Sevilla has many interesting promenades, plazas, paseo and parks... but our next sightseeing "must" was Plaza de Espana.  We walked along the shores of the Guadalquivir river...this 657 km long river is one of the longest in Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalquivir.







We enjoyed walking under the lush trees, also enjoying the view of Triana,a less touristic area (barrio) which used to be the heart of the gypsies communities) and where we spent quite a bit of time, in day and nighttime!

Before we get to the Plaza de Espana, we stumble upon the Torre del Oro. First erected during the moorish dynasty, this towers enabled the control of the traffic on the Guadalquivir river. It was once covererd with golden tiles..hence its name.  When Sevilla was the main seaport, for Spain's expeditions to the Americas, it is at the feet of this massive tower that the gold and other treasures were unloaded...   It is now a Naval museum.

And then there is the Tobacco Fabric...or Antigua Fabrca de Tabacos. This was built in 1750 and one of the largest building in Spain.  After its peak in the following century, it became a tobacco factory employing more than 4000 women ...An interesting anecdote can be found in the guide namely a citation referring to the fact that female workers were minutely searched before leaving their workplace "..for they sometimes carried the filthy weed in a manner her most Catholic majesty never dreamed of" ...today's mules for drug smuggling is not a new invention!!!!



Finally we arrive to Plaza de Espana and we are speechless for a couple of seconds...

Such splendid buildings were erected in 1929 for the Spanish-America pavillion of the World's fair. The buildings were to host exhibits of industry and various crafts in Spain.

The tiled 'Province Alcoves' along the walls of the Plaza de España are just amazing.

Believe it or not, despite our 6 to 8 hours a daily walking, we found the energy to take part of the Sevillan night life...and we really mean night life! Flamenco shows began after 23h00 some at 12h30 even... Seville has an amazing amount of flamenco bars but some of them were closed...november is not a touristy month and they might have closed for the rest of the year? Nevertheless, we went on two occasions to La Carboneria (it used to be a coal merchant building) for Flamenco music and dancing and on Saturday night, we were part of a local crowd in a "flamenco disco" ...the flamenco style is very very popular in Sevilla and so, as soon as a guitar plays, you see all the hands going up, flamenco style, and the clapping of hands...spontaneously. We had a great time at both places.