I visited a bull fight in southern France, near Nimes. It was a fine spectacle. They did kill the bulls, the humane thing to do.

Seeing a bullfight at Las Ventas was the surprise highlight of my trip to Madrid. I say "surprise" because I detest bloody sights, and had expected to leave the bullring 10 minutes into the show. The only reason I went at all is because the day was a public holiday in Madrid, and everything else was closed. My plan was to attend the beginning of the bullfight, watch the opening ceremony, and then leave if the scene got too bloody.

The entire experience turned out to be fascinating, not only the action in the ring, but also the behavior of the specators, so I stayed until the end.

I did not see much in the way of blood, maybe because my vision is not very good. Also, I did not have binoculars. My seat was very good (midway tier, so I had a good overview of the ring), but not close enough for seeing any bloody details.

If you decide to go to Las Ventas, some advice:

1. You will be given a choice of tickets: sun or shade, shade being more expensive. If you can affod it, choose shade, because the shady side of the ring is where most of the action occurs.

2. Pay the nominal fee for a seat cushion. I didn't, and regretted it. After sitting for a few hours, the seat becomes very hard.

3. Unless you have a seat up front, do not plan on leaving early. The seats in Las Vents are structured up a very steep incline. It was very helpful (a necessity, I think) to have a crowd of people walking in front of me, to help cushion any potential fall. Maybe for this reason, I did not see a single person leave until the next-to-last bullfight ended. A small crowd left then, and everyone else waited until the end.

4. If you want to see close-up details, bring binoculars.

I have been to a bull fight where the bull is killed. I left there thinking what is wrong with me, because it did not bother me. I loved the music and the ceremony and the tradition. I do not care if I see another, but I am glad I saw one bull fight.

Thank you so much for all your feedback. Ihaven't been on the forum much because of the holidays.

Looks like wifey and I will be passing on seeing a bull fight!!

Thank you all again.