Plaza de España

When I first set foot in Seville, it immediately felt of its place.  That might sound a bit odd, but the narrow streets, the orange trees, the humidity, the scent it gave off… although I had never been here before, it was unmistakably Seville. Although all of the city that I was able to explore felt this way, one of the places I most wanted to visit, the Plaza de España, was so new relative to the historic city I wasn’t sure if it would have that same feeling.  Built in the late 1920s for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and mixing a number of Spanish architectural styles, it felt like it had been here for centuries.

Plaza de España

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Scenes around Madrid

For the last word on seven spectacular days in Madrid back in October, I present an assortment of the sights that didn’t end up in anything else I’ve written since my visit.   Here is a pictorial essay on some odds and ends from Madrid, a city that captivated me.

The quaint street of our apartment in La Latina, well away from the throngs of tourists – Calle San Isidro Labrador:

Calle San Isidro Labrador

Around the corner from our apartment, this was the view we had every day and night on the walk home from the subway after being out on the town – Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande:

Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande

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