on travelling (and living) with anxiety

23 Thursday May 2019

Posted by in cancer, friends, getaways, health & happiness

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crossing bridges…

As I put together the posts for last week’s London Getaway (done after I got home) I realised I was almost enjoying the visit more in retrospect than when I was actually there. Don’t get me wrong – it was wonderful meeting up with my friends, and going to the Spanish Embassy party was an amazing experience. And Nicola’s apartment was lovely. But when I wasn’t with friends or otherwise occupied I felt quite stressed and anxious most of the time. In fact, this anxiety started about a week before I left, since I am actually terrified of flying. I was lucky that Peter agreed to stay over while I was gone to take care of the cats, as that was one less thing to worry about. But still, I was very nervous about my trip to London, even before I got there.

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roma & john & jane

22 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by in food & drink, friends, tapas, tapas bars

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Roma, John & Jane

So Jane & John were back in town this past week. They’d told me of their plans for a return visit quite awhile ago and I was looking forward to spending time with them, but then the London trip suddenly came up and I ended up being away for most of their visit. But we had a lovely lunch at Vida Loca yesterday, and today met up one more time at La Barra de Inchausti for a last meal together.

With Roma! Who just arrived in Sevilla yesterday. I first met Roma on a tapas tour in 2014 and she has been back to Spain a few times since then. We last saw each other in Córdoba a couple of years ago when Peter & I went to “do feria” with her there. It’s very seldom (if ever?) that my various friends from around the globe end up meeting, so this was fun. Also looking forward to a quick trip to Cádiz with Roma over the weekend.

andalusia – recipes from seville and beyond

21 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in books, friends, getaways, london

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Got a surprise delivery today – my own SIGNED copy of José Pizarro’s new cookbook! I’m so excited. This was so unexpected but also just the sort of thing José would do. You may remember when he came to town last May with his team to do research for this book, and I took them around to some of my favourite traditional bars. I was thrilled to see at the Spanish Embassy party last week that not only was I given a mention in the acknowledgements, but there was also a photo of us from our day out. And now I have my own copy!

It’s a gorgeous book and I can’t wait to try out the recipes. Publishing date is May 30th but you can pre-order it here from Amazon. Happy cooking!

Andalusia – Recipes From Seville and Beyond