Hola Hola!
I know it has been awhile since I have posted, but I knew I had to post sooner than later about my Ciudad Rodrigo experience. Some friends and I went to Ciudad Rodrigo for a day to celebrate Spain's carneval, which as described by Wikipedia is, "is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration orparade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life." There is also running of the bulls, and bull fights there.
Upon arriving, the group of friends I had traveled with was trying to look for some other friends. There were tons of gates/barricades all around the city as a barrier to separate people from the bulls. Some people enter the barricaded area in order to run with the bulls. Well, as we were searching for our friends just calmly standing around, I decided to do something very usual--people watch. So I looked around and asked everyone out loud, "why is everyone on that side of the barricade looking IN ON us? And how come there are no women on this side?" After hearing myself say this, I realized we were in the section where the bulls RUN! Shortly after, my friends and I bolted out of there and went to the other side where we felt safe :) I could not imagine what would have happened if we didn't notice until the bulls came.
After seeing the bulls run, we decided to go to another section of the city to see more bulls run! It was an overall great day as we were all dressed up as zorros, went on a carnival ride, and were able to drink in the streets--this is not allowed in Salamanca, but I think they allow it in Ciudad Rodrigo for the holiday!
I am leaving for Madrid in about 15 minutes-I'll try to post as soon as I can!
Hasta luego,
Christina
