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Category Archives: spain

todos los santos

01 Thursday Nov 2007

Posted by azahar in holidays, nablopomo, religion, sevilla, spain

≈ 8 Comments

all-saints-day-fra-angelico.jpg

Today is Todos Los Santos (All Saints Day), which is a public holiday in Spain.

Traditionally, people visit the cemetary and decorate the graves of their loved ones with flowers. Apparently this Christian holiday was moved from its original date in May more than ten centuries ago to offset the pagan autumn festivals.

Here at casa az it’ll be just a pleasant day off, with plans to go out for lunch and finally my swap summer/winter wardrobes. It also means I get a four-day long weekend! f_wow.gif

Nog isn’t so lucky as he has to work on Friday. He says that in England they always move bank holidays (other than Christmas, New Year and Good Friday) to the nearest Monday in order to avoid long weekend ‘bridges’. Is it the same where you are?

It’s just after midnight so this is my first NaBloPoMo post. Off to sleep now and looking forward to checking in from my cosy bed in the morning . . . f_zzz.gif

the iberian lynx

11 Tuesday Sep 2007

Posted by azahar in animals & pets, politics, sevilla, spain

≈ 3 Comments

lynx1.jpg

How the EU saves, and kills, the lynx

So maybe Europe is giving money for preserving the lynx – it’s given 26m euros (£18m) – but the agricultural funds give money that helps destroy the lynx’s habitat.

The same institution is protecting and destroying habitat at the same time.

Fuck golf courses and fuck fake-tasting strawberries … there isn’t enough water here. And how awful it would be to see such a gorgeous creature become extinct. Yes, the dunes are spreading, but the water that exists at the moment could be put to better use.

Doñana Park is about an hour’s drive from where I live. I know a couple of people who work there – biologists mostly working with rabbits, birds and bats. But the lynx is the symbol of Doñana and I guess, being a cat person myself, their plight moves me. But not just me. A few years ago a student of mine (mid-twenties, well-educated) came up for his class and could barely speak when he came into the room. His face was all red, he was actually sputtering! I asked him what was wrong and after he sat down and had a drink of water he told me … “You know your neighbour on the first floor? Her door was open when I walked past just now and I saw she had a lynx pelt nailed to the entrance wall!”

It was actually a traumatic experience for him. I’ve since seen it myself. But these neighbours are disgusting people on so many levels that nailing the skin of an endangered species to their wall is actually not terribly surprising to me.

I’m certainly no big-time environmental activist, but fuck man – golf courses in Andalucía??? One golf course uses more water in a day than a village of 10,000 people. And tasteless strawberries that are sold for export … huh? Nice to see the world has its priorities straight, as usual.

The mind reels . . .

sevilla

14 Wednesday Mar 2007

Posted by azahar in culture, holidays, photos, sevilla, spain, trips

≈ 17 Comments

sundaywalk.jpg

Just updated my About Sevilla Page.

As people often ask me about Sevilla I’ve started a page containing information and also various links to interesting websites, articles, etc.

And I’ve added a subpage for tapa bars & restaurants, with personal mini reviews.

Any comments, queries or suggestions can be left here. orange.gif

andalucía day

28 Wednesday Feb 2007

Posted by azahar in culture, food & drink, holidays, life stuff, photos, sevilla, spain, tapas

≈ 7 Comments

andalucia-day.jpg

A nice midweek public holiday today.

Well, except that Nog and I are busy working on that big translation job (the one that might end up paying for a lovely holiday somewhere, sometime soon). But then a couple of hours ago we decided it was too gorgeous a day to stay inside – bright & sunny and about 22º – so we went out to Casa Roman for lunch.

Here is where we were, the view from our table, what we had to eat (first 6 pics) …

~ Casa Roman ~

más tapitas

17 Friday Nov 2006

Posted by azahar in food & drink, sevilla, spain, tapas

≈ 5 Comments

fritura1.jpg

mmmmmm… fritura!

Well, one good thing about not having plans for Friday night is that basically anything can happen. Like Nog coming home after his class and inviting me out to Modesto. 🙂

Had the usual fritura (that photo is for you Teuchter) and then just had to try some of the wild mushrooms they had displayed. There were three kinds and we chose the ones that were grilled and served with bits of jamon serrano and grilled peppers. There was also some wild asparagus on offer but we were too stuffed to have anything more.

Nice thing about Modesto is that they also get seasonal stuff in – a few months ago it was fresh artichokes (heaven!). So it isn’t always just the usual menu, which is quite good in itself. It’s a rather pricey restaurant, especially if you sit out on the terrace, but Nog and I tend to eat standing at the bar next to the open kitchen – and the prices there are considerably cheaper there (for the same food).

Also, we like hanging out with the bar guys and chatting with the chef, Sebastian. So sweet … when the wild mushrooms were weighed and then handed to the kitchen I waved to Sebastian and said ‘those are ours!’ and I heard him say to his helper ‘esto es para familia’. f_blush.gif

Anyhow, it was a lovely evening and afterwards we had a leisurely stroll home through the barrio. And now I am off to bed … shall leave you with a few Modesto photos (5-19).

Buenas noches! f_sleepy.gif

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