Hemingway Adventure

Valencia, Spain (second day)

Robert arrives, breathless, holding a paper bag. There are no bull's testicles to be found so he has bought pig's instead. The director approves and they are sent to the kitchen to be prepared, reappearing quite soon, sliced and fried and ready for the interview.

I ask Vicente why he became a bullfighter.

'Next to being Pope, it's the only thing,' he smiles, but it isn't entirely a joke.

'It is the most important thing I can do with my life.'

'There are many people who think that bullfighting is cruel.'

He turns aside a moment and when he turns back his politely courteous manner has slipped a bit.

'What do people in an office in ...' He searches for a name, '... in New York, know about bulls? We know about them. We live with them.'

He points at a piece of cooked meat on display by the bar.

'This animal ... what is this animal?'

'Cow?'

'Cow, yes, a cow. A cow has six months. A bull has four years, living wild in the country.' He turns again to the cooked cow. 'Who is this animal? You don't know. We know the father, the mother of the bull, we put the name of each one on the bull.'

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PALIN'S GUIDES

Series: Hemingway Adventure
Chapter: Valencia, Spain (second day)
Country/sea: Spain
Place: Valencia
Book page no: 120

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Hemingway Adventure

Valencia, Spain (second day)

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