Category Archives: getaways

antequera getaway 2023

18 Tuesday Apr 2023

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antequera (1)

My last trip before Covid lockdown was March 11-12th 2020 when I went to visit some wineries in the Axarquía and also near Antequera, culminating with a visit to Bodega La Capuchina before heading home. Little did I know while I was coming back on the train that evening that the world was about to change.

Then a few weeks ago my friend Jeffrey and family moved to Marbella from LA and since then he’s been foodie-ing up a storm visiting bars and restaurants all around Andalucía. He hadn’t heard of Arte de Cozina (and I hadn’t been there since 2016 with Victor) so when he invited me for lunch I leapt at the chance to go back. As we had some extra pre-lunch time I got in touch with Susana at La Capuchina and she very generously offered to pick us up at the train station to visit her bodega and her assistant Mercedes took us to Antequera in time for lunch, dropping us off right in front of Arte de Cozina.

And what a lunch it was! Our friend Victor was supposed to meet us there but was a last minute cancellation, which was a shame not only because I was looking forward to seeing him again, but also because we really could have used an extra stomach (!!!). Jeffrey and I did the best we could but couldn’t finish everything. Chef Charo Carmona and her somm son Fran took excellent care of us, as they do with everyone, and it was a crazy delicious experience (listed below).

Afterwards we had to find our Victor-less way back to the Santa Ana station by taxi (he was going to drive us) and both of us ended up missing our connections, so a long wait ensued in the most charmless middle-of-nowhere spot imaginable. Even the Sad Café was shut. Oh well… it was still a fab day out. Lots of good memories.

antequera (2)

•Selection of porras: tomato, blanco and orange
•Croquetas de la casa (with ensaladilla): puchero, bacalao, gambas, espinacas y piones, queso de cabra, setas, chorizo
•Baby artichokes with crispy garlic and Pedroches jamón
•Pork-filled calamares a la malagueña with potato purée
•Traditional lomo de orza – a MUST HAVE
•Choto malagueña (baby goat) a la pastoril

el puerto getaway

04 Saturday Mar 2023

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el puerto

What a day! Went to the 6th Cuatrogatos Wine Fest in El Puerto de Santa María, which was kind of my birthday present to Peter. I say “kind of” because, although he likes wine he cannot cope with a lot of it. But as this birthday present also included a trip back to El Puerto (after far too long) and lunch overlooking the Cádiz bay it worked out for both of us. I got to check in with a lot of winemaking friends I haven’t seen in ages and it was a lovely day trip for Peter too. We started off with breakfast at a totally traditional bar next to the central market that neither of us had been to before. Then a taxi out to the Hotel Puerto Sherry, which was also somewhere we’d never been to. Anyhow, this was the view from our table at lunchtime, a beautiful moody winter sky. Good times. A few more pics below…

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bilbao bikes

09 Thursday Feb 2023

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bilbao bikes

This is so cool. Spotted near the Rbera Market last week in Bilbao. I’ve seen various outdoor “workout areas” in Sevilla and Málaga but this was just three normal benches on the riverside outfitted with pedals. There was a young guy “cycling” on the third one. Great way to warm up too! Damn it was cold up there.