Category Archives: friends

naomi & andrew

27 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends

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The last time London friends Naomi & Andrew (@gingergourmand @andrewknill) were here – two years ago – it was to celebrate Andrew’s 40th birthday, which also coincided with a visit from Anna (@annalibera). This time they are here for a short kid-free break and some sunshine.

I have armed them with a list of new sherry bars and other places they haven’t been to yet, and also met them for a fabulous 3-hour lunch at La Azotea (Zaragoza). It was great catching up and giving them a quick(ish) bit of sherry education. Next London visit we definitely have to meet up.

they’re baaaack…

18 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, tapas

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The last time Sara & Steve were in Sevilla was five years ago, though I have met up with them in London twice since then. Much has changed since their last visit, including lots of new tapas bars for them to try out. Here they are after our fab lunch at Palo Santo… I’m really looking forward to spending time with them over the next week or so, possibly even taking a day trip to Jerez.

alex

14 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by in friends, home, sevilla

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About a million years ago (okay, it was 1998) Alex was my flatmate for six months when I was living in Mateos Gago and had to take in lodgers to help pay the rent. Anyhoodle… imagine my surprise when Alex got in touch a few weeks ago and said he was coming back to Sevilla for a conference and that he’d love to meet up.

Since I am still battling that pesky cold thang – and also working – we planned to meet up later in the week. But he ended up surprising me while I was “on tour” last night. He had gone for tapas with some colleagues at Vineria San Telmo, and while they were enjoying their dinner on the terrace he asked one of the waiters, “So, do you know Shawn?” and he said “Yeah, she’s sitting inside”. Ha!

And so at one moment when I got up from the table to get something for my clients I turned and literally bumped into Alex. Wow. BIG HUGS all around. What a lovely surprise. And after the tour we went out for a couple of penúlitimas, talking well into the wee hours. It was so great catching up and sharing our memories that we’re planning to do it again tomorrow night.

steph

12 Tuesday Sep 2017

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

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The other day I got an email from Steph, an Australian woman who is travelling around Spain this month. She had just spent some time with my friend Gabriella @tenedor in San Sebastián and asked if I had any tours available for her to join while she was in Sevilla. Well, the only possibility was for her to join another couple on a Flamenco & Tapas tour on her last night in town (yesterday), which she happily did, but we also got together for lunch on Sunday – that’s Steph up there happily chowing down on some fried blood and onions – and I also gave her my handy tapas bar “short list” for her to use before the tour.

It was so much fun meeting her, and then last night going out with Diana & Peter, who were also lovely. I honestly feel so blessed that my work (including social media stuff) puts me in touch with so many amazing people.

francisco

30 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla, tapas, twitter, twitter friends

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Another meeting with a Twitter pal. This one was a bit unusual as I have known Francisco (the guy with the beard) online for over five years. We have almost met up a couple of times, but somehow it never worked out. This time he invited me to a new restaurant/bar run by his friend & chef Marcos (left) called La Grulla, and we finally got to meet in person. The unusual thing about this is that Francisco lives in Sevilla, so meeting up shouldn’t have taken so long. Anyhow, I also got to meet two other foodie friends of his, Eduardo and Miguel, and we spent a pleasant afternoon “talking shop” and comparing notes about various bars and restaurants in town, while chef Marcos kept bringing us wonderful dishes to try and keeping our glasses full. Good times!