Category Archives: social media

barbara

02 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in friends, social media, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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Neither Barbara @emoticomma nor I can remember when we started following each other on Twitter, other than it was several years ago. But when I found out she was going to be making a one day only “cameo appearance” in Sevilla of course we had to meet up. We ended up doing a nice tapeo in barrio San Lorenzo, where mucho jamón was consumed. Also mucho vino, finishing with some lovely cava at La Azotea. Barbara promises to come back with her husband next time for a longer stay. Good ol’ Twitter.  🙂

premios fogones

23 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by in gastronomy, sevilla, social media, spain

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So remember last year when I won the Premio Fogones for Difusión Gastronómica? Well, this year I was invited to attend the ceremony and the swish reception afterwards but… had to work! I had a tapas tour booked before I knew about the awards and, well, this is what I do. And it somehow seemed fitting that the reason I couldn’t attend was because I was out doing what got me the award last year in the first place. Anyhoo… I decided to stop by after saying goodnight to my guests to see if the party was still going. And it was!

Well, as soon as I walked in the door I was bear-hugged by Antonio Cruz (left) who was clearly still on cloud 9 after having won the Best Front of House award for Becerrita Restaurant (that’s Jesús Becerra beside him). I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving, as Antonio has devoted his life to this often difficult work, and I have never seen him be anything but super professional as well as naturally friendly and helpful.

My “heir” Javier Compás proudly shows off his award, as I (also proudly) retire to the position of Premios Fogones emeriti. Although I was sorry to miss the event, I really did have a great tapas tour, leaving four lovely people totally in love with Sevilla’s food and wine. But I was glad that I was able to pop in briefly on my way home (albiet underdressed for the occasion) to say hi and congratulate the friends that were still there. Nice night.

sagardi jornadas del buey

15 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla, social media, spain

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menus-2016So THIS happened on Monday. Actually, it’s the second time I’ve been invited to this very meaty event, put on by Grupo Sagardi, experts in Basque country cooking. The Sevilla branch of Sagardi is located in the lovely Hotel Palacio Pinello, just up the road from me. As you can see, it was quite the feast, featuring massive t-bones from 10-year-old Galician oxen that had been aged for about 25 days and then grilled over oak. You can click on the image below to get a better look at it…

bueyes2016Aside from the MEAT my favourite dish was the simple char-roasted piquillo peppers, which were lovely smoky-sweet, but really it was all excellent (though I didn’t have any chocolate truffles). No need for dinner that night!

The menu (90€ per person including wine – a very nice Argentinian Malbec) is on offer at Sagardi’s until December 11th, and due to the massive size of the txuletón, they recommend booking in groups of 4.

wet combing rocks!

14 Thursday Jul 2016

Posted by in cats, friends, home, social media, travel

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wet combing

So that’s about half of Morcilla up there, after her first wet combing last night. And OMG she loved it. Then I tried it on the other two this morning (and Morcilla again) with mixed results. Loki and Morcilla swooned with pleasure, Luna was clearly just putting up with it. But afterwards all three of them were not only shed of excess fur, the rest of their fur was sleek and clean (ie, not dusty) and everyone was happy.

This all came about when fellow cat lover Nancy Li asked me on Facebook the other day if I’d ever wet-combed the cats, saying that hers loved it, especially on hot days. So I finally gave it a go and I think we are all hooked on this now. I met Nancy I don’t know how many years ago on the Slow Travel forum, and also met her in person when she and her husband visited Sevilla. We’ve been FB pals ever since. Once again, the power of the internet and social media, bringing people together and – bonus! – helping with your cat grooming needs.

elbah

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, instagram, sevilla, social media, spain

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elba

I’ve been following Elbah on both Twitter and Instagram for ages. She is not only as obsessive about posting fab food pics as I am, but a lot of her photos are taken in Sevilla and Málaga. So a few days ago I left a comment under one of her Sevilla food pics that we should meet for a tapita one of these days, and she agreed that this would be a great idea.

Then, when I was walking home from the Sherry On Top event on Wednesday evening, Peter and I decided to stop into Tradevo Centro for a penúltima. On the way in I spotted a spectacular looking fish dish and asked the people sitting at the table if they would mind if I took a photo of it (yeah, I know…). And one of the women said “Are you Azahar???” and we both went a bit crazy then, laughing and hugging like old friends. Of course, it was Elbah. And it turns out we are actually neighbours! So plans are now afoot to do some serious Tapas Research together. LOVE social media…