The week after

The wedding was just the kick-off to a week of activities. We felt that since people were traveling so far for the wedding, we wanted to have more activities to make it worth the trip. I have traveled quite far for weddings and having just 1 night of fun feels inadequate given the distance you have traveled. It also was a great opportunity to have all of my family in one place and to show them a part of Spain that I have known for the last 7 years.


Pool recovery day
The day after the wedding, everyone woke up pretty late (around 11 am - 1 pm). We ended up having a nice walk around the village of La Alberca, drinking Radlers next the pool, and having a group dinner in La Abadia de los Templarios. The day after any big event is extremely fun as everyone recounts different stories from the night before.
-"Did you see when Peter was laying on the ground during 'Shout' during the 'A little bit softer now' part?"
- "Taylor en la piscina."
- "Follow the leader leader, follow the leader leader"

Tour of Salamanca

After getting back to Salamanca we did a guided 2-hour walking tour including Ieronimus. We learned during this tour that about 50% of my family is afraid of heights when we got to a catwalk high above the cathedral interior while the guide calmly explained why there was a wooden board wedged into a crack created by an earthquake in the 18th century. Comforting.

Safely back on the ground we went to tapas in the Plaza Mayor at Cafe Real

Winery Visit

1-hour north of Salamanca is the town of Toro which has a winery called Bodega Divina Proporción. For just 20 euros we had an amazing 5 course lunch with all you can drink wine from their three brands: Madre Mia, Abracadabra, and 24 Mozas. 

That night, Sandra and I had to put our wedding clothes back on for a 3-hour photo shoot in Salamanca. Spanish people love weddings so much. The whole night random strangers were shouting things like: 

"Que vivan los novios!"

"Que viva la novia"

"Que guapa! Me encanta tu vestido"

"Beso! Beso! Beso!

Chupinazo

After a sophisticated day at the winery, we had the Guijuelo village party called "Chupinazo" which kicks of the multi-day village summer festival. Everyone in the town wears costumes with their friends in groups called "Peñas." I saw a group of teenagers dressed up as viagra boxes. Another group dressed up as those troll dolls with the crazy spiked up hair. Sandra's aunt and uncle were dressed up with their friends as cowboys and cowgirls. Our family was dressed up with matching t-shirts saying "USA" and in letters below "Union de Salmantinos y Americanos" with a pig dabbing in front of a Spanish and American flag. 

It didn't take long for most of my family to get into the sangria infused mosh pit that Sandra says is normally just for teenagers. My family didn't care. My uncles and aunts were in there partying harder than the teenagers. 

We even did the inflatable slide that had a pool at the bottom with pink-grayish water from all the sangria and sweat that had accumulated. 

I don't think anyone in my family had a seen a village festival like this that rivaled top American music festivals. Plus the festival was inclusive of all age groups, not just teenagers and 20-somethings like in the US. There were babies, toddlers, and elderly people.

Our family stood out because in this village of 5,000 Spaniards everyone knows each other. When 25 gringos show up wearing matching white t-shirts, they get noticed. So much so that we appeared in the newspaper the next day for the entire province similar in distribution to the Seattle Times. 

After showering off the sangria from my hair, we went back out that night to one of the few bars in town, Pistachio. Only the Latinos had the stamina to keep partying this many days in a row! Paulina, Bruna, Cailey, Alexandre, and Riad. 

Bull fighting

The last day of our planned activities was bull fighting. By this point, most of the group was unwilling or unable to go to bull fighting. I had previously gone and described my experience here. I continue to hold the opinion I held then in 2012:

But despite this, I still feel that bull fighting should not be banned from Spain. Firstly, the bulls were going to be killed regardless. The strongest bulls are selected for the pagentary of bull fighting while their weaker comrades are killed behind closed doors. Secondly, the sense of tradition, community, and national pride was astounding at this event. After the third bull, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, got out sangria and bocadillos de chorizo (chorizo sandwich) to have as a snack. Yes, bulls were killed. However, it was done in such an artistic way that it was not grotesque or inhumane. I would definitely go again as long as I felt like it was done authentically and not for the amusement of tourists as I am sure it is done in places like Mexico.

During the first bull, the bullfighter was maneuvering his horse in circles when the horse slipped and fell down completely exposing its vulnerable belly to the angry bulls horns. Seen here:

Luckily, my family wasn't horrified by the spectacle and stayed for all 6 bulls. 

After a week of activities, everyone was exhausted. My parents left for Alicante and Sandra and I left for Menorca for some much deserved Rest & Relaxation at the beach.

I'm proud that I was able to share an authentic week of Spanish culture with my extended family and I think everyone was happy that they had come as they would not have been able to do these activities on their own.