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Category Archives: spain

stocking up and taking stock

23 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in home, retail therapy, sevilla, shopping, spain

≈ 8 Comments

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home, life, retail therapy, sevilla, shopping

stocking up

I always like to take advantage of the summer and winter sales here to stock up on basic stuff like sheets & towels, so today I went out to see what I might find and ended up with a whole whack of towels and one new set of sheets for me. I thought I was being quite decadent until I checked back on the blog (so handy that) and saw that the last time I splashed out on new sheets was in 2013 (I honestly thought it was much more recent). Then I was shocked to see that my last new towel purchase was a year before that! Well, judging by the state of my towels I shouldn’t have been that shocked, but whatever. Now I have lots of everything, though I still want to get a second set of new sheets for me.

What’s weird is that for at least the past 25 years or so, I have never bought patterned sheets. Or coloured towels. I’ve always had a thing for white or off-white when it came to sheets and towels (and nightdresses too, come to that). Okay, a little embroidery was fine, but no colours, other than in quilts and duvet covers. And suddenly today I wanted these happy bright poppies on my sheets and deep blue for the “guest” (actually roommate) towels. Roommate also got new sheets along with the new bed in May, so I am feeling totally up-to-date in that department.

So what to do with the massive pile of old towels and sheets? Well, what I always do with old clothes and such. I wait until after 8 pm and leave them next to the bins up on the main road near me, in unsealed bags so people can easily see what’s inside. And they are usually gone within an hour or so (municipal rubbish pick up is long after midnight).

I don’t even know what’s “normal” when it comes to stuff like this, buying new sheets and towels. Once a year? Every two years? Three? Also, as I said in another blog post, this has never been a huge priority for me. I always prefer to spend my money on experiences. How about you?

we love tapas is hiring!

23 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas tours, we love tapas, wine, work

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employment, spain, tapas, tapas tours, tours, we love tapas, work

hiringBecome a part of the We Love Tapas Team!

These past couple of “weeks off” have been both relaxing and very productive. Lots of time for new ideas and research with some exciting new stuff coming up soon. As a result, We Love Tapas is now looking for enthusiastic local guides with food and wine experience for our team in Sevilla. After full training, guides will give both lunchtime and evening tours (number per week depending on the season), each lasting 2.5 to 4 hours, and will be expected to attend monthly staff meetings and periodic (delicious) training sessions.

Requirements:

  • Bilingual English / Spanish
  • Native or long-term resident of Sevilla
  • Registered as “autónomo” for freelance work
  • Genuine love of Spanish cuisine and excellent people skills

You will also need to have access to internet at home, and a smartphone, so that you can be kept up to date about your tour bookings, changes and other information.

For more information contact us at:
welovetapas@gmail.com

typical spanish wiring

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in sevilla, spain

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sevilla, spain

spanish wiringThis always cracks me up, and also leaves me wondering why there aren’t more electrical fires here. And this isn’t even the most extreme case I’ve seen – I just liked the shadow play on the wall.

urinario

16 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in culture, history, sevilla, spain, tapas bars

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bars, history, sevilla

urinarioBack in the “old days” women in Spain (as in many countries) weren’t allowed in bars, so of course there was no need to have a toilet for them to use. You can still sometimes come across old urinarios like this one, which didn’t even used to have doors on them. This relic is in one of my favourite sherry bars, Manolo Cateca, and is basically a small closet with a urinal in it. The bar is so tiny that there really isn’t space for a proper toilet, so Manolo has a deal with the bar across the alley and his clients can use the facilities over there. Those Tío Pepe bottles look like they are standing guard, don’t they?

hols at home

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by azahar in sevilla, spain, travel, trips, work

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

holidays, home, life, sevilla, tapas tours, work, writing

sandals 2015

So yeah, the BIG NEWS is that I’ve decided to take a couple of weeks off, and possibly longer. Well okay, not exactly OFF in the sense of not working, or going away somewhere, just not doing my tapas tours for awhile so that I can focus on getting caught up on my other work (massive backlog of blog posts and photo editing) as well as work on some new ideas for We Love Tapas. Re: the latter, there are a couple of things coming up this autumn that I think will be very exciting, but I do need some time to get those going properly. Yeah, I know my Trip Advisor rating will probably suffer as a result, with all the posers racking up fake reviews on a daily basis but, to borrow the pithy words of the Divine Marina O’Loughlin… “I don’t hate it because it enables reviews of and tickets for cruel animal attractions, or for its climate of blackmail-enabling entitlement. I hate it because it’s shit.” Suggest you read this article.

Of course it’s great that while I am “away” I can steer my clients towards We Love Tapas, because the team is going to be working all summer long. Meanwhile, my summer getaway plans are still going ahead, with Galicia Getaway booked for the end of August, though I may swap San Sebastián for London, not sure. Or do them both?? Really no idea at this point. All I know is that for the next week or so I am on “hols at home”, which is mostly about doing a lot of research and writing. But it feels great, and I’m also focusing on healthy light eating at home. Feel very privileged that I can work like this, doing things I love, in the way I want to do them. Anyhow, watch this space…

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