Category Archives: friends

25th on the 29th

29 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by in 25th anniversary, birthdays, friends

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So I woke up today (December 29th) thinking about my upcoming (60th!) birthday next month and also how next year will be my 25th (silver!) anniversary of arriving in Spain. And I realized that it’s going to be quite a special year in terms of personal milestone moments. And so after visiting the fabulous Murillo-Velasquéz exhibit at Hospital de los Venerables I found myself having a glass of wine at La Azotea (aka The Office) and I decided to start taking this anniversary thing seriously. As in… it was time to plan A PARTY!

So far I have a first draft guest list and a possible venue. But the date was clear – I shall celebrate this very special anniversary on May 29th. I think the actual day I arrived in Spain was May 23rd 1992, though that may have been the day I left Bristol. And as there was no Internet back then, I cannot check back to confirm this. But May 29th is a Monday – great for my friends who own or work in bars and also easier for booking the venue I want. And well really, it’s close enough. And also exactly five months from the day I decided to do this. So there.  🙂

and just like that…

28 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by in christmas, food & drink, friends, tapas

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just-like-that-1… they were gone! But not without one final tapeo, finally setting straight the serious omission of Crackburgers in the Cheeky Pigs vast tapas repertoire.
just-like-that-3And of course what tapeo would be complete without a penúltima at one of our usual haunts, the bar at Gourmet Experience?
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It was a great Christmas and I loved that these guys came down to spend it with me. Hope to see them again soon. xx

christmas eve dinner

24 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by in cats, christmas, friends, home

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What a wonderful Christmas I’m having! A few months ago Julie & Steve informed me that they had just made plans to come to Sevilla for Christmas, which gave me something to look forward to. We’ve already been out and about this week, and then I planned this mahoosive Christmas Eve dinner, which turned out fabulous (if I say so myself!).

christmas-eve-dinner-16Here is a close up (for Sara) of THOSE confit potatoes from Quality Chop House in London. I have to say they didn’t quite come out the same, but they were pretty damn tasty nevertheless. And I even got some advice from chef Shaun Searly on Twitter, which I thought was very sweet of him.

christmas-eve-16-2After dinner I got out the enchanting Robert Sabuda pop up Christmas books sent to me by Jane many years ago and we all sat, well, enchanted, as we read them together. It was such a lovely evening, lots of fab food, wine and chat. Thanks for coming guys! xx

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málaga with peter

17 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, friends, getaways, Malaga, malaga getaway, travel, trips

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saturday-2On my last full day in Málaga Peter came down on an early train to spend my final 24 hours in town with me. After checking in at his comfy hostel just around the corner from my place, which was very convenient, we met Victor at the Atarazanas market for a quick beer and a snack before heading out for lunch.

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The Hostel Vidamia even came with a resident cat, though Peter told me later that she didn’t sleep with the guests. We had a couple of very nice meals over the weekend (and one decidedly NOT nice one, which also came with a side of chef diva drama) but I’ll talk more about those over on Azahar Tapas.

saturday-4I had been looking forward all week to visiting the newly opened Museo de Málaga and we finally went after lunch on Saturday… but after a couple of hours visiting just the archaeological exhibit on the second floor my brain was full and my feet were tired. There was no way we would have enjoyed or appreciated the art exhibit after that. Recommend doing this visit in two parts if you can.

saturday-3The weather wasn’t being very cooperative over the weekend, so we didn’t get around as much as we would have liked. I was already gearing down and ready to go home by this point, so I didn’t mind so much, but I did feel badly for Peter that he didn’t get to go up on the big wheel. Next time.