Category Archives: tapas tours

katie parla

30 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas tours, twitter

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katie parla (1)I continue to meet wonderful people thanks to Twitter. This time it was Rome-based food goddess Katie Parla. On Friday morning I was doing my usual social media stuff and attempting to catch up with my massive To Do list of reviews, photos and blog posts before the big #LondonGetaway next week, and up popped a Twitter notice from @jengonroff suggesting that @katieparla get in touch with me. I’d heard of Katie and was keen to help out, thinking she might be coming to Sevilla soon. Turned out she was in Sevilla in that exact moment and was STARVING, so we made plans to meet up later in the evening. What followed was a fun (and sherry-filled) impromptu Sevilla Tapas Tour...

katie parla (2)I immediately felt at home with Katie and was pleased to discover we share a similar philosophy when it comes to our food & wine tours (Katie also offers Art History & Archeology tours in Rome), which is to keep it simple and real. We’ve both noticed the recent influx of food tour opportunists showing up where we have lived and loved and worked for so long. It’s sad to see these people ruining what we have helped to build with them scheduling regular touristy-scripted tours that clog up and destroy the natural ambiance of the places we love. Progress? I don’t think so.

But we had a great time, starting off with sherry and jamón at Las Teresas, then moving on for some fusiony-fun at La Azotea in barrio Santa Cruz (with unexpected guest appearance by Ania – see silly selfie). Then a quick stop at Casa Morales – Katie had to see the tinajas! – before finishing up at Bodeguita Romero. And finish up we did, closing the joint sometime just before 1.00 am! Loved watching Katie experience her first pringá, and we were totally spoiled by Alejandro, offering special sherry pairings. Pretty much a perfect night out.

It’s always such a pleasure to meed kindred spirits like Katie and I look forward to visiting her in Rome soon.

we love tapas is hiring!

23 Saturday Jul 2016

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

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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

sunday song – pat in sevilla

17 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by in cancer, friends, hope, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, video

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Not exactly a song this Sunday, though we do have music in this video thanks to my fabulous friend Juan Tarquini (who put the whole thing together for me). Four years ago today my dear friend Pat Steer died. I met her on a cancer forum back in 2008 after we’d both been diagnosed with stage 4 variations of colon/rectal/liver, etc. And she became not just a friend but my sister and my hero, the no-nonsense voice of reason, the one I knew would never bullshit me, the one who loved me too.

Just before Pat died she expressed sadness in her final blog post about (amongst other things) not having ever been able to come on one of my tapas tours, so I obliged by going all around town to some of my favourite places and (badly) filming a typical tapeo with her included.

Juan did his best with the mess of clips I left with him, and Pat said it took her at least four times to get through it, because she kept breaking down in tears. But finally she watched it all and loved it. And I still love her and always will. Four years ago today I lost her, and I still miss her so very much. Strong thoughts, my darling. xx

summer eating

01 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in food & drink, homecooking, sevilla, tapas, tapas tours

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summer eatingHello July! The temps are soaring (well, kind of, still hasn’t reached mid-40s here) and eating habits also swap over to light summer-style eating. On my tapas tours people often ask what the “Queen of Tapas” eats at home. Or if I ever eat at home! Of course I do eat at home more than I eat out and, despite my appearance, I’m not actually a big eater. But I do go for the Spanish habit of making lunch my main meal of the day. Typically in summer it will be something fresh, like this arrugula, tomato and feta salad. In winter lunches tend to be a bit heartier, with stews and other dishes, which you can find on Azahar’s Kitchen. But my favourite dinner at home, any time of year, usually around 9.00 pm, is simply hot buttered toast. Comfort food.

What’s your favourite comfort food?

new look for seville concierge

11 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by in blogging, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas tours

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new SCA few years ago I helped my friend & flatmate Peter set up a website offering various types of walking tours, and we called it Seville Concierge. Because Peter does in fact advise people as well as give tours. Then the other day I was looking at his site and realised it just looked like a boring old blog that he barely updates (and nobody reads  😉 ), when the whole point of the site is to promote his tours. So this morning I started looking around for some fresh ideas that might help him get more work, which meant totally revamping his website.

Unfortunately a whole two hours were wasted on what looked like a cool theme, but it didn’t actually WORK in terms of what it promised. I think there must have been some sort of bug involved, because I couldn’t even get the page menu to show up. AND SO… I ended up finding this theme, which I think is pretty nice.

I’d love some feedback on it, if you don’t mind. In terms of how easy it is to navigate, and all that. By chance I discovered that each page could have its own featured image as a massive header image, so I think that makes it more interesting (present images subject to change – they were the best I could come up with so quickly). Peter is still working on some missing text, so really just want to know what you think of the design. Also, how does it work for you on a phone or tablet?

Thanks! xx

Seville Concierge