Week 22: Madrileña Traditions

This week, dear readers, I spent some quality time in the city and I was able to experience two Madrid traditions. The first is la Feria de los Libros in Retiro. The Feria is pretty much a giant book market. Seriously, all of y'all who have been to the Taste of Chicago imagine that, but instead of selling food the vendors are selling books. It was pretty incredible to see so many people flock to Retiro and the different booths (each one was for a different bookstore/library). 

A few of my friends and I wandered aroud Retiro for a bit and we attempted to hide out in the shade of the park. Summertime has hit Madrid, this past week it was 95 and up. My piso has been pretty unbearable because of the heat and lack of A/C, fortunately for us the temperature has dropped about 20 degrees so we were able to enjoy being outside without absolutely melting.

The second tradition I saw was a bull fight; I'm not gonna lie, but it was definitely not something I would do again. The stadium was really pretty, and I liked all the matador costumes, and I didn't mind the first part of the fight where they tease the bull a bit, but the minute they started to hurt it, I was done. My friends and I only stayed for about half of it because we were starting to not feel so great while watching it. Though, I have to say, I'm glad I went because I have a feeling its going to die out pretty soon. Its a slightly controversial problem in Spain  because a lot of animal rights groups are very against it because its pretty much torturing the bull.

Anyways, I've only got fourteen days left in Madrid (Seriously, where did the past 6 months go?!?!), and the rest of this week I will be in the Picos de Europa hiking with one of my friends. Until next time!

Besitos,

Kelsey