Category Archives: trips

postcard from archidona

26 Saturday Aug 2017

Posted by in andalucia, friends, getaways, history, holidays, Malaga, malaga getaway, triana, trips

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I always love taking day trips with Victor @welovemalaga when I am visiting Málaga, and this time we chose to go to Archidona after I discovered that Victor had never been there. A rare treat for me to show him something new! As Peter @svqconcierge would be arriving in town Saturday morning we decided that would be a good day for all three of us to go, though I should have done my homework better as we missed the opening time for the Virgen de Gracia convent and castle. But we went up the mountain anyhow and were treated to some spectacular views.

We also had lunch at Arxiduna Restaurant, uniquely located inside caves in the main square (also unique for being the only octagonal square in Spain). I’ll be updating their page soon. I’d let them know that I was coming back and booked a table and, well, we were treated like royalty and given a special tasting menu. But more on that later.

On the way home Victor took a detour through the beautiful Montes de Málaga, a magnificent natural park and, as always, I learned so much more about this region and its history. Victor is not only a fount of knowledge but a gifted story teller. By the time we got back to Málaga we were zonked, so Peter went to crash at his hotel and I came “home” to shower and spent a lovely evening in Netflixing. The only thing missing was Morcilla…

Peter & Victor in Plaza de la Victoria, ArchidonaRestaurante Arxiduna

just trying to help…

25 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, getaways, Malaga, malaga getaway, spain, travel, trips

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So I was in the Atarazanas Market yesterday and saw a couple of tourists looking over the display of various meats in manteca, which for those of you who don’t know are meats preserved in pork lard, often (but not always) coloured and flavoured with paprika. The man even leaned over to smell one of them at which point the vendor came over and said in his best English, “That is pork meat in butter!”.

Trying to be helpful I said to the couple that it was actually lard, not butter. Then I explained to the vendor that he was telling them it was pork in mantequilla (butter), not manteca (lard), and we all helped him with pronouncing this new word. The couple went away happy and the vendor said to me, “So what are you, a teacher?” And then he said, “I always say butter to them and they always understand me perfectly.” Well, I tried…

one year ago today…

21 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by in friends, getaways, travel, trips

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… I was enjoying Beer O’clock (and pulpo!) with these two lovelies, Anna & Jorge (aka @thekilomEATers) in Santiago de Compostela. I haven’t done nearly as much travelling this summer as I did last (Málaga, London, Madrid, Santiago), mostly because of THE MOVE, but tomorrow I am taking off for another Málaga Getaway. Looking forward to getting back to my “second home”.

feria de córdoba 2017

25 Thursday May 2017

Posted by in andalucia, fiestas, flamenco, getaways, spain, travel, trips

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I hadn’t planned on going to the feria in Córdoba this year. But when I saw Roma @artsylife posting pics from Málaga on her Instagram, and when she said she wouldn’t make it to Sevilla this visit, we decided to meet up for a day in Córdoba. So Peter and I caught an early train and, after meeting up with Roma for a nice lunch at La Regadera (warning: never try to eat at any ferias) we got a taxi to the fairground. And well, it was HOT. But we managed to find a couple of nice air-conditioned casetas to enjoy a cold beer and watch people dancing. Like in Jerez (and unlike Sevilla) the casetas in Córdoba are all open to the public. But unlike any other feria I’ve been too, many also have A/C. Bliss. Click through to see more pics…
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feria de jerez 2017

18 Thursday May 2017

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The plan had been to pop over to Jerez for the day, take in the feria during the afternoon, and then return to Sevilla in the evening. Then my friend Tomoko @TomokoTours told me about the Tío Pepe Challenge finals happening that evening and I scored an invitation for me and Peter. In theory we could have still come home on the last train while buying the tickets online I thought I’d just check to see if there were any hotels available at a reasonable rate – and there was!

