Category Archives: sevilla

extremo… or posible?

11 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in food & drink, hope, restaurants, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas tours

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Yesterday was a bit of a blur as I had – for the first time ever – two tapas tours in one day. Talk about Tapeo Extremo! First a regular Sevilla Tapas Tour at lunch time and then a Gourmet Tapas Tour in the evening. And both went fantastically well. Met lovely people, had an amazing time with great food & wine & conversation. Ended up quite zonked but happy. Very happy.

So I now have a new goal, which is to set up this gastronomy tour biz properly, inspired by Twitter pal Gabriella Ranelli who runs Tenedor Tours in San Sebastian. As most of you know, I’ve been testing the waters since getting off chemo and back to work, but haven’t felt quite ready to bite the bullet and start up a new company with all the extra time and expense that would entail, especially as so far it’s just been a very part-time gig. But if things keep going well I think it may be time to start doing this as a proper full-time job.

Tomorrow I have another double-whammy day coming up with both lunchtime and evening tours – for the second time ever!! – but then nothing for a couple of weeks. Still, it’s quite exciting to think I could actually make this work. Will keep you posted…

summertime dreaming

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by in sevilla, spain, summer, travel, trips

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I think it was while I was watching Rick Stein’s latest programme on Spain that I first got the idea of taking a train trip across the top of the country. And talking with Ricardo yesterday brought it all back as he is from Galicia and our conversation had turned to travel. So I asked Ricardo for some ideas of where to stop and it turned out that we will have to dedicate at least a few hours to this topic once my plans firm up a little.

The first concern will be money, of course. But if Peter continues working as much as he has been then he should be able to take some time off and come travelling, and we both should be able to keep the house going in August without working fulltime. But my main concern is the cats. I reckon this trip will take at least ten days, and there is no way I can leave Azar – even with a cat sitter checking in – for that long. So I will start looking for someone (Jessica, are you reading this?) who might want to come and stay here while we’re gone. Of course the beginning of August isn’t the best time to visit Sevilla, but I’m sure someone wouldn’t mind free accommodation in exchange for cat sitting.

Next, how to go? I was thinking by train because, well, I like trains. But Ricardo said that taking buses between stop-offs might be easier (and cheaper) as there are more bus routes. So this would mean flying Sevilla-Santiago and later flying home from San Sebastian. Another option is to find a friend with a car who also fancies this summer adventure…

And so, it’s all up in the air and depending on many, many things, but it’s very exciting to think about. I’ve never had a summer holiday like this before.

Have you got any summer travel plans?

semana santa practice

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in culture, fiestas, religion, sevilla, spain

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Bet you don’t see this where you live! And as many times as I’ve seen it, including the guys above a couple of nights ago, I am always stopped in my tracks and, well, a little bit in awe. They are costaleros practicing for Semana Santa, when they will carry the statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on the backs of their necks throughout the processions. Here they are practicing with weights instead of statues while they perfect their moves because, as you can imagine, it’s quite difficult to manouevre these things, and taking corners is especially tricky. During the processions you never see the costaleros (other than those taking breaks and having beers at nearby bars) and I find it fascinating to see them at work like this.

[also posted on azahar’s Sevilla]

trip advisor reviews

20 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in sevilla, tapas, tapas tours, work

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It was just over a year ago that I mentioned over here that I’d just got my first glowing review on Trip Advisor for my Sevilla Tapas Tours.

Well, as of last week I am now up to ten! Which may not seem like a lot when you consider it’s fewer than one review a month, but I’m actually very pleased about it. For me each tour is quite unique and personal so getting positive feedback like that really means a lot, and inspires me to “keep up the good work”.

What inspires you with your work?

Azahar Sevilla Tapas Tour Reviews

crazy clutter

19 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in culture, retail therapy, sevilla, spain

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[click on image to enlarge]

Don’t you just love old shops like this? I’ve been going to Bazar Victoria ever since I first moved to Sevilla, which used to be a challenge because most things are “in the back” somewhere and have to be asked for. I think the staff quite enjoyed my miming and bad Spanish whilst trying to get across what I wanted. These days I am more likely to see some cool kitchen gagdet in the window and have to get them to explain what it’s used for, which is also fun. Though I can never tell when Amalio is being serious so I’m still not convinced that the cricket cages are for real…

Do you have a favourite old shop like this where you live?

[more about Bizare Victoria on azahar’s Sevilla blog]