28 Monday Jan 2019
Posted in food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars
An unexpected pleasure today when Tomoko @tomokotours was in town for a few hours and we managed to meet up for a quick lunch at Alcuza, which included these mahoosive prawns crispy fried in a noodle breading. Great catching up and looking forward to seeing Tomoko again soon. xx
22 Tuesday Jan 2019
Posted in food & drink, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars
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It had been awhile since I last saw Ania @aniainspain (Christmas time in Málaga) and even longer since we’d gone out together in Sevilla. So we made a plan to go Trianeando. We started off with a bit of jamón and cheese at the gorgeous Alfarería 21, before moving on to my latest discovery. I’d spotted a new opening in Triana, a small abacería called Clochard (French for vagabond) and heard that the owners were a Pole and an Italian. An intriguing international combination.
Ania was especially interested to meet the Polish owner, as she is Polish herself, but he was away. But we did meet Francesco, who was lovely, and had a nice time chatting with him while trying some delish fish tapas. We also met a Canadian family there, who are staying in Triana for a few weeks and, just before leaving, also started talking to three people at the next table. Turns out they run Sevilla’s only pawn shop, and vintage goods store, called Overtime. Some of the cool décor at Clochard came from Overtime, so I am looking forward to visiting the shop soon
Last tapas stop was Las Golondrinas for a couple of their famous – and delicious – pork tapas. By this time Ania was craving something sweet, so we headed over to Manu Jara’s dulcería. I’m not big on desserts, but I love his colourful displays. Normally we would have finished the afternoon with a penúltima, but Ania had made plans to go running with her gym group, so we were spared any more wine (probably a good thing). Such a fun afternoon. Pics below…
07 Monday Jan 2019
Posted in birthdays, casa azahar, food & drink, friends, gastronomy, hope, sevilla, sherry, spam, tapas, tapas bars
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So yikes! I am 62 years old today. Like, how’d that happen? 😉 It’s a total cliché and absolute truth about time flying. And especially with all the cancer stuff, ten years ago now and hopefully completely in the past, it’s amazing I’ve made it this far. Unlike a lot of people, I’ve always loved my birthday, even though the getting older thing comes with some drawbacks (KNEES for example) it certainly beats not getting older! So I do like to do something special to celebrate still being here.
Today I met my friend (and colleague) Cinta @cintaromero75 for a fabulous seafood lunch at Cañabota. Great food and wine, and even better company. It was great catching up.
By chance Charlie & Sam, co-owners of @vinoveroleigh were arriving in Sevilla this afternoon, though too late to join us for lunch, so I met up with them afterwards for a penúltima.
I first met C & S in 2016, when mutual friends Phoebe and Ollie invited me to a rooftop dinner at their place in London. They came to Sevilla a few months later that same year, and are back for a quick getaway. After our cava I headed home, delighted to see the Christmas lights were still on! An excellent birthday.
02 Wednesday Jan 2019
Posted in food & drink, gastronomy, sherry, tapas, tapas tours
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Started off the new year with a lunchtime sherry & tapas tour. While there are some new plans afoot for 2019, I am loving these sherry tours so much and hope to do a lot more of them this year, along with some other sherry-oriented activities. This time I ended up with five new sherry converts. 🙂
24 Monday Dec 2018
Posted in casa azahar, cats, christmas, food & drink, friends
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This year I was saved from either spending Christmas on my own or – even worse – spending it with Peter the Grinch. Don’t get me wrong, Peter and I are good friends but when it comes to Christmas, well, he really sucks. And by that I mean he pretty much sucks the life out of it.
Last year I actually spent Christmas on my own, at home with the cats, since it was my first year living on my own again. And that was just fine. But it’s always nice to have an excuse to make a nice meal at Christmas time and share it with friends, so I was happy that Pam and Gord were going to be back in town.
I first met P & G in January 2013 when they booked a tapas tour with me. They have been back a couple of times since then, and this year decided to do a road trip between Sevilla and Málaga. In fact, I’ll be joining them for a couple of days in Jerez later in the week.
It was a lovely evening and, as you can see, Peter was also invited (grinchiness is less toxic in a group). And you may also notice that little scamp Morcilla all snuggled up next to El Gordo. I was shocked – she has never done that before. At best she will come into the same room as strangers, but here she was getting all cosy.
Dinner was fab. P & G brought some gorgeous jamón Ibérico and I made my famous carrillada al oloroso. Plus I had found some parsnips while in Málaga last week (!!!) so added those to the roasted veg. First time in YEARS having parsnips. I also made some really good honey-chilli-dijón cocktail sausages that I had come across on my friend Lizzie’s (@hollow_legs) Instagram that morning. So the oven got a serious workout and we all had a great time.