An hour later, with a hastily packed bag and after last-minute “leaving cats overnight prep”, we were in a taxi to the train station. First stop (after checking into our hotel) was meeting up with Tomoko for a pre-feria lunch. Experience has taught me that it’s best not to try and eat at any ferias, so we had a bite at Tabanco Las Bandarillas before catching a bus up to the fair grounds. I was all ready to spend a happy hour or so taking photos of all the beautiful horses but… there weren’t any. I mean, there were the commercial horse carriages that you can hire for a ride around the grounds, but I didn’t see any individual riders other than a small group of them as we were leaving. I first noticed this dearth of horses a couple of years ago, and was told it was due to the heat wave that was going on at the time, and that the horse owners didn’t want to risk the health of their magnificent beasts. But this time, and also last year, were practically horseless, without the excuse of a heat wave. Has anyone else noticed this?

london getaway 2017 | day 6

05 Wednesday Apr 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, london, restaurants, travel, trips, welcome

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Greek olives at Old Spitalfields Market

Our final full day in London started and finished at Old Spitalfields Market. We had plans to meet Julie & Steve for lunch at Quality Chop House, but as it was such a lovely day we wanted to get out early and get a walk in before meeting them. Which actually turned into quite a long walk through not very picturesque streets, but we enjoyed the market and I also got to see the Smithfield meat market, which is housed in a surprisingly beautiful building. Along the way I got a message from Julie saying that they were on the train and, if they got in early, they were going to stop for a “quick one” at The Eagle (London’s first gastrobar), across the street from Quality Chop. As it turned out we all arrived there about the same time, and half an hour early for our lunch reservastion, so The Eagle it was.

Then lunch at Quality Chop. I was introduced to QC by the FoodieHub people, when I was invited to the FH Awards back in 2015, and this was my third visit. It is one of my favourite places to eat in London – always amazing food and terrific service. You may even recall that when Julie & Steve came to Sevilla last Christmas I made – or attempted to make – chef Sean Searley’s iconic confit potatoes. And Sean even gave me some advice on Twitter, which I thought was very sweet of him.

Anyhow, this was a chance for Julie & Steve to try the real deal potatoes, along with THAT hereford mince and various other wonderful QC dishes. It was an outstanding lunch and by far the best meal of the trip (you can see details below). Many thanks to Sean and the QC team.

After lunch there was another treat in store for us as Julie & Steve decided we should have a penúltima at a hidden gem of a pub called Ye Olde Mitre. En route Julie told us stories of her time working in the area, and we passed the shop where Steven bought her engagement ring. Although they no longer live in the city, they spent many happy years there and are full of insider knowledge. We were joined at Ye Olde Mitre by my pal @CityJohn. Whenever people dis social media (and in particular Twitter) all I can say is that many of the people I hold dear in my life are people I met on Twitter. And John is one of the most special ones.

Finally it was time to say goodbye, and Peter and I decided to walk over to the Sky Garden bar atop the hideous “walkie talkie” building, to try and catch a glimpse of MY SHARD at sunset. It had suddenly occureed to me that I hardly had any photos of the Shard from this visit. And so over we walked, and up we went, only to find that we were too late to walk outside on the viewing platforms (which close at 6 pm). So close and yet so far! And so I had to make do with taking a shot of my beloved Shard from inside. I’ll know better next time.

By this time a few hours had past since lunch and we were thinking that a snack before going home would probably be a good idea, and so that’s how we ended up back at Old Spitalfields Market. But not before passing through Leadenhall Market, which kind of popped up out of nowhere. So by the time we got to Taberna do Mercado (almost 20,000 fitbit steps since leaving home in the morning) we were ready for a drink and a snack. We shared chef Nuno Mendez’s fabulous tempura green beans, and a couple of the Portuguese butties. And then it was time to find an Uber back to the apartment and start packing for home.

Smithfield Meat Market

The Eagle

cheers!

chef Shaun Searley and his famous confit potatoes

[click to enlarge pic]

Quality Chop House

  • Smoked cod’s roe, cured egg yolk
  • THOSE confit potatoes
  • THAT Hereford mince, dripping toast, watercress
  • Nettle gnocchi, walnut, Cornish Yarg cheese
  • Middle White pork, beetroot, seabeet
  • Chicken livers, prune, mustard, pear, hazelnut

Ye Olde Mitre

Peter, Steven, Julie and John at Ye Olde Mitre

obstructed view from the Sky Garden

Leadenhall Market

the Spitalfields goat

Taberna do Mercado:
prawn rissoís, presa pork bifana, rump steak prego
and THOSE tempura green beans

