Category Archives: sevilla

san lorenzo 2020

10 Monday Aug 2020

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san lorenzo 2020

Today is the Día de San Lorenzo. In case you don’t know, the martyr San Lorenzo was put to a slow and painful death on top of a large gridiron with live coals beneath it and, the legend concludes that, after enduring the pain for a very long time he made his famous cheerful remark, “I’m well done on this side. Turn me over!”.

This is the first time in over five years that I haven’t attended the hectic San Lorenzo Day festivities at the Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo. Because of Covid, Ramón and Carmen took the decision not to reopen their bar until September. In any case, this celebration is not one that lends itself to social distancing. The place is packed all afternoon long, standing room only, with Ramón passing around platters of grilled flesh (sardines, chicken legs, sausages, etc) with everyone drinking a punch from Huelva called ponche alosnero.

It’s always a crazy time and I miss it.   ❤

day trip to triana

04 Tuesday Aug 2020

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day trip triana (1)

So I hadn’t been to Triana since just before LOCKDOWN, and I hadn’t seen my friend Peter @SVQconcierge in ages, so it seemed like a good time to do both after hearing that Las Golondrinas II had not only reopened after lockdown, but also had a swish new look. First stop was Triana market, antoher place I hadn’t been to since February. As it is now pretty much 50/50 bars and market stalls, it was pretty quiet, with most of the bars still closed. But good to see the market area busy as well as a couple of the original bars there. Interesting that the old bars were the only ones to reopen.

Las Golondrinas was fabulous as always, and *mostly* good with the Covid stuff, though they are still re-using their plastic bread bowls without washing them first. Otherwise good distancing and care taken with hygiene. Menu was printed on single-use sheets.

Next stop was Blanca Paloma, and had also undergone a bit of a makeover. Interesting take on distancing along their ample bar with new “tables” that jut out so you can sit across from your friend and still feel comfortable. Re: cutlery (a thing of mine!), brought to the bar on a clean plate on top of napkins. Food was delish. Menu on Q-code.

On the way home (back in Sevilla!) we decided to stop for a penúltima at Castizo, which I hadn’t been to since just after Christmas. Nice touch is that they’ve put tall potted plants between pairs of bar stools to ensure proper distancing and the rest of the space is also carefully organised. One good thing about an open kitchen is that you can see everything being prepared in front of you so you know every precautions is being taken.

And then it was home again. This sort of afternoon would have been a usual part of my week on days off when I wasn’t taking out tours. Going out for lunchtime tapas, meeting up with friends and the people who run the bars, taking pics for updating my website, checking in on what’s new. Sadly now this is now down to about once a week. But hey, better than nothing! Photos below…

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travelling abroad in the time of coronavirus

03 Monday Aug 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, sevilla, sevilla shutdown, spain, welcome

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covid testing

It turns out that you can get a Covid test in Sevilla at any private clinic / lab. It costs between 50-70€ and you get the results in five hours. Question. Why doesn’t our government set up a booth at the airport so arriving UNTESTED tourists can be tested and, by the time they have settled into their hotels, they will know if they are carriers or not and if they need to quarantine? Why is the focus on tourists getting tested after they get home again?

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open in august

31 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, sevilla, spain, summer, tapas, tapas bars

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Every year I write up a list of bars and restaurants in Sevilla that will be open in August. Used to be that almost every place closed, shops too, and Sevilla was quite a ghost town. In some ways I kind of liked that. Broke things up a bit, with a change of rhythm. Everything slowed down appropriately, in terms of The Heat. But the past few years there have been throngs of hapless HOT tourists wandering all over town, tour guides risking heat stroke taking out group after group, all defying the weather. It was getting crazy. It WAS crazy.

And now it’s crazy in a different way.

Anyhow CLICK HERE to see the August 2020 list. These are all independently run places and they can all use our support. So if you’re hungry in Sevilla these are some great bars and restaurants to go to that are also doing well with Covid health and safety protocols. Also some good take-away and home delivery options.  🙂

coronavirus cutlery

30 Thursday Jul 2020

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outlery
I’m gonna need a bigger handbag. I’ve noticed when going out these days that I need to carry a few extra items with me. Like a paper envelope to store my mask if I stop for a drink or a tapa. A whack of folded up paper towels to mop my sweaty brow (it’s 40º out there guys!) because I don’t think using my usual abanico is a good idea as I’d just be fanning surrounding air into my face, possibly filled with those pesky and possibly lethal droplets. Also there’s my small bottle of hand sanitizer, a pair of latex gloves, emergency sunglasses… so my usual small, cute and comfy summer bag isn’t going to cut it anymore. Especially as I have now decided to include a set of picnic cutlery.

For the most part the bars I have either eaten at or popped into to check things out have been doing things very well in terms of distancing and hygeine. My pet peeves are that some are still using the dread yellow cloth over and over, whereas the best option for disinfecting tables and chairs after each use is recycled paper towels. But the worst is that some are still serving bread and cutlery in baskets that are then reused without having been cleaned at all. I mean, this was always a gross practice, but now?? Seriously, what is wrong with people.

After a recent experience I decided I should always have my own clean cutlery in my bag just in case. And it turns out that there are lots of interesting options on the internet, including these very cute and colourful stainless steel ones by Outlery that screw together and so fit into a tiny box. But I think for now I will be putting together an assortment of teaspoon, tapas fork and dessert knife from my own cutlery at home, toss them in an envelope with a couple of serviettes and see how that goes.