18 Wednesday Oct 2023
Posted in food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars
These two! 💛 Susie & James first came out on a tapas tour with me in November 2016, and were back in town for a quick visit so we met up to reconnect and reminisce. Fabulous afternoon out at Bodeguita Romero and Salmedina. Now that they are (mostly) living in Portugal perhaps I’ll see them more often?
22 Friday Sep 2023
My friend Anne is one of the most thoughtful gift givers I know. Not only because she thinks about giving people gifts (which she loves to do) but she also thinks it through and somehow, at least with me, always gets it right. And trust me, I’m not the easiest person to give things to, simply because I think my tastes are difficult to pinpoint. So normally when someone surprises me with a gift I wince a bit inwardly knowing that I’ll smile and say it’s lovely (and I’ll mean it because the thought is always lovely) while also knowing I will never use, wear, read whatever it is.
But not with Anne. So when she surprised me with this fabulous book last week at the Lustau Cata Magistral I had a look, saw it was signed by both the author and illustrator, and thanked her so much, knowing I was going to love it even though I didn’t really know what I was looking at.
Later when I got home I had a better look at this beautiful love letter to Jerez. Journalist MarÃa José Solano and artist Miki Leal bring Jerez to life on these delightful pages and I can’t wait to read it.
Thanks again, Anne! Though I’m still a bit miffed you got me hooked on those azahar oil stick diffusers a few years ago THAT ARE NOW DISCONTINUED. 😘
06 Wednesday Sep 2023
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Honestly I know the loveliest people. For example, Emilio at Casa Moreno, who always gives you a handwritten bill at the end of your visit. And who is also the resident poet and philosopher. I have received many personal notes, his tiny works of art, over the years. Birthdays, holidays, or just because. But today I told Emilio about it being my Sevilla 30th Anniversary and so when I asked for the bill this is what he gave me. I loved it so much that I bought a little frame for it on my way home so it can sit on the bookcase next to my desk and make me smile every day. Gracias Emilio xx
21 Monday Aug 2023
Posted in casa azahar, food & drink, friends
The last time Paul was here we got to talking about the HOT MESS that is my website setup. I mean, it’s ridiculous really but, in my defence, when I first started building self-hosted websites I was learning as I went. But at this point anyone looking at my FTP file manager would just shake their head (as Paul did) and say “what the fuck?”. So, as this is actually his work, I asked him if he could help me with, ahem, tidying things up a bit. At first we tried this via WhatsApp but then decided it would be better to wait until he was back in Sevilla. Which is now!
We decided the best time would be on a Sunday afternoon (yesterday) when things are pretty quiet around here and, as it’s also back up to 42º, nobody really wants to be outside. To make it feel less like work for Paul I said that after we finished we could get some takeaway pizzas and he could help me with one or two of these lovely red wines from Mallorca and Valencia that have been hanging around for a couple of years. I’m more a white wine girl, so having company – the first time having someone over who wasn’t a handyman since 2019! – seemed a good time to crack these babies open.
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!
casa azahar 