22 Tuesday Sep 2020
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Gotta say that people are getting quite inventive when it comes to working with (in and around) Covid-19. This year not only is International Sherry Week going virtual, but for the first time people organising events at home can also register online and be put on the Global Sherry Map. I’m going to have to think of a few things to do. 🙂
18 Friday Sep 2020
Posted in sevilla, tapas, tapas bars
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You may have noticed over the past few weeks that I have been putting up a lot of posts and stories on Instagram and FB about bars and restaurants that have reopened in Sevilla, as well as (since lockdown) posting archive pics of places that I hoped would be returning soon.
I just want to make it clear that I am doing this because I love these bars, I respect the people running them, and I want to help out in any way I can. Some places have asked if I could put something up, others I’ve just done on my own. And I am happy to do so, either way. But to be clear… I am not being paid to do this. My opinion is not for hire.
People often have the idea that I am always eating out for free and this isn’t true at all. I guess that makes me a lousy “influencer” 😉 . Sure, I sometimes get invited but I’d say that 99.9% of the time I am paying my way (and tipping well).
This has been a huge struggle for all of us. My life has also been turned upside down. But l think the best way forward is to work together and lend a hand whenever possible. ❤️
16 Wednesday Sep 2020
Posted in casa azahar, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars
Twenty-seven years ago today I drove down from Salamanca with a friend and with all my worldly belongings in the back of his car, along with some precious cargo – my two cats Lua and her son Sunny. We arrived in Sevilla at 8 pm, as previously arranged (to meet landlord and pick up keys), and miraculously found parking almost in front of my new home in calle Mateos Gago. But there was no landlord. And as this was 1993 there were no cell phones, so we just waited. And waited. Finally we asked the bar we were parked in front of if we could get something to eat and drink, but we didn’t really want to leave the car because of the cats and all. And bless them, the people at Bar Campanario actually brought food and drink out to our car, like we were at a drive in, and it was lovely. The landlord finally showed up at 11pm full of apologies, but we were fine (though the cats were happy to see a litter box!). Bar Campanario ended up becoming my local, heck even my living room (my studio apt across the street was tiny), and the owners became fast friends.
14 Monday Sep 2020
Posted in coronavirus, sevilla, sevilla shutdown
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It’s been exactly six months since lockdown began. Well, some say it was officially declared on the 16th of March, but in fact by Saturday the 14th here schools, offices, shops, bars and restaurants had all been ordered to shut and people were told to stay at home. As with, I think, all of us, it took a while for it all to sink in. What it would mean to us, our lives, the world. I remember the “good ol’ days” when my main concern, chatting with friends, was that all my tapas tours for the spring had been cancelled and I was going to lose the high season trade. Back then everyone was sure this would all be over by summertime. Ha.
10 Thursday Sep 2020
Posted in sevilla, tapas bars
My lovely friend Esteban has not only reopened his inimitable vermouth bar Vermutería Yo Soy Tu Padre today, he has also moved location. I stopped in to see the new place and it’s great. Cosy and friendly like the previous place, though I am a bit sad to now have to walk a full ten minutes from home instead of three. 😉
Same great vermouths, made by Esteban from a base of finos and manzanillas en rama, as well as the usual selection of exquisite small-production wines and E’s killer negronis. Tapas are also available. Only open in the evenings for now. Go show him some love guys!
Vermutería Yo Soy Tu Padre
Conde de Torrejón 21
