Derniers jours en Espagne

Le voyage tire a sa fin, et avant que je parle du depart, je dois parler de ce que nous avons fait dans les derniers jours.

After Granada, we took a train to Sevilla, where we visited the largest gothic cathedral in the world (though it's smaller than St-Peter's in the Vatican) and just wandered in the nice little streets. We also took a bus tour which brought us to the site of the 1992 International Exhibition, but now it's just full of weird-looking buildings which look like a ghost town. We also got to see some good flamenco, full of life and passion and shoe-tapping and just amazing movements. It made me want to take classes when I get home (that's soon, isn't it?) and to buy myself some flamenco shoes, to use as character shoes for theatre! Yeah!

Le lendemain de notre arrivee a Madrid, nous avons pris un bus pour nous rendre a Tolede, dans le but d'acheter une lame du meme nom, une de ces fameuses lames de Tolede. La ville en est pleine. Elle est aussi pleine d'armes de toutes sortes et pas toutes faites en Espagne. Bref, on a commence par jouer aux touristes dans la ville tres chaude (45 degres) ou on a visite la cathedrale (une autre, oui) puis une synagogue transformee en musee. Tolede a vu passer plusieurs annees pendant lesquelles Maures, Juifs et Catholiques vivaient en paix et participaient aux celebrations de mariage des autres religions. Bref, un beau melange architectural qui en resulte dans la ville medievale.

We then perused some shops, compared blades and prices, and opted for a more expensive but more authentic sword, made in Toledo by a real swordsmaster (well, it's a replica, I couldn't fight with it, but it's still really nice). Another sword for the collection!
And yesterday, we had a busy day in Madrid, starting with the Rastro, the famous flea market of Madrid, where you can find anything and everything if you look, and then going to the Prado, to see works by masters such as Velasquez, El Greco and Goya, among others.
The day ended with a bullfight. Yes, I went to see this display of machismo, cruelty and, let's admit it, cowardice. After all, the bull is all alone with his horns against men with swords, lances and sticks with spikes to weaken him.

Bien que des le debut, je n'etais pas d'accord avec la pratique, je me suis dit que le fait de ne pas en voir ne l'empecherait pas d'arriver, et que tant qu'a etre ici, autant savoir ce que c'etait, pour savoir pourquoi j'etais contre! D'ailleurs, si ce n'etait de la cruaute du jeu, je pourrais apprecier l'adresse des toreadors et des picaderos et prendre plaisir a etudier leur mouvement. Enfin, pour plus de details sur la corrida comme telle, voir le blog de Nico, qui est en train d'ecrire un bon article la-dessus.

For more details on the Corrida, see Nick's blog, he's having fun describing it in a gonzo way, I think.

And today, we wandered the streets of Madrid, had lunch in a nice park and visited the museum of contemporary art, where we had a lengthy discussion about what is art. Toughie. And now it's time to go.