Plaza de Espana

"Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness."
Frank Gehry

Our last full day of sightseeing in Seville begins with fresh Seville oranges and a pastry from our local bakery.
The Metropol Parasol opens at 9.30am so it's a relaxed start to the day and a ten minute stroll. There's a guide touting for business at the entrance and offering a free glass of wine at the end so we book it. An interesting tour around the market with some background about the archaeological remains - Roman - that were uncovered when the excavations began, The tour included the market and then we went up onto the walkway of what is claimed to be the largest timber structure in the world. Even if it isn't it's a very impressive timber structure with some great views over the city. Our tour ends at a cafe/restaurant underneath one of the "mushroom" parasols where we have our glass of wine...and stay for lunch. Getting quite accustomed to this relaxed lunch outside, watching the world go by and enjoying anchovies and patatas bravas with a beer.
Our afternoon visit to Plaza de Espana completed the planned visits. The place was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American exposition the following year. Well worth a visit although I didn't choose my time very well and the interior was closed. Plenty to see outside and lots of photo opportunities, although plenty of tacky tourist stuff on sale cluttering up some of the views.
K2 decided on seeking out a bookshop in the city, so we trailed through the narrow streets, so much more interesting than the big impersonal streets back home, followed by a quick visit to buy a bottle of local gin near the Parasol on our return to the apartment - via the bakery of course. After a brief respite we headed back to see the Parasol by night, with much more activity and stalls and street food around. A fascinating city to visit, I'm glad we came back.