Category Archives: welcome

sherry talk

04 Thursday Jun 2020

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sherry talk

It was fun listening to (and seeing) Carmen Aumesquet from the Sherry Council chatting with my lovely friend José Pizarro – in English! – about sherry and jamón and what José has been acheiving during lockdown. But I have a question, and it’s not about this live Instagram broadcast, it’s about all of the ones I’ve seen so far (which I’ve really been enjoying, btw). Why are all the names and comments from the viewers always covering the face of the guest? Shouldn’t it be the other way around, since the host is not the featured person. Just wondering.

lockdown day 82

03 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, lockdown, lockdown sevilla, sevilla, welcome

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triana bridge

Sevilla is now in Phase 2, with Phase 3 supposedly coming up on Monday June 8th, the final two-week stage of the government Covid de-escalation plan, scheduled to “finish” on June 22nd, at which point… who knows? Well, it means we will no longer be in an official state of emergency, though since not all provinces are in the same phase right now this will probably be extended until at least the end of June. But other than opening up our borders again to international tourists in July I haven’t heard of any other major changes coming up after lockdown.

We were supposed to have some travel restrictions lifted in Andalucía on Monday, allowing people to move about between the eight provinces, but since Granada and Málaga are still going to be in Phase 2 then, it looks like this is going to be postponed. The rest is mostly relaxing restrictions for businesses that deal with the public and I think hotels (and tourist apartments) can start reopening then too. Nightclubs, theatres and cinemas will also be allowed to open with limited capacity (30-50%). Oh and beaches too, as long as people respect social distancing. Srsly? Just waiting for all those super crowded beach pics on social media. So, as for me…

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green sleeves

02 Tuesday Jun 2020

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green sleeves

So yeah, I don’t sleep much. Or well. Never have really. So not surprisingly I’ve been sleeping (or not sleeping) less (or more) and even worse during lockdown. Not because I’m locked down per se, more because I can’t let my mind wander too far into “what ifs” and this is easier done while awake than when asleep.

But one indulgence I now allow myself, being locked down and all, is that I can get up whenever I damn well please. I mean, there’s nowhere to go. And I have no work to do. Before I used to find it hard to stay in bed after sunrise, even if I’d only slept a few short hours, because it seemed a waste to miss a beautiful morning (I love mornings). But now? Fuck it. I probably only average about 4-5 hours of sleep a night, waking up anytime after 4 am. And there’s no way I can get back to sleep because, well, I can’t. So I read stuff on my phone, play with the cats, maybe get up two or three times because I’m restless. Before I know it it’s 7 o’clock. I know this because Loki has been spending the past hour or so moaning and pawing at me to feed him breakfast. So then I get up, feed the beasts, open the windows and go back to bed.

And since I’m not forcing myself to get up I sometimes even manage to doze off for another blessed hour or two, which feels amazing. Once or twice since lockdown I even surprised myself by waking up again at noon (!!). Unheard of. But it’s all part of the whole becoming a cat thing. So what does this have to do with green sleeves you ask?

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amigo del día

01 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by in food & drink, gastronomy, restaurants, spain, welcome

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So a couple of weeks ago my friend, and fellow sherry educator, Chelsea Anthon @chelsea_anthon got in touch to tell me about her new non-profit initiative Amigo del Día. It sounded like a great idea to me, so when she asked if I wanted to help out of course I was happy to get involved. For those of you who don’t know Chelsea, she is the founder and driving force behind Sherry Week, which has helped put sherry wines on the international map.

The idea behind Amigo del Día is to help promote independent bars and restaurants as they begin to reopen after the Covid shutdown, and also while they recover. The first campaign is called Let’s Lunch and it is based on the Spanish lunchtime set menu (menu del día) which traditionally includes a starter, main course, dessert, and beverage. Restaurants can register on the website and upload their own menu del día, which they will offer to the public between July 20-30. Registration is free of charge, as is the all the promotion provided, including material that can be downloaded.

For an extra fee Amigo del Día is offering restaurants the option of a menu app that their customers can access by scanning a QR Code with their phones. This digital menu is free for Amigo del Día participants from now until August 1st.

Within a couple of weeks hungry customers will be able to start searching on the Amigo del Día website for participating restaurants in their city, see the menus and check options available (takeaway, delivery, eat-in). They will also be able contact restaurants directly to either book a table or place orders.

It’s still early days but I remember the early days of Sherry Week too and believe that this initiative has legs. I think it’s a great way of not only helping our favourite bars and restaurants get back on their feet, but also to stay with us. Because the effects of Covid are going to be with us for some time to come. And remember that this is an international affair, so you can also look up great places to eat for once we get back to travelling again. I’m so happy to be a part of this.

If you’d like to help spread the word, and help get your own favourite restaurants involved, get in touch by emailing hola@amigodeldia.org and let them know you’d like to be a part of the Amigo del Día team of global ambassadors.

Meanwhile, you can follow @amigodeldia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.