Nope, not getting up. Since Loki died Morcilla has completely taken over the bed. Her sole ownership of me is complete. 🧡🐈⬛
caturday august 12th 2023
12 Saturday Aug 2023
Posted in casa azahar, cats, caturday, home
deepl
11 Friday Aug 2023
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My friend Fiona @seville_writer told me about this AI online translator couple of months ago, saying it was much better than Google Translate (what isn’t?), but the name didn’t register and I forgot about it until I saw this pop up on my Twitter feed in a Forbes article saying that DeepL was on their Cloud 100 list this year. So I checked back with Fiona and, yep, the very one. And so far it does seem superior to Google with the language coming out sounding much more natural or, as DeepL puts it, “human sounding”.
Will this mark the end of menu translation howlers all across Spain? I kind of hope not, but if you haven’t tried DeepL then give it a go. There’s a phone app and also browser add-ons.
they’re back!
10 Thursday Aug 2023
Posted in food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars
What a surprise this was! Yesterday afternoon I was all cosy in my comfy chair reading National Dish when I get a message from Ana (aka Mrs O) saying they were heading to Lisbon from Sotogrande and decided last minute to stop off in Sevilla for dinner and spend the night. Four hours later Ana, Simon, little O and I were perched on bar stools at Cinco Jotas enjoying manzanilla and jamón and waiting for Casa Morales to open (I called ahead to Morales so when we arrived my usual table was reserved for us).
Their last visit was in November when they came for a weekend with Ana’s family and a family friend, and I was thinking how great it was to see them again so soon. THEN I found out that they are now living full time in Sotogrande and they’ve even started a new business down there called Collect Corner (check it out if you live in the area) and so we’re practically neighbours now. Anyhow, a lovely surprise and a lovely evening catching up with lovely friends in one of my favourite places. Really made my day!
national dish
09 Wednesday Aug 2023
Posted in books, food & drink, sevilla
Look what came today! This was the second book I ordered last week, along with The Book of Sherry Wines, bringing my total book purchases since downsizing in 2017 to a resounding three (the third, well, first one was The Wines of Northern Spain by my friend (and Master of Wine) Sarah Jane Evans.
National Dish is by Anya von Bremzen and looks like it’s going to be delightful. I had a teeny-tiny part in it when Anya and her partner Barry were here doing research in the spring of 2019 and we met up a couple of times, going to a few bars where I introduced her to the owners who agreed to be interviewed. It’ll be hard not to skip ahead to the chapter on Sevilla!
In this engrossing and timely journey to the crossroads of food and identity award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen explores six of the world’s most fascinating and iconic culinary cultures—France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey—brilliantly weaving cuisine, history, and politics into a work of scintillating connoisseurship and charm.
taking a break
08 Tuesday Aug 2023
Posted in casa azahar, life stuff, sevilla
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Well, kind of. I had a lovely lunchtime sherry tasting today with a lovely couple from London and now… that’s it for the next three weeks (!!!). I hadn’t planned it like this but I actually think this is going to be good for me (other than financially, obviously). So I guess what I really mean is that I won’t be doing any paid work for the rest of the month.
BUT… I have my new lifestyle tweaks to make routine, and that will be easier to do with open days to see how to best fit stuff in. I also have a couple of work projects hovering out there… waiting for me to have time to spend with them to hopefully get them moving forward. And I have two new books to read!
What I won’t be doing is taking a break from my online life. People often suggest I “disconnect” for a while and relax, but frankly the idea of that totally stresses me out. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys. And for the most part my “work” and my “life” are one and the same. It just wouldn’t make sense for me to go out for lunch, or for a walk, and not take photos to share with you later. And of course I’ll be keeping my Sevilla Tapas webiste updated.
But as sleep (as in, getting enough) is another of my new goals I may have to forfeit having my phone in bed with me.
So it will be a staycation in my lovely Casa Azahar and of course wandering around Sevilla when it isn’t too hot (this week it’s 42-44ºC). Finding out what I would do if I didn’t have to be anywhere or do anything other than what I want to do. Sounds like a holiday to me!
casa azahar 