourself a picture and idea of what you think bullfighting is about? I can tell you I had one of the biggest shock of my life when I catch my virgin bullfight show in Madrid.

The bullfighting ground...

Basically, what happened was that a really handsome young Spanish guy walked past me at the moment when I was preparing to take this shot. That explains this Candid shot. :)

Now we shall begin~~Bullfighting is as popular as Soccer in Spain. Large crowds gather to watch the game and each game lasts about 2 hours or so. However, there's a winning probability of 0.5 for each team in a soccer game whereas in a bullfight, the BULL never WINS. It always loses and ends up DEAD. It's extremely Cruel!

I didn't know the rules of the game at all and this Spanish lady who sat beside me was actually very nice and started to explain to me how Bullfighting works. There's are 3 steps that lead to the death of the poor BULL...

Before the cruelty begins....

First, they will attempt to arouse the bull with a pink cloth to test the bull's courage, strength and general ability to fight. The crowd and president serve as the judge. Waving a white cloth indicates that they recognise the bull's fighting ability while a green ones signals the replacement of the bull. The Picadores, fighters on horseback will come next to challenge the bull and stab its neck. The whole idea is to weaken the bull's neck muscles to weaken his fighting ability. The second challengers, the Banderilleros will have to stab brightly coloured barbed sticks into the bull's back and there are 3 sets of those sticks. By then, the bull will be bleeding quite a bit and it gets more aggressive somehow.

The final challenger is named as the Matadore in English but I remember vividly, the lady naming it the Toledo (most probably the Spanish coined term). He's the one that ends the bull's time on earth with a Knife. He waves the red cape (cloth) and has to make the bull pass his body as close as possible. The manner and fashion going about it is 4 turns in one direction and the 5th turn in the opposite. Occasionally, the bull doesn't die with one stab by the Toledo. Then, the other bullfighters will come in and stab the bull till he drops to the ground and lowers its head. How cruel that can be right?!

Each bullfighting session witnesses the death of at least 6 bulls. What can be done to stop this form of animal abuse? Bullfighting is their culture. Is the preservation of human's culture more important or is it the protection of the animals that should come first? I heard from some locals that in Portugal where bullfighting is also a form of entertainment, the bulls do not die. Maybe that is a better balance between preservation of culture and the humane treatment of animals? I do not know. What about you?! What do you think?!

By the time the show ended, I was a bit exhausted but I headed for some local snacks and more shopping on the night streets of Madrid... Not to forget, headed to HRC for some merchandise stocking once again. Come to my place and you'll see what I've collected from HRC.Beautiful shot-glasses and shirts. I should have bought more shot-glasses!! hahaha.....

Puerta del Sol @ night...