20 Tuesday Feb 2024
Anna is back in town for the week and we had planned to meet up today for a quick visit… then this photo popped up in my instagram stories this morning. Taken exactly six years ago after having lunch with Anna and her kids during a previous visit. How random is that? Anyhow, it was great to catch up but Anna forgot to bring the weather with her (usually the Galicia rain followers her here). Ah well.
01 Monday Jan 2024
This morning I turned over the first month of my pal Alfredo Rodríguez’s L’Armanaque de Sevilla to start the year and like a shot Morcilla was there to check it out. And I thought… wtf? She seems to have a thing for his work (see photo below).
So hello 2024, let’s do this! Wishing much wonderfulness to all of you in this upcoming brand new year. It won’t be easy for many of us but remember the ones you love, and who also love you, and that they have your back. And never be afraid to ask for help. ❤️
26 Tuesday Dec 2023
Posted in friends
At first I posted this tongue-in-cheek New Yorker article on Twitter the other day for a laugh. But then I got to thinking that – hey – this might actually be the way forward. No more being blindsided, disappointed or backstabbed out of the blue by someone you thought was a friend that actually liked or cared about you. Just have everything up front from day one!
Plans can be bundled and of course they can be changed at any time. Cancellations accepted with polite notice (explanations not required). Failure to do so just proves you weren’t worth it from the beginning.
So here are my Friendship with Shawn Plans…
Acquaintance Basic
Just the basics. Casual friendly chat and banter. No fuss no muss.
Tapas Research Assistant
Self-explanatory.
Casual Plus
Acquaintance with benefits (no not THOSE benefits). The most popular package which includes a bit of light friendship as required.
Friend
The previous three tiers (and then some) bundled into a fun and friendly package of shared chat and experiences, caring and support. Just remember that it goes both ways.
Premium Content
Trust me, you probably can’t afford this one. 😉
06 Wednesday Dec 2023
Posted in food & drink, friends, sevilla
me, lorna, debs & claire
It’s been just over a year since Deb was last here. This time it was a “girls’ trip” and I was invited to join Deb, Claire and Lorna for lunch. I also got to chose the restaurant so we went to the orginal La Azotea location, where Deb hadn’t been to before (she knows their Santa Cruz one well). Lots of glasses were raised to Dan, love of Deb’s life, and lots of memories shared. Dan died just before Christmas two years ago and Sevilla was their special place. It was where Dan proposed to Deb and somewhere they often came back to. As you can see below lots of glasses were raised in general and, including an extra long penúltima after we left La Azotea, our lunch finally finished around 9pm (!!).
So much fun, though, spending the day with these lovely, smart, caring and funny women. I didn’t want it to end. Looking forward to seeing them all again.
27 Friday Oct 2023
Posted in friends, sevilla, social media, spain, twitter, twitter friends
I’ve known Ali & Kaye on Twitter for ages (and they have been real life best friends since 2011, though they live on opposite sides of the Iberian peninsula) so it was great to finally meet them both in person and take them out on a tapas tour. As they have both been to Sevilla before we decided to eat our way around Triana and it was a fabulous afternoon. Honestly these two are like a comedy team, funny AF and constantly playing off each other, and hey, they thought I was funny too! Always makes a nice change when people think I’m funny and not a cranky old cynic who hates everything and everyone (who me? 😇).
We even went into “overtime” going for a penúlitma after the tour was over and, since I was off the clock, so to speak, I finally felt able to swear properly again. Heck, by our final tapas tour stop we were already sharing pet photos and comparing scars à la Jaws (don’t ask, but I won!). I would have loved to spend more time with these two lovelies, so hopefully that will happen again before too long. Whenever people dis Twitter I always have many happy-making stories like this to counter all those cranky old cynics. 🙂
casa azahar 