03 Monday Aug 2020
Posted in coronavirus, sevilla, sevilla shutdown, spain, welcome
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It turns out that you can get a Covid test in Sevilla at any private clinic / lab. It costs between 50-70€ and you get the results in five hours. Question. Why doesn’t our government set up a booth at the airport so arriving UNTESTED tourists can be tested and, by the time they have settled into their hotels, they will know if they are carriers or not and if they need to quarantine? Why is the focus on tourists getting tested after they get home again?
21 Tuesday Jul 2020
Posted in gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars, welcome
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Have decided to try and get out and about once a week to visit my friends and their bars and restaurants. This was basically the idea behind the Patreon page, and so far I’ve got 4 patrons! So this money will go directly into keeping Sevilla Tapas alive, allowing me to keep it updated. But it also means I get to see my friends! Bonus. 🙂
On this outing I stopped in at Lama La Uva to see Ana Linares and enjoy a glass of manzanilla while catching up on all her news. And she had plenty! That gurl does not stay still. She hinted at a new project that she says she can’t talk about yet, a bit like naming your baby before it’s born. Meanwhile, she has expanded the menu at her second location Lama La Uva Sol, so I will have to get back there soon. Ana has been active all throughout the lockdown, offering online wine tastings and home delivery. She’s an unstoppable force of nature that one.
Next stop was lunch at the recently reopened Lalola Restaurante, run by chef Javi Abascal in the spectacular courtyard of the boutique Hotel Conde de Torrejón. Speaking of unstoppable forces of nature… Javi (aka El Rey de la Casquería) is a social media monster and reopened last week with a bang, with a new menu, organised tasting menu events and a take-away option.
As always, the food was exceptional and the courtyard is bright and airy, so proper social distancing of tables is not a problem. The only sad bit was not being able to get the usual Javi bear hug, one of my favourite hugs in the city. 😉
08 Wednesday Jul 2020
Posted in casa azahar, hair, lockdown, sevilla, welcome
Today was the day! My first post-lockdown haircut (last one was on February 20th in case you want to know). Anyhow, my hair was well below my shoulders, something I don’t think has happened since I was in my twenties. And although I dyed it at home last month it was really in need of a trim. But even with hair salons taking precautions I was a bit put off with the idea of sitting in a room with blowdried air flying all around the place.
But then today I was on my way home from a couple of meetings (more on those later) and when I passed by my hairdresser’s there was nobody inside! So I took advantage of the moment, got a quick cut, told my guy I would let it air dry on the way home, and that was that. So I guess I’m good now until October. 🙂
07 Tuesday Jul 2020
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More Ennio Morricone from Cinema Paradiso… a montage of all the kisses that were cut out of film scenes by the fervent village priest, later spliced together for an unforgettable cinematic moment (floods of tears every time I watch it).
Life without kisses…
And I’m not talking about romantic kisses, though I do miss those too. The other day someone mentioned on Twitter that one of the BEST THINGS to come out of Covid was that she would no longer have to go through the trauma and social awkwardness of having to greet people with the Spanish “air kiss” on two cheeks. I should point out that she is British living in Spain, so the whole kissing thing has never felt natural to her. Then other Britsh expats chimed in saying much the same thing. Not me though.
I LOVE kissing everyone I meet! For me this is one of the BEST THINGS about living in Spain and very sadly for me it has come to a stop, at least for the foreseeable future. Though I have seen people in the street greeting friends with kisses, and even removing masks to do so. It’s like they can’t help it. For me it’s always been more awkward when someone sticks out their hand for me to shake. Like, eeeeeeewwww… I have no idea where that hand has been. Because let’s face it, a cheek is not going to come into physical contact with as many gross options as a hand does throughout the day.
How are you greeting people these days?
06 Monday Jul 2020
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It was after seeing the opening scene of this film in the summer of 1990, that gorgeous view with THAT music, that I decided I had to move to Spain. And yes, I know that’s Italy, have never quite been able to work out how I ended up choosing Spain. But I’m so glad I did.
Thank you for getting me started on my new life, Ennio. ❤
casa azahar 