 

london getaway 2017 | day 5

04 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, restaurants, sherry, travel, trips, welcome

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So this was it! The day I’d been looking forward to and dreading in equal measure. Also it was the main reason for being in London for this particular London Getaway, to be one of the judges at the first World Sherry Awards. I say “dreading” because I had never judged anything at this level before, and wasn’t sure what would be expected. Happily my friend Owen @sherrymonster44 (another sherry educator and co-owner of four fabulous tapas bars in southern Wales) had also been invited as a judge, so I knew there would be at least one friendly face. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. The people running the event were super friendly and I immediately felt right at home. Or as “at home” as possible at the elegant Caledonian Club, where the tasting was being held. You will have to wait until May to find out which wine was chosen as the winner, and I hope to be invited back again next year.

After the tasting Owen had to get back to Wales and I met up again with Peter, who had spent the afternoon visiting a couple of museums. As we were near Harrod’s – and as I had never been to Harrod’s – we went to Harrod’s! In fact, we decided to do a three-posh-store circuit and after Harrod’s we also stopped off at Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason. I think a few years ago I would have found these places more interesting, especially the food courts. Anyhow, we stopped for a drink in the upstairs lounge at Harvey Nicks, as we still had a couple of hours to go before meeting up with John again. Then we found out John was going to be delayed, so we went off in search of a pre-pub snack in nearby Soho.

My first choice, Boca di Lupo, was already packed at 6.30 pm and we were told to come back in an hour or so to see if there was any space then. Uh… no. Then I remembered Zelman’s. This turned out to be an excellent choice. We were immediately shown to a comfy spot in front of the glass-walled “open” kitchen and our server couldn’t have been nicer. So different from the “fake-friendly” treatment elsewhere the previous day. Our snack was a massive smoked beef short rib, which we shared with a side of triple-fried chips. We honestly wished we were hungrier so we could try more dishes – Zelman is already at the top of the list for my next London visit.

By the time we met up with John I was pretty tired, so we just had a couple of drinks and a nice chat before I called an Uber to take us home.

Owen finds a secret passage behind fake bookshelf door at the Caledonian Club

cool Tudor style buildings just off Regent Street

the Egyptian escalator in Harrod’s

chillin’ and rechargin’ at Harvey Nicks

fall-off-the-bone smoked beef short rib at Zelman Meats

triple-fried chips with Holy Fuck mayo (their name, not mine)

pubbing with John and Peter

 

london getaway 2017 | day 4

03 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, travel, trips, welcome

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This was the only day I had actually planned both lunch and dinner meet-ups with friends. And I knew I’d be fine lunching light with Thane @thaneprince since we’ve done this before, and as it turned out she also had a dinner date that same evening. Last summer Thane and I thought we’d made a mistake by choosing newly-opened Calcutta Street over our original choice, Clipstone. So this time we thought we would make it right by going to Clipstone for lunch.

Needn’t have bothered. I really have no complaint about the food or service per se, other than it was way overpriced for what was an uninspired and totally forgettable meal. I mean, just look at it… 40€ each for that (mostly vegetables other than the 2 scallops)? With some wine, of course.

After lunch I met Peter to do some SHOPPING. I was hoping to find some cute sandals at the official Mephistos shop (nope) so we just ended up wandering around Soho until it was time to meet Sara & Steve for dinner at Kiln, the new sister restaurant of Smoking Goat. Thai fusiony fabulousness was promised. Sad to say, Kiln failed to deliver.

Peter and I got to Kiln a few minutes early, so we were ushered to an area next to the bar and drink orders were taken. When Sara & Steve arrived (who were also given drinks) we were then ushered to a small room downstairs and were shown to our table. When I booked I was told that we would only have the table for two hours. And well, okey-dokey, but it was a full half-hour before our food order was taken – wtf is that about? In fact, the service was lacking throughout the entire, uh, two hours. We ordered a bottle of white wine for the ladies (guys were on beer and soft drinks) and after serving two glasses the bottle was plunked down on the table with no option for keeping it chilled. When we asked the waitress she said she could stick in back in the fridge for us and bring it out again later. WHAT? Given that an easy 20 minutes would pass without seeing our server again this was not an option (nor would it be anywhere).

