María Luisa Park
One day in Seville we had a break from the rain, so Steve and I decided to walk to María Luisa Park. On the way there, we passed a section of the Caños de Carmona, a Roman aqueduct from the first century BCE that was still functional until most of it was destroyed in 1912. Amazing! Then we walked through the Murillo Gardens, where there was a tall monument to Christopher Columbus. Just outside the walls of the gardens of the Royal Alcazar, we watched two women dancing Sevillanas beneath a majestic centennial ficus tree.
Maria Luisa Park is Seville’s largest green space, bordering the Plaza de España, which was built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. We walked past the domed Seville Pavilion, now a theater, and entered the park. We strolled past pretty sculptures and fountains, and stopped to watch the park’s resident swans. I was surprised at how large they were. One did a funny ballet, balancing on one webbed foot and wiggling his tail, while the other slept, oblivious to the performance.
At the southern end of the park was the Plaza de América, with manicured hedges, decorative benches, and a large oval pool. The largest building here was the beautiful Mudéjar Pavilion, now a museum of folk art and culture. Beside the plaza was the Park of the Doves, where families with children fed the birds near drinking fountains that were statues of girls.
We left María Luisa Park at its western edge and took the path alongside the Guadalquivir River. We walked past the Argentine Pavilion (now used as a school) and a small orchard of orange trees. There were several riverfront restaurants here, and a giant map of Seville. It was the start of the evening paseo, and many local Sevillians were out for a stroll along the river. When we reached the bridge near the Gold Tower (where we had walked with Amy after visiting Triana), we had walked more than seven miles (!), so we took an Uber back to our apartment.
