25 Friday Apr 2025
Posted in bitesize sevilla, sevilla, spain, substack, tapas, tapas bars, writing
The latest Bitesize Sevilla🍊 post on Substack includes a signature tapa, an origin story, a recipe and 10 great spots in Sevilla to try it. Have a look and give it a “like” (if you like it) and if you really like it maybe consider becoming a free or paid subscriber… Thx!
The Curious Tale of Sevilla’s Solomillo al Whisky
(spoiler alert: there’s no whisky!)
21 Monday Apr 2025
It’s been a busy – and filling! – week of serious solomillo al whisky research. All for the next Bitesize Sevilla newsletter on Substack, which should be out on Friday. Not only have I been revisiting bars to make sure my info was up to date, I have even been making the dish at home. It’s actually one of my favourite tapas but it may be a while before I want to order one again. 😅
18 Friday Apr 2025
Tags
As promised, my latest post on Substack… just kinda happened, wasn’t planned. But here you go. Semana Santa… the grumpy version. If you like it please give it a like and if you really like it please consider becoming a paid or free subscriber. Thanks!
17 Thursday Apr 2025
Posted in culture, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars
Tags
Today I went out mantilla hunting… love seeing the women dressed in black on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, so elegant with their black lace mantillas draped over a tall tortoise shell comb. I especially love the older women (some of the younger ones are in tight black mini-dresses with cut-away fronts like… wtf??). The idea is that the women are in mourning because Christ has died, and it’s a lovely tradition when done properly.
As I had to get deep into the Cathedral zone and my old neighbourhood Barrio Santa Cruz to catch the mantilla ladies out in force we ended up stopping in at Casa Román on the off chance they had a free table… and yes they did, a perfect spot by the open door. Half an hour later the place was pretty much mobbed, so we got the timing right. Then on the way home I saw a couple of things that made me, well, sad. So when I got back I started writing about it… look for a new post on Substack tomorrow!
14 Monday Apr 2025
Posted in casa azahar, health, health & happiness, hospitals, my barrio, sevilla, spain
Tags
One of the many – out of MANY MANY MANY – reasons I love living where I do is how well connected I am by public transport in my barrio. And especially since getting my old geezer free bus pass, in combination with THE KNEE mobility issues, I can just hop on hop off taking buses for one or two stops… and trust me sometimes that makes all the difference.
Anyhow, today I had an appointment with the cardiologist at the ridiculously beautiful but otherwise not especially efficient Hospital Duque del Infantado. Get this. I saw my GP on March 17th and within a couple of weeks had received dates for two specialists appointments – Cardio and an MRI for my neck and shoulder. In fact, I had to move the MRI forward because I still had that pesky cough from when I was sick a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile I am STILL WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT THE KNEE SPECIALIST APPT THAT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE OCTOBER. Fuck.
In the past, just like when I go to Hospital Virgen del Rocío, I’ve always just grabbed a taxi at the end of my street in front of the posh Gran Meliá Hotel Colón (always lots of taxis there). Six to eight euros well spent, I reckoned. But this week is Semana Santa, which means the Bastard Taxi Pirates are out for anything they can get. Yes, there is an official Semana Santa surcharge, but I just didn’t want to have to go through the hassle of all that. And so I checked the bus routes and saw… OMG… I could catch the updated Línea 3 not far from home and get dropped off about five minutes from the hospital. FOR FREE.
And it’s a good thing I discovered this as I now have an appointment there on April 28th to get a 24-hour Holter, and that is also where I will see the knee surgeon WHENEVER THAT HAPPENS. It’s actually one of the two specialist hospitals I end up at most. The other one, Clínica Fleming, is also accessible by bus. For now. It’s this time of year that I start to worry about whether my landlord is going to renew my contract in the summer, and I will now be on tenterhooks until July. But for now… just loving living here.
casa azahar 