As everything hurt today after all the walking yesterday, we wanted to take it easy. We decided to make the short stroll (ha!) from the hotel to the Plaza de España (http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/plazadeespana.htm). Little did we realize how long it would take to get there (over 2 miles there and back!) or what we would find at our destination: a grand display of tile spread over 50,000 square meters! Everywhere we looked, there was tile – in the usual places (columns, benches, and bridges) and the unexpected (fences and lamp posts). All along the wall by the canal are 48 alcoves with benches, one for each province of Spain, each with a relevant tableau and map, all designed on colourful azulejos (painted ceramic tiles). Spanish tourists have photographs taken of themselves with family and friends on their home province's bench. In a further regional reference, the four bridges represent the four ancient kingdoms of Spain: Castille, Aragon, Navarre and Leon. The buildings (now housing government offices) are adjacent to the extensive gardens in Maria Luisa Park. Unfortunately, our time was short and we didn’t have a chance to visit the gardens.
We rested for a few minutes after returning to our hotel before heading over to the train station and the 2½ hour ride back to Malaga. After we got back to the apartment, we managed to trip the main circuit breaker, which delayed dinner while we got the breaker reset. We dropped into bed for a well-deserved rest after an intriguing 2 days in Seville. After seeing what we it had to offer, we wished we had extended our stay by another day … and rearranged our schedule to see more of the Cathedral and Plaza de España!
