PaMpLoNa -- Bull run

Our first steps upon our return to Spain were taken in Bilbao.  We were only there long enough to wait for our bus to Zarautz, where our campsite for Pamplona was.  We had an extra night, though, before we were booked to the campsite, so we found a place to stay and slept.  :)  Our flight was at 6:40 in the morning and we had to be there a couple hours early, so we had been up for awhile.

That evening, we went & checked out the beach area.  We watched some surfers ride waves and had a bit of supper before going back to sleep, haha.  :)  I got to snap a few good pictures, though!

We headed to the campsite the next day.  The view and actual camgrounds were really nice.  I wasn't sure what to expect upon arrival, but it turned out okay. 

They definitely fit in as many tents as they could.  This is just a small portion of them.

Getting started quickly

We arrived when many of the other campers were in Pamplona for the opening ceremonies of the festival.  It was pretty quiet.  Upon arrival, they had a 'welcome drink' waiting for us.  We had a beer and got settled in.

That evening, leave it to Clint & I to get beer pong started!  We gathered some people and got it going in full swing.  :)  We had the battle of Americans vs the Aussie's.  :)  Overall, I think the Aussie's were victorious.  :)  We put up a good fight, though!

Well, Pamplona is all about the bull run, right?  Clint crashed around 11ish and I was about an hour after that.  The campsite got a lot more busy after the rest of the campers came back.  We were woken up at 4:00 in the morning to catch our bus to Pamplona at 5:00.  They served 'hot breakfast' of toast with an egg on it.  I was HuNgOvEr!  I hadn't drank in a long time, so that morning was NOT my best friend.  HaHa.. to say the least.  :)  We met some people from New Zealand that quickly became friends, Lexie and Alex.  Alex was going to run, but Lexie wasn't, so we kind of joined forces.  I watched the bull run from the arena with Lexie and Alex & Clint headed to join the horde of runners.  Despite not feeling the best, I REALLY enjoyed the run.  It was kind of a rush, to be honest.  I don't know how I'd feel actually running, but watching it and feeling/hearing the crowd was just exciting.  I got chills!  Once Clint & I met up, I found out that he didn't get to run because he wasn't far enough up in the group of runners.  It was quite confusing for us who hadn't done the run before.  It would have been nice to have bit more advice and guidance in that area. 

The streets of Pamplona just an hour before the run was to begin.  People on their balconies had a prime view!

The arena after the bulls had ran through.  Waiting for them to release the bull calves.

After the initial run, they let the bull calves in to play with all the adventurous spirits of the bull run.  Some of the hits were a bit scary looking, but most got up cheering.

Traditional dress, if you can't tell, is all white with a red sash around your waist and neck.  Any other colors make you look culturally irresponsible.  :)

I have video of the run and of the bull calves, but I cannot figure out how to get it to upload to this damn page.  I'm going to continue to do a little bit of research and hopefully figure out how to do it.  Once I do, I promise to upload some footage so you can check it out for yourself.  The whole run lasts 2-4 minutes from the time the run begins.  I am definitely glad to say that I got to experience San Fermin. 

Once we were back at camp, we were both kind of over the whole party scene, so we just took it easy.  Got to catch a pretty awesome sunset, though...

Well, I am going to close with that.  I am going to start uploading some pics to Facebook.  That alone could take all summer, haha!  I will attempt to figure out this video thing so that you can see the run and some other things.  Hope that this finds you all well!!

Vatican City

I am trying to get you all caught up on the happenings of our European vacation.  I left you at the Fontana di Trevi in Rome.  Our other big stop in Rome was Vatican City. 

A fun little side story that wasn't so funny at the time...

Clint & I got separated for about 3 or 4 hours in Rome.  Let me explain.  We were taking the metro on the morning we decided to go to the Vatican.  We originally headed in the wrong direction, so we got off at the first stop and decided to catch the next tram headed in the opposite direction.  We were toward the back of the crowd getting onto the train and I got onto it as they began to shut the doors.  Clint had some of his body in the door, but couldn't keep the door open.  We tried to push the button that opens the doors and it wouldn't open.  A guy inside told me, "No, you can't do that."  I just laughed... a nervous, shaky laugh.  I went to the next stop and got off assuming Clint would get on the next tram and meet me at that stop.  Well, that didn't happen.  It was a very hectic few hours.  I sat at the entrance of the Vatican museum for an hour thinking I should stay in one place in case he was going all over the place.  When he didn't show up, I just decided to go to the one place we had in common for sure and that was our hotel.  Eventually, he showed up after running all over Rome looking for me.  It was a big 'ol mess that turned out just fine in the end.

