16 Wednesday Aug 2017
Posted in media, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, travel
VERY happy with this nice mention in the September edition of the Sunday Times Travel Magazine’s special Foodie Spain & Portugal issue. It’s out now (print only) in case you’d like to pick up a copy too. Lots of great tips on where to eat well on the Iberian peninsula. Thanks ST!
15 Tuesday Aug 2017
Posted in health & happiness, sevilla
Been trying to get back into the morning walks, which kind of went by the wayside during the whole moving thang. It’s mostly a question of timing and – at least in summer – getting out early enough, before it gets too hot. Also, nice to time things so that we can stop for a cold beer at the end. 😉
Before moving I had two nice 1.5 hour walking routes that worked well, but from the new Casa Azahar these have had to be altered. And so, as I am “on holiday” this week, it seemed a good time to work this out, and I now have two routes again – a river one and a park one – that I really like. Next week’s holiday walks will take place in Málaga. Have already got that route planned too.
14 Monday Aug 2017
Posted in cats, holidays, home, sevilla, sevilla staycation
This week (other than one tapas tour on Tuesday) I am on a “staycation” in Sevilla, and here’s Luna giving me a lesson in lounging. This is her favourite lounging spot in the new Casa Azahar. No doubt I’ll be spending too much time lamp hunting, but I also hope to relax before going off to Málaga next week.
It’s been a busy summer and so some “down time” is probably a good idea. I’m not actually very good at relaxing, but it’s nice having a change of routine this week, and also looking forward to seeing the sea again.
12 Saturday Aug 2017
Posted in casa azahar, life stuff, sevilla, spain, tapas tours, work
The other day I was wrapped up in all the IKEA nonsense, feeling abused by corporate bullshit, and then I happened to see that – once again! – one of the new corporate tapas tour companies in town had copied another of my tours. So I mentioned on Twitter how disheartening this is, to not only have people copy things I have created, but they even use the same bars FFS, as if nobody will notice that the bars no longer have actual clients in them, just food tour groups. As if bars don’t have their own eco-systems. Grrrrr…
Then the next day I got a mention on Twitter linking to this photo taken almost exactly 6 years ago (Sept 2011), with a great comment from Tim being very supportive. And I remember this tour! I almost didn’t do it because I was still getting over that emergency op but at that point I also really wanted to get out of the house. So I arranged it that I would meet them with Peter at the first stop, just to say hola, and that Peter would take it from there, since I didn’t think I could manage a whole evening out. But I actually made it to the second stop (this photo was taken at Bodeguita Romero) and I remember not only having a great time before leaving Tim and his friends in Peter’s capable hands, but also enjoying my first glass of wine in over a month.
Anyhow, what a great memory to be reminded of, and curiously this was my second “blast from the past” from 2011 this month, since Ross & Annie are also back in town. All of which is reminding me to enjoy what I have and embrace all the GOOD. Because sometimes I forget.
09 Wednesday Aug 2017
Posted in casa azahar, sevilla, shopping
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So FUCKING fed up with @IKEAspain, who have been dicking me around for a week over this one order. A cupboard for my hallway, which was finally delivered 3 days late, but they still haven’t sent anyone to assemble it. Three times now I’ve waited at home (4 hour windows) and nobody showed up, or even called to say nobody would be showing up. This is the shittiest customer “service” l have ever experienced.
No problem when l spent 1200€ at IKEA two weeks previously, but apparently this 250€ order (and my time) doesn’t matter to them. How about l invoice them for my 12 lost hours? Not to mention l wouldn’t still have fucking boxes in my hallway if this had all been done as promised. And I’m supposed to be on holiday this week, not dealing with this shit. At this point it’s feeling like abuse.
casa azahar 