Tag Archives: friends

new year’s eve (day)

31 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by in fiestas, sevilla

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I just read about a town in Galicia called Vilagarcía that celebrates NYE at 12.00 noon on the 31st of December, rather than wait until midnight. They do the whole shebang, with a countdown and eating the 12 lucky grapes, but at a much more sensible hour. Me, I’ve been doing this for years (without the grapes).  I prefer going out to celebrate during the afternoon, usually having a lovely lunch with a friend, drinking cava, etc, so that by New Year’s Eve I am back at home in pyjamas with the cats, watching movies and chatting with friends around the globe on whatsapp.

This time lunch was with Lucy @sparkybakewell, and we had a fabulous time. What do you like doing on New Year’s Eve?

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christmukkah!

27 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by in casa azahar, cats, christmas, food & drink, friends

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So Martha is back in town! And so we planned to meet up on Christmas day for a Christmas Hanukkah mash-up at my place. Well, first we had to stop at Las Teresas for jamón and cava. Then it was back to Casa Azahar for the carrillada al oloroso I’d prepared the day before. We were also prepped, wearing comfy clothes and ready to eat, drink and watch Christmas movies with the cats. And so we did. And it was fabulous.  🙂


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another family christmas party!

26 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by in christmas, family, friends, sevilla

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Following the lovely pre-Christmas Eve family dinner on Monday was an actual Christmas Eve dinner, this time with the family of my pal Jota (owner of La Chalá and Lola por Diós), and our friend Esteban (Vermutería Yo Soy Tu Padre) and his mother. When I arrived Jota was busy in the kitchen – he prepared the entire meal on his own – so I chatted with his parents and other family and friends while we waited for Esteban and Tanya to arrive. Everyone was so charming and friendly… and as it turned out most of them are originally from Galicia.

As you can see, it really was a feast. Not showing are the four thousand desserts and endless bottles of wine… I ended up rolling home around 2.30 and was far from chipper on Christmas morning. But it was another wonderful family gathering. I think this has been my best ever Christmas in Sevilla!

Fabulous feast!

My boys! Jota & Esteban ❤

family christmas party

23 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by in christmas, family, friends

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I was thrilled to be invited to a pre-Christmas family lunch by María Paz (on the right in photo), whom I’ve known since I first arrived in Sevilla over 26 years ago. I thought it was just going to be a casual thing with immediate family so imagine my surprise when I got to her place to find about 30 people spanning 4 generations gathered around various tables set up for the meal. This was supposed to be their usual Christmas Eve gathering, but some of the grandchildren were leaving the next morning for Madrid so they decided it move it up a day.

It was a potluck affair with everyone bringing something they’d prepared at home, with the star dish being María Paz’s famous partridge in chocolate. But really, all the food was wonderful, and there was so much of it. Plus plenty of wine, and desserts galore. I could barely move when it was finally time to move. In typical Spanish fashion, lunch finally finished around 8 pm, but this also included a lengthy sobremesa and everyone (one at a time to cheers and applause) opening their Secret Santa gift. It was total chaos most of the time and I totally loved it. Such a lovely way to start Christmas.  🙂

my second endoscopy

19 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by in cancer, hospitals, sevilla

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My first endoscopy was in March 2018 and this past Monday my oncologist decided to do another one to compare with the results from almost two years ago. I was shocked when I got a call yesterday saying that my endoscopy would be today! Was it so fast because someone had cancelled or because my situation was deemed so serious that a test was required ASAP? Anyhow, they’ve also taken samples for a biopsy, so now it’s wait and see again.

The last one seemed to go more smoothly than today’s. For some reason I was really gaggy and it was very unpleasant – I don’t remember this happening last time. The nurse said that next time I should ask for a stronger anaesthetic.

My friends Claudia and Paul met me at the hospital because it was recommended that I have someone with me in case I was groggy after the procedure. Mostly I was thirsty because I wasn’t allowed to have even a drop of water for six hours before the procedure. I also hadn’t eaten since about 8 pm yesterday, so after finishing up at the hospital at 5.00 pm, we ended up finding a tapas bar with an open-all-day kitchen. And now I am home again, planning on an early night.

Apparently nothing now will happen until mid-to-late January, which is when they expect the biopsy results back. So as long as nothing was perforated and I don’t die of sepsis in my sleep things should be fine… for now.