A miracle for Patti in Bilbao

So yesterday, I was walking around the Basque town of Bilbao in search of the bullring and in particular, I was looking for the bullfighting museum. I arrived at the bullring, which appeared to be closed, but there was a large wooden door at the far end that appeared unlocked. I went in and found myself completely alone in a relatively new arena. I was euphoric. I walked around and took some pictures of a beautiful bullring recently washed down, I walked upstairs and found a treasure trove of really old bullfighting carteles, I mean really old, like from the 1800s!!! I took some pictures, but the lighting was poor. I met a friendly little dog who followed me around a bit and then layed down to take a nap.
I found the museum in the stadium but the glass doors were locked up and it was dark. I contented myself with the satisfaction of viewing the beautiful old posters lining the halls.
When I went downstairs, I finally ran into someone, a young man who appeared to be working at the arena. I asked him if the museum was closed (of course, I had just been wandering upstairs so I knew it was locked down up there!). He asked me a few questions (who are you? where are you from? etc. etc) and said he would be happy to open it up for me. Well, I had one of the best afternoon´s of my life, as Arturo proceeded to let me into not only the museum, but also the ´capilla´ (where the bullfighters pray prior to their matches) and the banquet room (where the judges and bullfighters celebrate dinners and events during the fiestas), he showed me the vet´s offices, the area where the matador´s and judges choose which bulls will fight which toreros, the holding areas, the entire bullring and its administrative areas. I got a detailed, two hour private tour of every area of the bullring as well as a political and social history of tauromaquia in Bilbao!!!
Arturo was a real expert in the field and provided such an incredible richness of information with each of the rooms we entered and gave me such great insight into each of the exhibits in the museum. I saw some beautiful artwork and several pieces that were created by Goya (a spanish artist who was also a bullfighting afficionado!). The museum was amazing and before I left, Arturo invited me to return to any upcoming fiestas and promised preferential seating! Imagine that! I´ve got a friend now at the bullring in Bilbao! Pictures forthcoming...