Category Archives: twitter

spain savvy sarah

13 Thursday Jul 2017

Posted by in friends, instagram, sevilla, spain, travel, twitter

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Back in April I posted this photo from the Sevilla feria on Instagram and then found out this little Sevillanas dancing cutie belonged to Sarah Gemba @spainsavvy (that’s also her daughter and mother-in-law). Thing is, although I’d “known” Sarah via social media for awhile, we’d never met in person, and since that day in April we’ve been attempting to meet up for a chat. You’d think it wouldn’t be that difficult, right? Wrong. So I was delighted to FINALLY meet Sarah over a quick brekky today (forgot to take a pic!).

After moving to Spain over a dozen years ago, and working in various travel/tourism companies since then, Sarah now runs her own travel design business called Spain Savvy. So needless to say we have a lot in common, as well as quite a few mutual friends. Looking forward to getting together again, next time for a bit longer… should be able to manage something by September?  😉

clinchpics

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, instagram, photos, sevilla, tapas, twitter, twitter friends, wine

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Yet another online friend I’ve “virtually” known for years. Although Tim @clinchpics has passed through Sevilla many times en route to his photography workshops at Finca Buenvino in the beautiful Aracena mountains, this time he decided to stop off for a couple of days and take in the sights. And so, after meeting up for a quick manzanilla at Las Teresas, we headed over to La Sal for lunch. And WHAT a lunch it was…

[click on image to enlarge]

La Sal specializes in all things tuna (the original family-run restaurant is in Zahara de los Atunes) and as we are in the almadraba season – the annual sustainable tuna catch off the coast of Cádiz – it seemed like the perfect time to revisit the Sevilla location. Seriously, it was one of the most spectacular meals I’ve had in quite awhile, starting off with marinated sardines on toast, followed by tuna loin cured in pork fat (wow) and a delicious bite of “something tuna” which ingredients now escape me. After that some tuna in tempura with bonito flakes (delish) and a “bento box” of six delightful tuna bites. Finally we opted for the tuna morillo (collar) baked in salt and served with Japanese style noodles. You can watch Antonio serving it here…

Antonio serves morillo de atún a la sal with stir fried noodles and veg… La Sal #Sevilla #almadraba

A post shared by Shawn Hennessey (@sevillatapas) on

The wine and conversation flowed and it felt like I’d known Tim forever. And as so often happens we stopped for a post-lunch Penúltima (or three) at La Azotea (aka The Office). Then it was time for me to get home, and so I left Tim with a tapas bar Plan of Action for the evening, feeling happy to have met a new friend and kindred spirit.

martha & joe

29 Monday May 2017

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, sevilla, tapas, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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I first met Martha @marthakimes when she joined one of my tapas tours as a solo traveller back in November 2014. She then came back on her own last November, which included a memorable evening out with Ania @ania_marchlik at La Azotea (I think that was the night I sold Ania my old iPhone…) and since then Martha decided that Sevilla is where she would like to live when she retires. To wit, this latest trip Martha dragged invited her husband Joe with her, hoping to get him to fall in love with her adopted city.

It’s quite impressive that Sevilla has won such an honour in Martha’s heart, since she has travelled pretty much everywhere, and has seen many amazing and beautiful places. And yet, this is where she wants to be. You can see how committed she is by the tattoo she had done between her last two visits.

NO8D0 … Sevilla’s official motto

Anyhow, Martha, Joe, Peter and I got together a few times during this visit, and we did our best to convince Joe that this is also where he wants to live when he retires. I hope we succeeded, because it would be great having M & J as neighbours.

tim

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by in friends, sevilla, sherry, spain, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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I met Tim @Biltawulf last year when he and his friend Ed came on a tapas tour with me. Then earlier this year Tim got in touch again – he was planning another trip to Sevilla, this time to celebrate his 40th birthday with four friends from London. I was looking for something different for him, and in the end took them out on Saturday afternoon for a Tasting Triana Tour. But as Tim arrived a day earlier than his friends, we met up on Friday afternoon too and he helped me with some Tapas Research. This turned into an impromptu tapeo, starting with cold beers in the sun before heading to Sahumo (which had a new tapas menu I was keen to try out), with a short detour to La Cata Ciega across the street, as we got there before Sahumo was open.

The next day was the tapas tour and then, after Tim’s friends left early Sunday afternoon, we met up again for yet another impromptu tapeo, this time taking in Casa Morales, Abacería Antigua de San Lorenzo and Eslava, finishing with a birthday cake and cava. Then it was time for Tim to catch his flight home. Looking forward to getting together again, either here or in London. Good ol’ Twitter does it again.

