Pamplona--what an experience.

Entrance to the arena/stadium at the end of the run. It is also where the bullfights take place.

So if you've ever heard of the running of the bulls, which most people have, you probably imagine these Spanish men dressed in white and red running frantically through these cobblestone streets of Pamplona with these giant bulls, trying not to get hit or fall down and get trampled on by a massive bull. This is no misconception...it is precisely what the running of the bulls is.  

**sidenote: for those of you Spanish speakers, this is surprisingly not called La Corrida de Toros...that's actually the bullfight with the matador and all. In fact, the running of the bulls is called "El encierro de toros"**

The running of the bulls is just one part of The Festival of San Fermin, which is a 9 day (and night) festival celebrating Saint Fermin. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fermín for a more interesting description. 

Though it is technically a party in honor of Saint Fermin, most of what I saw was just a giant party, something comparable to Mardi Gras, I suppose. We got in the night of the 10th (Friday) around midnight, stayed up all night--because that's when the party is apparently--and left Saturday morning around 11. Sound crazy? It was! There were people literally everywhere you looked. Trash everywhere, which killed me because there were PLENTY of trashcans around every corner and park. They estimated about a million people on the weekend...which is exactly when we were there and exactly what it felt like. People 

come from all over (we ran across people from Italy, Britain, Ireland, the US, and Australia in addition to the masses of Spaniards) to take part in this massive party in the streets and parks of Pamplona. We met a fun group from Barcelona that played flamenco music for us. 

By the way, Spanish men are enamored with the "rubias"--blondes, which is why there's a picture of a huge group with Miranda, my friend from Minnesota, in the center of all of them. It's kind of a joke with her now though. She's used to them trying to get her to come to them as if she were a puppy. Literally people ask to take a picture with her just because she has blonde hair and blue eyes. If any of you Bell sisters come to Spain, you better be careful! 

There was a concert going on literally all night long, people packed in the streets, and then around 5 o'clock, most people start making their way toward the road where the running of the bulls takes place to stake their spot as spectators. 

Our group in general had a fairly good spot, although the fact that I'm 5 feet 2 inches didn't exactly help me see much of the running itself since I was standing behind a row of Spanish men who were sitting on the wall that was on the side of the street. From 6:00 until 8:00, we just stood there, holding our spots until the running began, which is pretty ridiculous when you think about the fact that the running itself only lasts for about 3 minutes, and the part that you personally get to see only lasts about 30 seconds or a minute if you're lucky. For those of you who have ever waited in line for 2 hours for the 2 minute-long Master Blaster at Schlitterbahn (or any other awesome amusement park ride), that's pretty much how it was for us. Of course, when you're waiting in line for those, you usually have your own personal space and place in line, whereas in Pamplona, you pretty much have to stake your ground and be prepared for numerous drunk Spaniards to try to plow their way through to the front. I honestly feel I have never gotten so close to so many strangers before in my life. And by close I don't mean emotionally...I mean when the running began EVERYONE moves closer to the street and there is NO room to budge. 

Thankfully, we had a group of guys from our program who were there with us, and they had been there for the running the previous day (the day that one man was killed), and they did a good job of making a human barrier behind us girls so not very many people succeeded in pushing us out of the way. When all was said and done, I was able to peek and see a little of the running, but my pictures and videos really are not that impressive. Though it was definitely crazy and not my typical scene of choice, I am extremely glad I went and experienced it. It was unforgettable to say the least. By the way, if you're wondering if I ran, I did not. I considered it, but when I thought about all the ways I would want to die, being maimed by a bull at the age of 21 is not exactly my first choice. There were, however, 3 people I knew that ran from our program (the guys below were 2 of them). All three are fine, but confessed it was pretty scary stuff.