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Category Archives: friends

katie parla

30 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in food & drink, friends, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas tours, twitter

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food tours, katie parla, rome, sevilla, tapas tour, twitter

katie parla (1)I continue to meet wonderful people thanks to Twitter. This time it was Rome-based food goddess Katie Parla. On Friday morning I was doing my usual social media stuff and attempting to catch up with my massive To Do list of reviews, photos and blog posts before the big #LondonGetaway next week, and up popped a Twitter notice from @jengonroff suggesting that @katieparla get in touch with me. I’d heard of Katie and was keen to help out, thinking she might be coming to Sevilla soon. Turned out she was in Sevilla in that exact moment and was STARVING, so we made plans to meet up later in the evening. What followed was a fun (and sherry-filled) impromptu Sevilla Tapas Tour...

katie parla (2)I immediately felt at home with Katie and was pleased to discover we share a similar philosophy when it comes to our food & wine tours (Katie also offers Art History & Archeology tours in Rome), which is to keep it simple and real. We’ve both noticed the recent influx of food tour opportunists showing up where we have lived and loved and worked for so long. It’s sad to see these people ruining what we have helped to build with them scheduling regular touristy-scripted tours that clog up and destroy the natural ambiance of the places we love. Progress? I don’t think so.

But we had a great time, starting off with sherry and jamón at Las Teresas, then moving on for some fusiony-fun at La Azotea in barrio Santa Cruz (with unexpected guest appearance by Ania – see silly selfie). Then a quick stop at Casa Morales – Katie had to see the tinajas! – before finishing up at Bodeguita Romero. And finish up we did, closing the joint sometime just before 1.00 am! Loved watching Katie experience her first pringá, and we were totally spoiled by Alejandro, offering special sherry pairings. Pretty much a perfect night out.

It’s always such a pleasure to meed kindred spirits like Katie and I look forward to visiting her in Rome soon.

sunday song – pat in sevilla

17 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in cancer, friends, hope, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, video

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cancer, friends, hope, pat in sevilla, sunday song


Not exactly a song this Sunday, though we do have music in this video thanks to my fabulous friend Juan Tarquini (who put the whole thing together for me). Four years ago today my dear friend Pat Steer died. I met her on a cancer forum back in 2008 after we’d both been diagnosed with stage 4 variations of colon/rectal/liver, etc. And she became not just a friend but my sister and my hero, the no-nonsense voice of reason, the one I knew would never bullshit me, the one who loved me too.

Just before Pat died she expressed sadness in her final blog post about (amongst other things) not having ever been able to come on one of my tapas tours, so I obliged by going all around town to some of my favourite places and (badly) filming a typical tapeo with her included.

Juan did his best with the mess of clips I left with him, and Pat said it took her at least four times to get through it, because she kept breaking down in tears. But finally she watched it all and loved it. And I still love her and always will. Four years ago today I lost her, and I still miss her so very much. Strong thoughts, my darling. xx

wet combing rocks!

14 Thursday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in cats, friends, home, social media, travel

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cats, facebook, home, internet

wet combing

So that’s about half of Morcilla up there, after her first wet combing last night. And OMG she loved it. Then I tried it on the other two this morning (and Morcilla again) with mixed results. Loki and Morcilla swooned with pleasure, Luna was clearly just putting up with it. But afterwards all three of them were not only shed of excess fur, the rest of their fur was sleek and clean (ie, not dusty) and everyone was happy.

This all came about when fellow cat lover Nancy Li asked me on Facebook the other day if I’d ever wet-combed the cats, saying that hers loved it, especially on hot days. So I finally gave it a go and I think we are all hooked on this now. I met Nancy I don’t know how many years ago on the Slow Travel forum, and also met her in person when she and her husband visited Sevilla. We’ve been FB pals ever since. Once again, the power of the internet and social media, bringing people together and – bonus! – helping with your cat grooming needs.

elba

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in food & drink, friends, instagram, sevilla, social media, spain

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friends, instagram, sevilla, tapas, twitter

elba

I’ve been following Elba on both Twitter and Instagram for ages. She is not only as obsessive about posting fab food pics as I am, but a lot of her photos are taken in Sevilla and Málaga. So a few days ago I left a comment under one of her Sevilla food pics that we should meet for a tapita one of these days, and she agreed that this would be a great idea.

Then, when I was walking home from the Sherry On Top event on Wednesday evening, Peter and I decided to stop into Tradevo Centro for a penúltima. On the way in I spotted a spectacular looking fish dish and asked the people sitting at the table if they would mind if I took a photo of it (yeah, I know…). And one of the women said “Are you Azahar???” and we both went a bit crazy then, laughing and hugging like old friends. Of course, it was Elba. And it turns out we are actually neighbours! So plans are now afoot to do some serious Tapas Research together. LOVE social media…

malaga getaway june 2016

25 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by azahar in friends, Malaga, malaga getaway, travel, trips, twitter friends

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Andalucia, Malaga, malaga getaway, travel, trips

afternoon sunThe June 2016 Málaga Getaway wasn’t all tearing around town, as I also got to enjoy some lovely chillax time at Casa de los Principes. I especially loved the mornings there and also when the late afternoon sun came through the windows. But well, okay, most of the time I was tearing around. Had a biz meeting Friday morning and then on Friday evening and Saturday lunchtime I met up with other friends I hadn’t seen yet. Checked out two new eating establishments: Aire Gastrobar (meh) and Brunchit Organic (good). Also, there was a fair bit of walking, though I didn’t make it out to Pedregalejos this time. I almost ended up staying over the weekend, but then decided to come home, thinking that perhaps I’d pop back down for another short stay late-July. And maybe even fit in the two day-trips with Victor that we’d originally planned to do. We shall see..

malaga getawaqyHow’s you summer going?

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