23 Wednesday Sep 2026
Posted in sevilla, amigos, food & drink, friends, spain
It’s always fun when Paul comes to town and this time we had him here for ten days! Well, I didn’t see him ALL of those days, but enough times to have plenty of good meals and good times. And just like last year he was here to help celebrate my Sevilla Anniversary, which led to this surprise from chef Javi when we went to Lalola. Anyhow, that’s it until next time, which hopefully will be in a couple of months (this time it was an unprecidented 8 months between visits!).
20 Thursday Aug 2026
Posted in friends, sevilla, social media, spain
Tags
Meet Evan, someone I first “met” when he became a paid subscriber (!!!) to Bitesize Sevilla a few months ago and then we got to chatting a bit. I found out he’d recently moved to Sevilla from Memphis and had set up home in the Macarena barrio. Anyhow, after chatting a bit we decided to meet up, which we have done a couple of times now (with Peter joining us for tapas) and it’s been great. It’s especially lovely to meet another social introvert because we both “get it”. Also Evan is fun, smart, has a dog I have yet to meet, and we both share a love of El Corte Inglés (it has everything!).
He is also a political analyst and essayist, the managing editor of Wonkette and owner/editor of The Moral High Ground. So if your interests run to excellent political writing, both serious and satirical, go check him out. Nice to have a new neighbour, both online and irl, and a willing “extra stomach” for doing Tapas Research.
02 Thursday Jul 2026
Tags
My friend Paul died yesterday in the wee hours and was cremated this morning in Jerez. It still feels unreal, even though we’ve known for some time now that this was going to be the only outcome. Paul was first diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of cancer about five years ago and, although he rallied a few times after surgery and chemo, and other treatments, in the end the treatments stopped working and it was time to go.
I last saw Paul when I was in Jerez at the end of May for Vinoble. On our last afternoon there Peter and I stopped by for a short visit. As much as I hoped to see him, which I was pretty sure was going to be for the last time, I also didn’t want to impose because I knew how hard this has been for his wife Anne, and I also wasn’t sure if he’d be up for visitors. So we stayed for about 45 minutes and, well, he was mostly there. In any case, I’m glad I got a chance to see him, give him a hug and a kiss and tell him that I love him.
Paul was very… Paul. He loved telling terrible jokes and had a repertoire of stories and tales that he delighted in recounting in his own exuberant way. He also loved good food and wine and sharing both with his friends. I’ve been out with Paul and Anne, both in Jerez and Sevilla, more times than I can remember. Always a good time, and I’ll miss that. I’ll also miss my WhatsApp “relationship” with Paul, which began shortly after he was diagnosed. I guess because he knew I’d had cancer he felt able to share his experiences with me there, and I hope I was able to provide some company and comfort for him.
Anyhow, thanks for all the good times, Paul. For being a good friend. For being your irrepressible self. And for liking me. Hasta siempre, amigo mio. ❤️
Paul at the María Luisa hotel insisting that HE make the martinis,
the barman wisely didn’t try to stop him… still the best martini I’ve ever had.
18 Thursday Jun 2026
This week Deb and Claire were back in town and I was lucky enough to meet up with them twice! Last time Deb came in October and it was a bit too early for her to pick up her L’Armanaque de Sevilla for this 2026 so I managed to get them both a fridge magnet of the calendar cover from Alfredo (better than nuthin’).
We had two lovely lunches together, first at La Cochera del Abuelo and then Augurio. It was also Birthday Week for Claire so we toasted her birthday as well as Deb’s (almost) early retirement and, of course, Dan Jamón. Several times. It’s been great having them back again.
12 Friday Jun 2026
Tags
I can’t remember the last time I saw Michelle and Chris (they can’t remember either) but we reckon it was during a visit to Málaga (they live in Estepona) when we had cocktails on a rooftop bar and were entertained by a bullfighter strutting around naked in his hotel room, curtains wide open (he knew what he was doing). Last night we were also entertained by bullfighters, but fully dressed this time, when we stopped for a nightcap at the Hotel Colón on the way home.
But before that we had met up at Cafetería Donald and spent the evening catching up and just enjoying each others company, along with some lovely tapas and wine. Good times.
