Category Archives: friends

tradición & urium

27 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by in andalucia, friends, gastronomy, getaways, sherry

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The theme for this latest Jerez Getaway was… THE PLAN IS THERE IS NO PLAN. Obviously there were some inklings and ideas, a few wanna-dos and several would-like-tos, but in general everything happened almost by chance.

I left Sevilla with Pam & Gord in their rental car, and on the way to Jerez it became apparent that we would actually get there in time for the noon English bodega visit at Tracición. So I contacted them from the car and said we’d be there. We arrived two minutes before the tour started. Yay! As always, it was a great experience, visiting both the bodega and private art gallery, and tasting some amazing VOR (+20 years) and VORS (+30 years) sherries.

Meanwhile, I was also hoping to stop in at Urium. I’d been in touch with Rocío and she said her dad Alonso was planning to be at the bodega around 5.30, which was perfect as it would give us time to check into our accommodations after Tradición and have a quick lunch. Then I got a message from Rocío saying that Alonso was meeting his friends at the bodega at 3 pm… okey dokey.

This actually gave us plenty of extra time to do our check-ins, but it also meant I had to see if my other friends Anne & Paul could meet us at Urium earlier. It also meant we wouldn’t have time for lunch between bodega visits. Oh well!Turned out no lunch wasn’t a big issue as the other group of friends that Alonso had invited showed up with whacks of food, as did Anne & Paul. And suddenly it was a party.

Just so you know, Bodegas Urium do not offer visits to the public. This is a small family run bodega, with Papa Alonso, his daughter Rocío and her husband Mario taking care of pretty much everything. It also isn’t the type of bodega suited to tourist visits, simply because it is a unique experience that can’t be replicated on a daily basis. Each time it’s something different, which this time included everyone singing Christmas carols in both Spanish and English. So lovely. I feel very privileged that the Urium family includes me in their sherry family.

sherry christmas!

26 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by in christmas, friends, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours

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Today I took Pam & Gord out on an impromptu Sherry & Tapas Tour. This one was a bit more informal and spontaneous, and ended up being a lot of fun. Since we are leaving tomorrow for a couple of days in Jerez it seemed a good way to set them up, though they already know a fair bit about sherry already. As usual, plans are coming together last minute, but they are in for a real treat, or two. Stay tuned…

Click on the pic to make it bigger…

christmas eve 2018

24 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by 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.

tuesday in fuengirola

19 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by in andalucia, culture, day trips, food & drink, friends, Malaga, malaga getaway

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Tuesday in Málaga started with a walk around Atarazanas Market with Ania @ania_marchlik, who was leaving at midday to catch her flight to Poland. And we ended up having just enough time for a quick Beer O’clock at Cafe Bar Estraperlo before I met up with Victor @welovemalaga. As you can see, some people clearly don’t know how to do Beer O’clock.  😉

The original plan had been to go to Fuengirola with Victor and meet Janet @janet_mendel for lunch at Los Marinos José, a place that I have been wanting to go to for AGES as a result of seeing so many tantilizing Instagram pics taken there by Fernando H. So imagine my disappointment when I found out they were closed for winter holidays. But Victor said not to worry, he would plan a Day of Surprises for me. 🙂

But first I had to stop in at Victor’s to give Harriet and Gingerbread a cuddle…

This new plan ended up still including Fuengirola, even though my only reason for going there was that one particular restaurant. But Victor said we could go back for that another time and that he had something special to show me after lunch. Well, between us we had a list of recommended places to try in Fuengi. This first one (Casa Colón) was fine, we had a “starter course” there. But the next one on our list, Tánicos (recommended by Fernando), was closed on Tuesdays. Dammit. Third rec turned out to be a dud, so we didn’t stay. Instead we got back in the car and headed to Mesón La Salina, another one recommended by Fernando, and it was fabulous. Definitely want to go back with more of an appetite and at least 2 more (hungry) friends.

Next up… my surprise! But first we stopped off at The Inner Life of the Enlightenment Stupa in Benalmádena along the way. It is the largest Buddhist stupa in the West and quite impressive. Which I reckon counts as a surprise, and a good thing too because when we finally got to the Castillo de Colomares… yep, it was closed. Though we did manage to get a pic through the gates.

But you know what? I didn’t really care because it had been such a lovely day with Victor, going here and there, chatting and enjoying each other’s company. My Málaga Getaways have changed over the past ten years, but meeting up with Victor is always one of the happiest things I do there.

ania & joanna & fran

18 Tuesday Dec 2018

Posted by in friends, Malaga, malaga getaway

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I arrived in Málaga earlier than usual because I ended up taking the AVANT (fast train) as the regular train route is repairing tracks and has an hour-long bus shuttle between two of the stations. And like, no way. Anyhoo, arriving early ended up being a nice thing (other than having to pay almost twice as much for my ticket). After unpacking I headed out to do some grocery shopping for the week, dropped everything back at home and suddenly it was Beer O’clock! After a walk around the centre and a quick bite I came back home to read and relax before meeting up with Ania and Joanna.

Without meaning to, we have created a new Málaga Christmas Tradition. This began last year when Ania and her friend Joanna happened to be in Málaga the same time as me and we met up for drinks and to watch the Christmas “light show” in Calle Larios. This year we all coincided again but this time we were able to watch the show from the balcony of Ania’s hotel room, which was quite nice. Then Joanna had to leave and we vowed to do it again next year.

After this we met up with Ania’s friend and colleague Fran and we went out for a few tapas at one of my favourites, Taberna Uvedoble. It was a perfect first day in Málaga and I was sensibly tucked up in bed by 10.30 while the young’uns went out for a few penúltimas.