Tag Archives: friends

ginger gourmand

29 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by in food & drink, friends, tapas, tapas tours, twitter

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ginger gourmandLast week while Anna @annalibera was here I also had a long-awaited visit from Naomi @gingergourmand and her husband Andrew @andrewknill. Naomi and I have been Twitter pals for years, so I was very excited when I found out they were coming to Sevilla to celebrate Andrew’s birthday. The night they arrived Anna and I crashed their first meal at Eslava and then we dragged them over to La Pepona because, well, Anna ALWAYS has to go to La Pepona. It’s a beard thing ;). Next day I met up with Naomi & Andrew in the evening for a spontaneous “gourmet tapas tour”, which took us to a few of my fave places. Usually I like to mix things up a bit, but that night we ended up at favourite traditional bars since N & A had already visited a few trendier places. It was lovely.

The cool thing about all the Twitter pals I’ve met over the years is that not only do we have a love of travel, food & wine in common, but usually we’ve been in touch for ages, and know a lot of the same people (either virtually or in person). So when we do finally get to meet up it’s like we’ve known each other for ages. Especially because ALL of us post photos of what we’ve had for lunch. 😛

anna & loki

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, friends

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anna libera

Awhile back my friend Anna @annalibera (@thekilomeaters) requested a night on my sofa bed as she was just doing a quick overnight here in Sevilla to pick up kids and head back to Galicia. So hey, no problem. Though it must be said that it is only a select few for whom “mi casa es tu casa” applies. Mostly because I don’t have a spare room and – more importantly (for me) – an extra bathroom. But one night is one night, right?

It ended up being a wonderful visit. Though the day had got off to a rocky start when I received a message from clients waiting for me at the market to start our tour… the one that I had in my calendar for the following morning!!! So… PANIC. I quick-showered and raced over to the meeting point only to find four lovely Aussies totally relaxed and not concerned at all about the slight delay. Phew! And we had a great time, even going over-time because we were enjoying it all so much. So I got home with just enough time for a second proper shower and quick tidy up before Anna arrived at 4pm.

After a late snacky lunch we went out to do a bit of shopping, then a quick cold beer stop before meeting up with Twitter pals Naomi @gingergourmand and Andrew @andrewknill for tapas (more on them later!). We finally rolled home sometime after midnight and drunkenly made up the sofa bed with curious cats all around us. Luckily Anna is a cat person, as you can see, so she wasn’t concerned about random cats sleeping on her head.  I just love those pics of her with Loki. Two gingers. Which I know is going to make Deb very jealous. Sorry Deb…

relationships

18 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by in friends, sevilla, spam, tapas, tapas tours, work

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relationships

Since launching We Love Tapas I’ve been thinking a lot about the relationships I’ve built over the years with the owners of my favourite bars in Sevilla. My connections with these people goes way back, long before I started doing my own food tours about six years ago. So it’s not just “business related”. Actually, it’s not based on business at all. We all just like and respect each other. So when I started my Sevilla Tapas blog back in 2007 they were keen to be a part of it, and when I began doing tours they were all very supportive.

With We Love Tapas I’ve been very fortunate, with everyone welcoming my fabulous Team just like they are an extension of me, and showing them every courtesy. You have to understand that these people don’t need my business. They are all very successful, with packed bars and regular clientelle. So it’s not like I’m doing them any favours by bringing my tours to their bars. Turns out that they end up doing me favours, by holding tables for me and making sure my people get top service, sometimes with a few perks thrown in. Blows me away. Especially as they are constantly being pestered by new food tour companies showing up and wanting deals. I don’t ask for deals. But they help me out and every now and then I’m asked a favour, and of course I’m always happy to help. Because we’re friends. It’s a wonderful working environment… stopping in to visit your friends all the time. I love my job. 🙂

flavours of spain

17 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in birthdays, food & drink, friends, tapas, twitter

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flavours of spain
I first met Ana & Teresa of @FlavoursofSpain a year ago when they were doing food & wine research near Sevilla. They really only had a few hours here before catching their plane home to the UK, but that was time enough to meet up for a nice lunch at La Azotea.

This week they are back – on holiday this time – to celebrate Teresa’s sister’s 30th birthday and I was delighted to be invited along to be a part of the festivities. We did an impromptu two-stop tapeo, going first to La Pepona and then finishing the evening at Eslava. As you can see, we ate very well (and this wasn’t even all of it!) including finishing off with Eslava’s amazing MANCHEGO ICECREAM. Wow. But Sixto had a special treat up his sleeve, and came out a bit later with a lovely creamy cake and candle.

As you can see, a wonderful time was had by all, and I hope I’ve convinced the girls that they need to come down to Sevilla more often.