Category Archives: events

an extraordinary outing

03 Saturday Nov 2018

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La Esperanza de Triana is one of the two “grande dames” of Semana Santa in Sevilla (the other being La Macarena) and they both go out (salir) during the overnight (madrugada) processions between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. For the rest of the year they are on display in their respective home churches. This is why Thursday’s procession to the Cathedral was a Salida Extraordinara (extraordinary outing), which was followed by the return procession on Saturday. ,

The occasion for the Salida Exraordinara was the celebration of the sixth centenary of the founding of the brotherhood, the oldest in Sevilla, culminating with a commemorative eucharist mass on November 3rd at 11 am at the altar of the Jubilee of the Seo Hispalense inside the Cathedral.

I caught the outgoing procession on Thursday, as it happened to be passing near my home, and I happened to be on my way home at the time. It’s been many years since I last saw the Esperanza, as she comes out during the night and returns quite early Friday morning during Easter week (and to be honest, my going out all night – and going out early – days are long over). Even though I’m not religious I quite enjoy the occasional procession, and so it was nice to see one of Sevilla’s most beautiful pasos again.

sherry túnel 2018

15 Monday Oct 2018

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This was Sherry Túnel 2018. The first one I have been to, and it was great fun. Got to try a few sherries I hadn’t tasted previously, and also meet a few new people, as well as meet up with old friends.

After the event Peter, Tomoko and I went to Bocarambo for lunch, followed by a delightful surprise thanks to Tomoko – a sherry ice cream tasting at La Rosa de Oro.

Sherry Ice Cream! Mango Urium & Lustau vermouth / PX Sanchez Romate & Canasta cream / Rebujito & Sherry Cobbler

Sherry Friends

sherry week 2018

08 Monday Oct 2018

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The first day of Sherry Week (October 8 – 14) began and ended with, well, sherry. Went out for a pre-lunch manzanilla at Taberna Manolo Cateca and Manolo recommended that we try these two, chosen by Armando Guerra from two different sections of Bodegas Barbadillo, one with the windows open facing the cool east wind (Poniente), the other facing the hot dry west wind (Levante). My favourite was the Poniente, which tasted a bit fresher to me. But they were both lovely.

In the evening we stopped by the Premier Sherry Cocktail Bar for a sherry mixology masterclass. José prepared 4 cocktails, using different sherries, and also different techniques: Sobrebotas, Bloody Sherry, Silencio, Shegroni. And we got to taste them too! You can see the recipes below.


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quimera rooftop event

05 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by in events, gastronomy, hotels, sevilla

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Yes… ANOTHER event. Was kind of a crazy week that way. This time it was the inauguration of the new Quimera bar-restaurant on the rooftop of the Hotel Melia Sevilla. Pretty innit.

As well as the new rooftop area, the Meliá has recently undergone a major renovation of all its facilities, and although this was my first visit I was impressed by what I saw. We started with a tour of the main reception area and downstairs bar, which are very cleverly designed with “open frame” partitions that preserve the feeling of spaciousness, while giving a sense of intimacy to the different areas, followed by the various conference rooms, this obviously being a major target market for the hotel.

We then went upstairs to see a couple of the new rooms, a very nice standard double, and a distinctly luxurious suite with separate bedroom and living room, with a distinct “I could live there” feel to it. As a bonus there are great views of the back of the Plaza España, and also of the rooftop bar (which is on the lower roof above the reception area, not on the top roof), complete with swimming pool).

Finally to the new restaurant-bar Quimera itself, where we got to spend a pleasant couple of hours by the pool, sampling the food (actually pretty good) and wine, and listening to the entertainment – my new favourite crooner – Juanlu! By this time I was getting sufficiently tipsy to think that I could actually sing along and sound good! 😉

A fun evening, and as usual we met up with other friends that we often see at these things. Good times.

Hotel Meliá Sevilla
Dr Pedro de Castro, 1
Tel: +34 912 764 747