On our last night in Madrid (Oct. 24th) we hung out at La Torre Del Oro, a very interesting tapas bar in the Plaza Mayor dedicated to bull fighting.

Neither Cynthia nor myself are fans of this sport and we had no intention of witnessing a bull fight, but this little place was fascinating. Mounted on the wall were the heads of some notable bulls from previous fights as well as photo after photo of various toreadors.

And in the corner was a small television set showing previously recorded bull fights. It was like a bull fighting sports bar!

The bartender and Cynthia had a very animated discussion (in Spanish) wherein the rules and nuances of the sport were explained and discussed. I must confess, it was compelling to watch as the drama played out on the small TV. It was especially odd when they would show a slow motion replay of some particularly noteworthy cape swooshing.

I picked up bits and pieces of what was being said and I recall at one point, as the time was drawing near when the toreador would actually strike the killing blow, the matter of taking an ear as a trophy came up. That was when Cynthia looked at the mounted heads in the room and exclaimed “THEY HAVE NO EARS!

I enjoyed a few beers while this was going on, all the while just looking around and snapping a few pics like this one of a shrine/alter I can only presume was intended to keep the bull fighters safe from harm.

All in all, a very fun evening.

[tags] Spain, Madrid, Bull Fighting, Tapas [/tags]

La Torre Del Oro

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