I had a very special guest on Monday evening… Rick Steves was in town and, as I’ve had the honour of being mentioned in two of his Spain travel guides the past few years (recommended by his local guide writer), it was high time we met up in person. Can I tell you? Rick is a lovely guy and a total force of nature. I had no idea what to expect, whether he wanted a tapas tour or just to talk about me and what I am doing and the Sevilla tapas scene, maybe get some recommendations on other places he could add to his guide… turned out that, yep, he wanted it all! And honestly, it was so much fun. Looking back, we stopped in at 16 (!!!) tapas bars and restaurants over five hours. Not eating at all of them obviously (we only did that at two stops) but checking out the places, ambiance, menus, etc. with Rick scribbling notes as we went. It was definitely a night of heavy researching.

Our first stop to actually stop at was Casa Morales. Reyes Morales was just coming back from walking her dog and said we had to come in and have a cold beer and a tapa. And well, who were we to argue with tapas bar royalty? At the last stop of the night, Salmedina, we also stopped in to eat. Rick had tried to get in the night of the Copa del Rey match and, well, no way. But luckily not only was there a table available for us, both owner/chefs were there (usually they trade off). Jaime and Pedro welcomed us and suggested we just try whatever they wanted us to try, thus a small but exquisite tasting menu ensued. My god. Every bite was heaven. And I even got to give Rick a little sherry education.

What can I say? It was a Tapeo Extremo to beat all others, all totally spontaneous and fun. Have already warned him that next time we’re going to Triana… and now that I know what he likes, well, it’s going to be epic.

Rick, thanks again for everything. Being in your guide has been amazing and I hope to continue being a trusted source for you and your travellers.