As you can see, the tapas tour was a serious affair. Birthday treats at Eslava.

barbara

02 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in friends, social media, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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Neither Barbara @emoticomma nor I can remember when we started following each other on Twitter, other than it was several years ago. But when I found out she was going to be making a one day only “cameo appearance” in Sevilla of course we had to meet up. We ended up doing a nice tapeo in barrio San Lorenzo, where mucho jamón was consumed. Also mucho vino, finishing with some lovely cava at La Azotea. Barbara promises to come back with her husband next time for a longer stay. Good ol’ Twitter.  🙂

london getaway 2017 | day 2

01 Saturday Apr 2017

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

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What an amazing day! It started off very promising with partly blue skies and billowy white clouds (instead of the forecasted thunderstorms) so we were cautiously optimistic as we headed over to London Fields station to meet up with Nicola @shedlikesfood and Mark @marcooth. Nicola had offered to take us on a tour of the markets in her ‘hood: Netil, Schoolyard and Broadway. Hell yeah!

We started off at Netil market for a light breakfast snack at the wonderful Yeast bakery, but before long it was Beer & O’clock and, after a stroll through busy Broadway Mkt we made our way over to Schoolyard and then back to Netil. Honestly, it was like being out with me, but in Hackney. Nicola knew all the best places to stop at each market, and exactly what to order. It was a delightful selection of delicious tastes: pillowy pork baos, crunchy fried chicken, spicy beef rendang and perfect pork dumplings.

Finally we could eat no more, though strangely we were still “thirsty” 😉 so our next stop stop was at Lardo, where we sat up on the highest bar stools I’d ever encountered and had a glass of wine, while chatting with the chef in their open kitchen. From there we went off in search of a pub and ended up at Spurstowe Arms (where by chance we had also finished up after our night out at Pidgin last summer). From there things got a bit silly, with Nicola, Peter and I getting through two bottles of wine (Mark was sticking with pints). Then Mark had to leave us, but Nicola wasn’t through with our tour of Hackney, and we – not very sensibly – went for even more drinks at her favourite neighbourhood cocktail bar Every Cloud.

After this Nicola left us and just as we were wondering what to do next (other than knowing that “whatever next” needed to include some food) I saw that the folks from Lahpet had left a comment on my Instagram, reminding me that they had moved from their food stall Maltby Street Mkt and now had a restaurant in Hackney. Perfect! We made our over and had a wonderful dinner. I was so pleased to see that brothers Dan Anton & Jono were doing so well. And the food was delicious.

So that was our first full day in London and, thanks to Nicola, it was spectacular. Also – it didn’t rain! It also kind of set the pace for the following days, of heading out mid-mornings and not returning to the apartment until bedtime. Exhausting, but fun.

fab pork baos from the original @bao_london location in Netil Mkt

Nicola with dumplings
scotch eggs at Broadway Mkt – took some home for breakfasts
spicy beef rendang at Schoolyard Mkt – a first for megorgeous tomatoes at Broadway Mkt

front row seats at Lardo – chef was great fun to watch and talk with

oops, second bottle of wine

spotted in Hackney – a pretty Nissan Figaro (with eyelashes)oops… cocktails at Every Cloud

fantastic Burmese dinner at Lahpet

lee

21 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by in friends, getaways, madrid, markets, spain, tapas bars, twitter, twitter friends

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leeThis was absolutely the highlight of my Madrid Getaway… FINALLY getting to meet Lee @sheleebeelee! We’ve known each other for years, meeting first (I think) on Twitter, via our mutual pal @raincoaster. Since then we have stayed in touch via Facebook though, for some duh reason, I forgot to get in touch during my summer 2014 Madrid visit. So when I went back last July I was looking forward to getting together. Unfortunately Lee was having some serious health problems, and I wasn’t able to see her.

This time, although still undergoing treatment and recovery, she was well enough to meet up on my final afternoon in Madrid. I popped over to her apartment after checking out of mine, left my bag there and visited for awhile with Lee and the charming Toni (her lovely golden cat). Then I went for a stroll through nearby Antón Martín market before meeting Lee again and going out to Tandem (another spot I didn’t manage to get to last summer).

tandemLunch, as you can see, was amazing. But the company was even better and the time flew by far too quickly. By 5 pm I was back on the AVE heading home to Sevilla (and an evening tapas tour!), and feeling ever so thankful that the internets had brought Lee and I together. Hope to see you again soon, sister! xx

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.

thane & bob

09 Thursday Jun 2016

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

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with jamonAnother reason to keep on loving Twitter. After at least a couple of years, maybe more, of mutually following the fabulous Thane Prince @ThanePrince on Twitter we finally got to meet up. Which only seemed right after I actually stayed at Thane & Bob’s fabulous Málaga flat last December. Which obviously also came about via Twitter, and because we have so many Twitter and RL friends in common.

Anyhow, since Thane & Bob are in Málaga this week they decided to do a short getaway to Sevilla, spend the night, and basically eat loads of tapas with me. And drink sherry. And then eat and drink some more. Which we did.

So much fun. I felt immediately at home with them… two very distinct personalities, but somehow perfectly matched. And both funny as hell. I especially felt like I’d scored big points every time I made Bob laugh. So it was a wonderful day of lunchtime tapas, followed by a siesta, and meeting up again later that same night for more tapas and wine, finishing off with midnight drinks on the rooftop of Gourmet Experience. And then a farewell jamón snack the next afternoon (because you can never have too much jamón).

Now I can’t wait to repeat this in Málaga with our mutual friend Victor @welovemalaga. We also might meet up in London this summer! More on that later…