05 Tuesday Apr 2016
Posted in sevilla, tapas, tapas tours, we love tapas, wine, work
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So remember when I fell down the sherry rabbit hole a few years ago? It could be that vermouth (vermut in Spanish) will be next. The other day I visited a new vermutería near my house and the seeds for a Vermut & Tapas Tour for We Love Tapas were sown. Watch this space…
28 Monday Mar 2016
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market “picnic” during a Market & Tapas Tour
During Semana Santa last week I only offered tapas tours at lunchtime, due to the massive crowds and processions in the evenings. Bars are also packed solid then. I remember back when I first started doing the tours I would do them pretty much whenever I was asked, including when the Semana Santa processions were on. Lesson learned. I guess in some ways it was “fun” in the sense of everything being very unpredictable, with clients knowing that anything could happen (or not happen, as in, not moving from one spot for half an hour). But in the end I decided this really didn’t represent my Sevilla Tapas Tours and, frankly, these tours were exhausting.
Anyhow, last week was a nice balance of being busy but also with enough time to relax. And it struck me around mid-week how it felt a bit odd only working during the day and having the evenings free. Like a proper day job! Because I’d say about 80% of my tours happen in the evening. So it was a nice break from the routine.
04 Friday Mar 2016
A very passionate young woman from Chicago called Kirby Barth got in touch with me back in January. She is here doing research towards an honours thesis in anthropology, researching traditional Sevillano food. And on Friday we finally arranged a meeting for an interview, including the fabulous Aldara from We Love Tapas, which then morphed into an impromptu Sevilla Tapas tour. For the next four hours! Afterwards Aldara very kindly took Kirby on another impromptu tour of Sevilla Markets, and the next day I met Kirby at a local food & wine event. She will also be going on a We Love Tapas Tour with our lovely Delia on Monday. As always, love sharing knowledge and experience with people who genuinely care. And we hope Kirby fulfils her dream of one day being able to live and work in Sevilla.
25 Thursday Feb 2016
Posted in food & drink, sevilla, tapas, tapas tours, wine, work
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Since 2007, doing tapas research has taken me to literally hundreds of different bars and restaurants, both in Sevilla and elsewhere in Andalucía. And yeah “tough job” and all that, but while (mostly) enjoyable, it’s still work. It can also get expensive since I have rarely accepted a “freebie”, and certainly have never done so in exchange for a positive review. And aside from the financial expense, there is also lots of time spent after the bar visits, editing photos and writing reviews. None of this makes me a penny, but it does serve as my “online portfolio” showing that I do actually know a thing or two about gastronomy in Andalucía, so indirectly that helps with people choosing my tapas tours over more commercially formulaic ones. Mostly though, I just love doing this and sharing my knowledge and experiences. Plus there are still surprises for me, like walking into this century old bar shown above, meeting the owner and talking about Sevilla like old friends. Love my job. 🙂
19 Friday Feb 2016
It’s orange and lemon season in Sevilla.
casa azahar 