St. Peter's Basilica

Inside the Basilica

Just a close up of the detailing and the gold plating

Inside the Vatican museum is the world famous Sistine Chapel with the ceiling painted by Michelangelo... Here are a few shots of that ceiling... It was pretty breath-taking.

I am not the most religous of people, but being in the presence of a place like this gave me quite a powerful feeling.  It was just really amazing.  Pictures can't do it justice, but that's the best way I have to relay it to you.  Unbelievable.

Rome was hot.  I am sure that came through in my first Roman entry, but it's worth repeating, I think.  It was a very pretty, very historic city, but I think seeing it once is plenty for me.  If I were to ever go again, I would go during the cooler months of the year because the summer is nearly unbearable.  It was fairly easy to get around once we figured out the basics of the transportation system.  It was hot, but we came out alive!  :) 

Just lettin' you know I haven't forgot!

Hey!!

I am back in Kansas and on the Cook Ranch!  Couldn't be happier about it, either!  I know my entries haven't been very often these past few weeks, but my internet access was pretty limited.  I apologize! 

I just wanted to let you know that I will get it all updated in the next couple weeks!  I promise!  I haven't forgotten about my online obligations! :) 

Hope this finds you all well!

Roasting in Rome

Man!!  It is HOT here!  I have heard that Rome is a bit warm in the summer & that is definitely NOT a lie.  Whew!  I hear it's not much better in the good 'ol state of Kansas, so I'm getting some good practice for that Kansas heat!  (Looking forward to it!!)

We've managed to sleep in every day.  I'm not complaining because our first week in Spain is going to be very sleep-deprived.  Anyway, we've done a bit of sight-seeing despite the heat.  We went to the Colosseum on our first day out.  It is massive!  Enjoy some pics...

Getting ready to walk inside... I really like this one!

This picture was taken a level above the one prior... it's hard to give you a sense of how massive this place is... pretty incredible

No one was actually allowed to go walking through this part of the Colosseum

Outside of the Colosseum

Taken as we were walking down the street

After visiting the Colosseum, we went to the Roman Forum... It is all part of Ancient Rome... Here is a couple photos of that...

The Euro Cup 2012 just ended on Sunday.  The final match was between Spain & Italy.  I was a bit torn in who to cheer for... I knew, in my heart, I wanted Spain to win.  BUT, seeing as I was in Italy, I thought it might be a really cool thing to be a part of if Italy were to win.  Rome would have been crazy!  Turns out, Italy had NOTHING to cheer for.  They didn't really even show up.  Spain dominated 4-0 and that's huge for a soccer (football) match.  I've talked to some friends in Spain and seen some photos and it sure looks like Spain would have been VERY fun to be in that night.  :)  We went to an area of the city that we were told would be buzzing with football fans.  We ate and after we found out the score was 2-0 at half, we decided that we'd rather head back to our hotel and not risk being in the middle of any riots or whatnot.  I mean, they had law enforcement out in full force in this area we were in and A LOT of them.  We just decided we'd rather not know what happened if they lost, so we made it back to the hotel to find the final score 4-0.  As far as I know, there wasn't any riots or anything.  :)

The next day, we went to the Trevi Fountain.  A replica is in Ceasar's Palace in Vegas if you are more aware of that one, haha. :)  It's a big tourist attration and there were TON of people to fight through, but we got some decent pics and threw some coins in the fountain.  It's said to bring you back to the city and bring you luck in love.  Here's hoping, right?  ;)

I'm going to close there.  We've done a few other things, but I'll do another entry later.  It's after midnight here & I am SLEEPY!  I hope that this finds you all well!  I want to wish you all a safe and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!  There's no place I'd rather be than Hardtner, but I'm gonna have to miss it this year!  I will be thinking of you all, though!!  Have a beer for me!  "Fire in the Hole!"