Then out came the food, which was fine. I mean, it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t really good. In the end it was the poor service that stood out. Staff were not well-trained, and exuded the sort of OTT “fake friendliness” that I assume they think will cover for their ineptness. Well… nope. It didn’t.

But in spite of two seriously mediocre meals, the company couldn’t have been better, and I had a great time with my friends anyhow. But I am NEVER going back to either of these restaurants. xx

london getaway 2017 | day 3

02 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, travel, trips, welcome

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They say you can never go home again, or step in the same river twice, or… WHATEVER. This time round it wasn’t me that had changed but the fabulous Maltby Street Market I had fallen in love with last August. That had been a day I was out on my own in London, and somehow the whole market seemed to welcome me, and I spent a few wonderful hours talking with everyone there and even making new friends. So I was eager to relive the experience and made a plan to meet up with my dear friend John @cityjohn.

As it was a very pretty morning Peter and I decided to walk there from Wapping, which takes about an hour, and is a very pleasant walk along the riverside and across Tower Bridge. On our way there another dear friend José @jose_pizarro called me and said that, although pressed for time (he was between trips to Spain), he wanted to at least pop over and say hola, so we also arranged to meet at the market. In the end we all met up at good ol’ Bar Tozino, where we stopped in for a quick manzanilla with John and his friends, and then José also stopped by. Considering José’s crazy schedule, it felt very special that he made the time to come over and we got to catch up a bit.

By this time it was feeling like we should try to get some lunch so, after José left us, we had a look around the market. Which was jammed in every direction. I managed to find my pal Mark @thegayfarmer and we had a nice chat (he also very generously gave me some of his newly harvested evoo). Then John had to leave because his friend was suddenly ill, so it was just me and Peter left, looking around this once charming but now super over-crowded street market and we decided – let’s get outta here!

I mean, by then it was 3 pm and breakfast had been quite awhile ago, and we’d been walking A LOT, so our first necessity was to eat SOMETHING before deciding on what to do next. Luckily José’s tiny and perfect tapas bar in Bermondsey was just around the corner, so we stopped in there for a drink and some of his sublime squid ink croquetas. Thus fortified we ventured out to find some non-Spanish food and I remembered the fabulous Arabica, just outside Borough Market, that had been recommended to me last summer by my friend Thane @thaneprince. And I knew I had to try the muhamarra (roasted red pepper, harissa, toasted walnuts) again. Well, imagine my surprise when we walked in and the barman Emanuel remembered me (!!!). Seriously? I mean, how many people have passed through those doors since last August? And so, feeling very welcome, we had a lovely late afternoon lunch.

After that we did something I had planned on doing last visit but time (and Panic Attacks) got in the way. We walked along the South Bank from London Bridge to Westminster Bridge, then crossed over, making our way past Big Ben, etc and ending up in Covent Garden. By then we seriously needed to sit down and so stopped in at Rules for a drink in their upstairs cocktail bar. Rules is London’s oldest restaurant (and was also featured in Downton Abbey – where the Crawley family dined while “in town”), so what the heck. Perhaps a bit too formal and with too much plush velvet for my taste, but it was an experience. After that we thought a small snack before going home was probably a good idea, so we stopped in at Polpo (across the street from Rules) for a small dish of their delicious pork meatballs. And then we caught the bus home… with front row seats on the upper deck.

the Bar Tozino team

Mark the Gay Farmer – makes fabulous olive oil and pesto too

José Pizarro’s famous squid ink croquetas

THIS. Turkish Muhamarra (roasted red pepper, harissa, toasted walnuts)
Arabica just outside Borough Market

hola Shard!

the Globe Theatre

the supports for the old Blackfriar’s rail bridge (new one on the right)

walking past the London Eye

Big Ben and Parliament buildings

wheel closeup with serpents

London Eye – no filter!

drinks at Rules – London’s oldest restaurant

quick snack before heading home – meatballs at Polpo, Covent Garden

upper deck, front seat view