Day 51 - Plaza de España

1 February 2022

Late to bad. Late to wake. Un Gato en Bicicleta for breakfast again. Opens at 9.30 am. 9.30-ish. It opened at 10.00 am. It is the Spanish way. Back for some bike maintenance. Both bikes have squeaks when we pedal. Annoying. Especially when you are in the saddle 4 - 5 hours a day. We can’t find the noise. Change Shell's seat. Still there. Lubricate everything that moves. Still there. It will be a job for NUA bikes when we get back to Barcelona.

“When there is noise and crowds, there is trouble;

When everything is silent and perfect,

There is just perfection and nothing

To fill the air.”

― Dejan Stojanovic

We head to the Plaza de España. Located in the Parque de María Luisa, it is another example of merged architecture. This time deliberate. It looks ancient. It was built in 1928 for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. Designed byy architect Aníbal González Álvarez-Ossorio

“It is a landmark example of Regionalism Architecture, mixing elements of the Baroque Revival, Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture.” - wiki

A monument to beauty and architecture. It serves no other purpose. This is what Seville and other parts of Spain do well. Architecture exists for its own sake. If I think about the buildings in Sydney and Melbourne, grand buildings exist only with a purpose beyond being grand. If it has no function, it is sold for real estate and high rise. Australia does parks well, I grant them that.

It is stunning. Incredible architecture. Worth the visit.

“I think that men have no right to profess themselves architects hastily, without having climbed from the steps of these studies and thus, nursed by knowledge of many arts and sciences, having reached the heights of the holy ground of architecture.” ― Vitruvius

We head to lunch. Moroccan. Ál - Mëdina. Incredible food. The highlight is the chicken pastilla. Sweet and savory and delicious. 

Head home to sort out everything we need for a nine-hour train trip tomorrow. Mostly food for me so I don’t get grumpy.

We spend the afternoon reading. Grab some ice cream for dinner.

Train tomorrow. Madrid tomorrow evening. I can't wait.

I love Seville. So glad we got here. It was not part of the original plan. Neither was Portugal. Both were brilliant.