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~ my life in sevilla

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Tag Archives: friends

my 27th sevilla anniversary

16 Wednesday Sep 2020

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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27th sevilla anniversary, friends, sevilla, tapas

Twenty-seven years ago today I drove down from Salamanca with a friend and with all my worldly belongings in the back of his car, along with some precious cargo – my two cats Lua and her son Sunny. We arrived in Sevilla at 8 pm, as previously arranged (to meet landlord and pick up keys), and miraculously found parking almost in front of my new home in calle Mateos Gago. But there was no landlord. And as this was 1993 there were no cell phones, so we just waited. And waited. Finally we asked the bar we were parked in front of if we could get something to eat and drink, but we didn’t really want to leave the car because of the cats and all. And bless them, the people at Bar Campanario actually brought food and drink out to our car, like we were at a drive in, and it was lovely. The landlord finally showed up at 11pm full of apologies, but we were fine (though the cats were happy to see a litter box!). Bar Campanario ended up becoming my local, heck even my living room (my studio apt across the street was tiny), and the owners became fast friends.

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adiós pasos largos

26 Wednesday Aug 2020

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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coronavirus, covid-19, friends, sevilla, taberna de pasos largos, tapas, tapas bar

Last Sunday I was out for a walk and, well, FUCK IT WAS HOT, so I thought I’d take a detour on my way home to see if one of my fave places Taberna de Pasos Largos was open for a cold beer (as it used to always be open on Sundays). Well, not only was it closed… IT WAS GONE. I mean, totally gone. Empty. And my heart broke a little, once again.

The toll of this fucking virus can be seen everywhere, but in my own world I am (so far) mostly affected by the restrictions it puts on me, including having lost my job and only source of income, as well as the loss of so many wonderful bars and restaurants. And this time I lost something very special. I don’t even know what to say, other than I will miss Paco, Pepe and Isi very much. Yes the food was great, the wine too, but I will mostly miss just being there with them. So sad.

Paco & Pepe

Isi

Isi

friends in the time of coronavirus

24 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, friends

≈ 6 Comments

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coronavirus, covid-19, friends, sevillla

corona

This is tough. Yes, lockdown was lifted here on June 22nd, and non-essential shops, along with bars and restaurants, were allowed to slowly reopen. And so far that seems to be going well. People are mostly following the rules.

But then Spain immediately opened its borders not just to EU Schengen countries but also to the UK, which was basically WAY BEHIND in their Covid response, and even now have yet to call for a the mandatory use of masks.

After lockdown was lifted here nothing much changed for me. I stayed home, waiting to see what was going to happen. Would there be a second wave of infections two weeks later? How safe was it really? For those who don’t know I am in a high risk situation due to being immunocompromised due to previous cancer and chemo treatments, and also because of my age. So not only am I more likely to catch this fucker, I am also more likely to die from it. A sobering thought.

But I have been out for tapas now… maybe 3-4 times? And also for the occasional cold beer when I’ve been out grocery shopping on my own. Have also had a couple of business meetings and a trip to the hospital. Though I mostly keep myself to a schedule whereby I only go OUT THERE about once a week, and maybe meet up with a friend every other outing. Which leads me to… Continue reading →

oncology update!

19 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by azahar in cancer, coronavirus, friends, hope, hospitals, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars, welcome

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coronavirus, friends, hospitals, sevilla, tapas bars

plaza espanaJust look how fucking gorgeous this is! That is the Plaza de España WITHOUT ANY TOURISTS. My goodness, what a beautiful sight. I snapped this pic while walking home from the hospital today. Finally got my oncology checkup to review all the tests I’ve had done (Feb-March). This got postponed, like most things, by the VIRUS. But today was the day. Luckily I had already been given copies of the test results from my GP so there were no big surprises.

Basically, after another colonoscopy, an upper abdomenal barium x-ray, another CT scan of my thorax and abdomen, and more blood tests, they still don’t know what THE THING is next to my stomach. But it appears to be behaving and they think they can rule out cancer. But short of cutting me open again they can’t know for sure. And they really don’t want to cut me open again. So there will be another CT scan and blood test in September to see if there have been any changes.

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día mundial de la tapa

18 Thursday Jun 2020

Posted by azahar in food & drink, friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars, the new now

≈ 1 Comment

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friends, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

tapas day (3)

I didn’t even realise today was Día Mundial de la Tapa (World Tapas Day)! What a perfect moment to have my first tapa out in 97 days. And well it had to be THOSE gorgeous honey pork ribs at Eslava.

The day started off with a visit to the Alcázar Palace and Gardens, which just opened up to the public on Monday. I thought it would be nice to visit again before the marauding hordes start arriving here on Sunday. So I arranged to meet my friend Corinna at 11.30 (carefully timed so that after our palace visit it would be BEER O’CLOCK).

casaCorinna

Along the way we stopped in at a couple of bars just so I could say hello to people there. It was so lovely seeing dear friends again. Corinna and I  lucked out at Eslava and got a nice socially distanced space at the bar and had an amazing lunch. And I got to see Sixto! He runs Eslava with his wife and I’ve known him for many years. We agreed that the “reopening” in our new now is more than just about business, or even the food. It’s about the people, the ambiance, the… everything! Damn it felt good to be back.

tapas day (4)
Sixto

tapas day (1)

Baby courgette filled with bacalao
Croquetas caseras
Becquer’s cigar
Stuffed courgette flower
Cheesecake
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