Category Archives: friends

andalucía tapa a tapa

25 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas, work

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Andalucia tapas 1Flamenquin con salmorejo (Córdoba) | Gazpachuelo (Málaga)
Andrajos (Jaén) | Tortilla de Sacromonte (Granada)

Yep, the things I do for my public. This was not just lunch but a tapas tour around Andalucía. Andalucía is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, comprising eight provinces. As a very clever way of celebrating Andalucía day (this Friday) Juanlu at La Pepona came up with the idea of offering one traditional tapa from each Andalusian province. And here they are!

Andalucia tapas 2Olla de trigo (Almería) | Tortillitas de Camarones (Cádiz)
Huevos a la flamenca (Seville) | Habas con chocos (Huelva)

I was aided in this endevour (which I could never have managed on my own!) by Peter @SVQconcierge and Markus @veoapartment. We fearlessy tasted each provincial delight for you, including crunchy pig’s ear and BRAINS. Thanks guys!

miss you, antonio

12 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by in death & dying, friends

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miss you antonio
I was walking home late after a tapas tour and passed by the bar where my friend Antonio used to work part time, to help support his “photography habit“. And suddenly I stopped and stared into the window for I don’t know how long, still not believing that I would never see Antonio again. That I’d never be able to go into that bar again and complain to him about the crap wine. That in fact I’d never be able to go into that bar again at all. It hurts.

Image

m & s care package

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

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mands
People often ask me if there is anything I miss from “home” (meaning Canada) and, once I point out that Spain is my home, the answer is no. Well okay, maybe fresh wood-oven baked bagels from Toronto. But one thing I do miss from the UK is Marks & Spencer, especially their lingerie department. Longtime readers with long memories may remember my many failed attempts at getting into Gibraltar in order to buy underwear. Happily, with the arrival of online shopping I can now order my M & S knickers from home. But since I don’t know how the sizes convert, I still need to use the UK site (which doesn’t deliver to Spain) and have stuff delivered to a friend there and then they forward it to me here. So this was the special delivery from Marks & Spencer yesterday, via dear friend Lizzie in Bristol. Should keep me going for awhile…

Posted by | Filed under clothing, friends, retail therapy, shopping

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nicky & luca

30 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Florence, food & drink, friends, sevilla, tapas

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nicky luca
My English travel writer friend Nicky Swallow and her Italian photo journalist husband Luca are visiting Sevilla this week and yesterday we met for a bit of lunch. I met Nicky in London a few years back when we both were hired to write for SimonSeeks – a job that, at the time, truly saved my financial butt. Last time we met was a couple of years ago when she and Luca were here on holiday. Nicky keeps saying I MUST come to Florence off-season and stay at their holiday rental apartment… she may yet wear me down. 🙂

antonio cid

27 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in death & dying, friends, sevilla

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antonio cid
I just found out today that my friend Antonio Cid died on January 3rd. Well, we weren’t close friends, but I’ve known him for years and we just kind of “clicked” somehow. We used to see each other more often before I moved away from barrio Santa Cruz, where he worked part time at a bar near my old place. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of months and I think our last “encounter” was a jokey thing said on Twitter. And now I’ll never see him again. How can this be? Antonio was a kind and gentle soul, and also a gifted photographer. Have a look…

Antonio Cid Photography