Residencia Eslava

White

by gsmallwood

You will walk a lot, bring comfortable shoes. Pack lots of white pants and white shirts. Everyone wears white with red sashes and scarves. You can find the sashes and scarves easily and reasonably at the Festival.

Catedral Santa María

by mikey_e

The Santa María Cathedral is, obviously, the chief church in all of Pamplona. The church has a long and complicated history, as it was the first one in the city to receive pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela. Its first plan was Romanesque, but when Charles III, also known as Charles the Noble, moved his court here, he had it completely refashioned according to the style of the times, which was Gothic (this was in the 15th century). Oddly enough, he did not have the Romanesque façade redone – perhaps this was because the façade survived the collapse of much of the rest of the Romanesque church, and this was seen as a form of divine intervention. In any case, the interior of the Cathedral was redone in Gothic style, including the monastery-like dormitory and refectory, as well as the Chapel and the Sacristy. Together with many other kings and members of the royal family of Navarre (including several Charleses), Charles the Noble and his wife are buried in a mausoleum inside the walls of the Santa María. The Cloister of the Church is also in Gothic style, although not quite as well maintained, and can be visited during a general tour of the Cloisters and the Church’s Museum. Finally, the façade, but survived Charles III’s plans and renovations, was redone completely at the end of the 18th century, when a new neo-Classical façade was erected in its stead. This new façade has a huge rose and a large cross with angels atop it. Even if the architectural history of this Pamplona landmark doesn’t really interest you, the architecture and sheer size of the church will. There’s something about the way that everything inside the walls in Pamplona is cramped up together that truly large buildings seem even larger and more impressive than they would be in airy boulevards or squares.

Pamplona

by Aitana

The Town Hall was built in the 18th century. In 1951 it was reformed and only the façade of the original building remains.
The façade is baroque though there are some neoclassical elements such as the clock and the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns. As baroque elements, there are two figures at both sides of the main gate: the allegory of Prudence, holding a mirror and a snake, and the allegory of Justice, holding her scales. In the roof, two Hercules hold maces; in the peak an allegory of Fame plays the trumpet.
The beginning of San Fermin’s feast takes place in this square.

The Citadel was built between 1571 and 1645. Its aim was the defence of the city.
Nowadays, the citadel and the green belt that surrounds it are a favorite green area. The moats and glacis are used for sports; the pavilions, bulwarks and ravelins are used for cultural events. The powder magazine houses art exhibitions.

And some more San Fermines

by la_beba

Asking to strip as in New Orleans.....

gets the guys this! (buckets of water from the balconies) HEHEHEHEHE
Not always though, I must admit.... there was girls willing to make your day guys

and it gets the girls this!!!!!!!!!

when I heard the crowd telling those girls in that balcony to show it to them.... I started yelling: "we want a guy! how about a guy!!??" and fair and quick enough..... this was the result! ;o)

"Plaza del Castillo at 6am"

Your shoes get literally stuck to the ground in Pamplona (during the San Fermin Fest)...... yuck, there was not a thing missing there.... and I had sandals!

"Getting ready for the run of the bulls.."

or the "Encierro" as it is known in Spain, was born out of a necessity to transfer the bulls from outside the town to the bullring. Before the bullring was built, the Plaza del Castillo was used for the bullfights. Although the "encierro" has changed over the centuries, the spirit remains the same.

"Encierro "runners" before the release of the bulls"

At 7:55am, the runners some 70 meters beyond the bulls corrals, sing to a statue of San Fermin in a niche (as on picture seen here) asking him to protect them. The Running of the Bulls begins when the San Saturnino church clock strikes 8am . Then 2 rockets are shot off announcing the exit of the bulls from their corrals. The first rocket announces that the gate to the corral is opened. The second rocket announces that the bulls preceded by eight oxen are now in the streets running towards the runners. The "encierro" usually lasts about 2 minutes. The entire route of the bullrun is about 790 meters long.

"Runners in action"

THE RUNNERS:
About three quarters of the runners are Spaniards, many from Pamplona. As absurd as it sounds to many foreigners, running the bulls is a time-honored family tradition in Spain, particularly here in the Basque region.
Year after year, boys watch their older brothers, fathers and grandfathers run. When they get the thumbs up from their parents to descend from the balconies, few turn down the chance to risk life and and a limb!!!

The rest of the field breaks down to roughly three groups.

1st: Europeans with something to prove.
2nd: bushwackers from down-under. Australia and New Zealand are well-represented, and these boys are clearly here to party. They come for the festival, run for the challenge, and then kick around Europe for more good times.
3rd: "the Americanos" It’s easy to pick out these English speakers in their 20s, trying to speak Spanish. We tend to be upper-middle class readers of Hemingway, and we have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into.

I was told the bulls always, always get one of us, so I was not about to try it....... though the adrenaline rush was huge!

SO YOU SHOULD FOLLOW 3 BASIC RULES
1. Run sober. Good judgment and alert motor skills can be the difference between a fun run and a trip to the hospital.
2. Run “with” the bulls, not in front of them. This one seems logical.
3. Last but not least, if you fall, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GET UP!!! The bulls’ natural instinct to run in a pack can be overrun by a distraction, like the 22 yr old American gored to death some years ago while climbing to his feet. Cover your head, pray, and wait; the bulls will pass. A trampling usually results in a few bad bruises. That’s an attractive alternative to a horn ripping through your spine.

OFFICIAL RULES:
1. Those who are less than 18 years old are forbidden to run.
2. Crowding the fence is not allowed.
3. All doors along the runway must be closed.
4. No one can remain in the runway who is drunk or drugged or who in any other way represents a danger to the rest.
5. One cannot carry things into the runway.
6. Runners must be dressed correctly.
7. It is forbidden to call to the bulls or in any way attract their attention either in the runway or in the ring.
8. Taking photos from inside the runway or from the fences during the encierro is not allowed without permission from the authorities.

picture from www.pamplonabulls.com

"Runners coming in the Plaza de Toros"

... end of the "encierro"