Mushrooms and Plaza de España

The Plaza de España in Sevilla is without a doubt the most impressive plaza I've seen in Spain. And there have been a lot. Built in 1929, this beautiful plaza even has a moat within it. The buildings and bridges are beautifully decorated with blue tiles, and around the plaza are fourty-nine pavilions, each dedicated to the provinces of Spain. These pavilions are intricately decorated with painted tiles that depict symbols of the city as well as maps, etc. I also just recently discovered that this plaza was used to film a scene in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones! It's pretty cool re-watching the scene and recognizing the buildings in the background.

On the evening of my second day in Sevilla, I decided to visit the Setas [Mushrooms] de Sevilla (or the Metropol Parasol). This wooden structure was completed in 2011, and it's the largest wooden structure in the world. It is located in the old quarter of the city and was built after the market that stood there was finally torn down. It was old and in ruins. When construction began for the Setas de Sevilla, ancient archaeological remains were discovered under the foundation of the previous building. These remains date back to the Roman era (AD 30). These remains can be visited; there's a small museum dedicated to these remains that's housed under the Metropol Parasol. I went to see them, and I found it really interesting. There are ancient foundations from various homes and other buildings such as salt factories. Pottery and oil lamps and such were also recovered and are on display as well. These items are from the twelfth and thirteenth century. It's incredible that they were discovered in such a condition that they could be salvaged after so long.