
💙 🧡 💛
09 Monday Sep 2024

💙 🧡 💛
30 Friday Aug 2024
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The hundred year old “San Jacinto Ficus” that was brutally cut down two years ago has been pronounced officially dead by city council. I took the photo above earlier this month, concerned at how badly it had deteriorated from even a year ago. When it was first “rescued” in 2022 after public outcry we were told that city council would take over responsibility of its care and maintenance from the church, which seemed optimistic at the time. But now it seems this was always the outcome they wanted as the tree was left to wither and slowly die over these past two years. No words.
the ficus in 2009 (taken on my very old camera),
it was even bigger than this in 2022
29 Thursday Aug 2024

A rare evening out… my reward 💙
22 Thursday Aug 2024
Posted in history, sevilla, spain, tapas bars

I don’t know how I never knew this. I had CervecerÃa Internacional on my “to do” list of tapas bars to update after I noticed that the last time was in 2012 (!!!). So checked their website to see when they would reopen after their summer holidays and there was also a link to page on Casa Moreno. What the heck? And so I started googling around and found out that both places were started by Francisco Moreno (!!!). Casa Moreno was founded in 1945 and then in 1987 Francisco was offered the space a few doors down and decided to expand on his collection of international beers that he sold in his small bar at the back of the food shop.
Francisco Moreno’s daughter Antonia, along with her husband Antonio, took over running the cervecerÃa while Francisco junior and his wife Carmen ran the abacerÃa. Still with me? These days the grandchildren are in charge, with Antonio junior at the beer bar with his right hand Carlos and Marta Moreno with her brother Fran running the shop and bar along with the venerable Emilio, who has been with them for 40 years.
To think that a week ago I knew nothing of the family connection between these two bars, despite Casa Moreno being one of the places I consider home here. Anyhow, loved doing the research, both online and in person. Since it looks like I’m going to be on enforced leave for a while to come (can’t walk!) maybe I should get onto writing that book!
Carlos, Antonio Jr & Antonio Sr (2024)
Juanma & Antonio Sr (2012)
13 Tuesday Aug 2024
Posted in food & drink, sevilla, spain, tapas bars
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Here’s Peter with a pumpkin that weighs more than he does. We stopped in for a snack at Doña Emilia yesterday, which is the riverside restaurant/tapas bar of the Manolo Mayo family. This 100 kilo specimen was apparently their runner-up in the largest veg-fruit competition held annually in Los Palacios (where the Mayo family is from and where they have their original restaurant and their own vegetable garden). So the even bigger pumpkin and giant watermelons (also winners) stayed in Los Palacios.
