In Seville Day 2

After seeing the shacks of obviously unhoused people, and following a comment from a reader that she had seen many of these along train lines out of Barcelona, I reminded myself of the unemployment rate in Spain. As of January 2025, it was 10.61%, the highest rate of OECD countries. There has been an upward trend since the 1990s and the trend has historic roots. During Franco’s rule, trade union activism was prohibited and the social security benefits of a modern welfare state were lacking. 2.7 million jobs in agriculture were replaced by 1.1 million in the private sector. Since the financial crisis of the 80s, unemployment has never gone below 8%.

One leading cause is an economy based mostly on tourism and building sectors, and a lack of industry. Though unemployment insurance benefits exist, many people are at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage or rental evictions. There is limited public spending on housing for necessary shelter. There is a provision in the Spanish Constitution requiring a public social security system including health care. I don’t know what level of welfare payments exist for those who are chronically unemployed but there is clearly poverty in Spain, that you see on the outskirts of cities or in small towns but obvious signs of it seem to effectively be kept away from the eyes of the average tourist.

We, on the other hand, were fortunate enough to enjoy 3 days in Spain in the comfort of a very nice apartment.

However, Spain does have a social democratic political party in power, the PSOE, that has been in power longer than any other political party in modern democratic Spain, currently under Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Spain’s economic growth is very strong - its annual GDP forecast to exceed 3%.

We basically just roamed around Seville by foot, through the various plazas and along the river, revisiting for a coffee, the lovely cafe we stopped at when we first arrived in Seville last year.

We walked to the famous Plaza de España that just knocked our socks off last year. It was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 along with many other buildings that situated throughout the Maria Luis Parque. I can’t imagine how it was built in a year. The Plaza de España complex is a huge half-circle; the buildings are accessible by four bridges over the moat, which represent the ancient kingdoms of Spain. In the centre is a huge fountain. It was designed in a mix of 1920s Art Deco and Spanish Renaissance Revival, Spanish Baroque Revival and Neo-Mudéjar styles, to showcase Spain's industry and technology exhibits. Photos really don’t capture the immense grandeur and colour of this place.

The entire southern end of the city was redeveloped into an expanse of gardens and grand boulevards featuring the Parque de María Luisa, on the edge of the Plaza de España, designed in a "Moorish paradisical style", with expanses of wide promenades, tiled fountains, pavilions, walls, ponds, grottos, benches, and follies set amid lush plantings of palms, orange trees, Mediterranean pines, eucalyptus and stylized flower beds. Quince was in bloom. It must be even more spectacular in the spring and summer.

In the park, it doesn’t take long to get away from the tourist crowds around the Plaza and enjoy the spaciousness and peace of the park, as well as the other gorgeous buildings also built for the Exposition.

One of the most striking buildings in the Parque, in Mudejar-style architecture, designed by the same architect as the Plaza de España, is the Museum of Art and Popular Customs.

The museum is dedicated to the ethnological heritage of Andalusia. The objects and utensils on display document the customs, crafts, wisdom and ways of life of the traditional culture in the area. It was quite interesting touring the exhibits of various traditional industries ceramics, tin smithing, cork harvesting, basketry, tiles, castanet-making, guitar building, saddlery, and so on.

Some of the exhibit space in the museum was closed however. I would like to have seen its collection of original posters for the city's Spring Fair. One interesting exhibit was a meticulous scale model of the Giralda Tower, made in 1992 by inmates of a prison where thousands of political prisoners of the Franco regime were held. After Spain became a democracy, the prison opened a workshop to help inmates learn skills that would help them find work after their release.

Across from this museum is another huge ornate building that is the Museum of Archeology. It has been closed since 2021. A 26.65 million-euro restoration and redevelopment project is being undertaken and the re-opening date is estimated as 2027.

There are so many beautiful old buildings in Sevilla. One is the old train station, the Plaza de Armas, that was closed when we were last here but was now open. It has been beautifully restored and is now a shopping venue and had a number of art studio spaces where people were ar work painting and sculpting. The current bus station across the way is totally uninspiring 90s architecture with no reference whatsoever to the beauties around it.

After our very long walking day, we decided a homemade lunch and dinner was what we craved. So we had egg salad sandwiches for lunch and a big salad and pesto ravioli with lots of veg for dinner. Delicious!

I’ll end with my favourite photo that I took in Sevilla that to me kind of illustrates the breadth of culture and tradition here.

Our day - 30,000 steps.