Tag Archives: getaways

london getaway 2017 | day 1

31 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in food & drink, getaways, london, travel, trips, welcome

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This most recent London Getaway came about when I was invited to be a judge at the World Sherry Awards, being held on April 4th. At first I was going to just go for a couple of nights and stay with Jo & Mark, but then it turned out that they were going to be away and, like on a couple of other occasions, I would have their lovely apartment to myself. So then I asked if it would be okay to stay a few extra days and have Peter come along, and it turned out that was fine.

There were two reasons for asking Peter along. One was that he hadn’t been back to London in something like 30 years, and I knew he would love seeing the city again. But also, when I was there last summer I was plagued by my old nemesis Panic Attack, which actually surprised me as I hadn’t been bothered by them since the Cancer Thing. I don’t know why they started happening again, but in the end they became quite debilitating, so having a companion with me this trip seemed like a good idea. And it was!

Anyhow, after saying goodbye to sandal weather at Sevilla airport we arrived in chilly London in time to get the express train to Liverpool Street Station, then an Uber to the Wapping apartment, and then make it over to local wine bar Victualler before it closed. It was a nice way to start off the trip, with a light snack and a glass of wine, and a bit of a walk, before heading back “home”.

the lovely Wapping apartment

azahar gourmet getaways

28 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, instagram, spain, tapas tours, travel, trips

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Back in August 2013 I started my first Instagram account and called it @azahar, which as many of you know, has been my internet handle for a dozen years or more. Back then I didn’t actually think I’d end up using Instagram that much, which is why I opted for my “personal” name, rather than my “biz” name of Sevilla Tapas. Then last year I created a couple other Instagram accounts, @sevillatapas and @sevillatapastours, which were basically redirect accounts, because many people would refer to me on Instagram as @sevillatapas, since that original Instagram account had indeed become mostly about food & wine (and occasional cats pics).

Then in February 2016 I swapped names, taking @sevillatapas for my original Instagram account. But what to do with the @azahar name? One I personally identify with – in fact all of my blogs and webites have the word azahar in them somewhere. I didn’t want to stop using it, or worse, lose it. Well, as I was also starting on a new project – Azahar Gourmet Getaways – at the time, I decided to start using the newly renamed @azahar Instagram to promote that project, and so far it’s been working out nicely. I won’t start separate Twitter or Facebook pages for this project (yet) and, for the moment, it is simply being offered as a one of my Sevilla Tapas Tour options, even though it’s not specifically Sevilla-based. The focus is more on travel and cuisine throughout Andalucía.

Anyhow, hope to see you all on the @azahar Instagram too!  🙂

some sanlúcar memories

17 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in andalucia, getaways, travel, trips

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Bajo de Guiá – where the Guadalquivir meets the sea

Two days before leaving for Sanlúcar the weather forecast abruptly changed from lovely and sunny to RAIN for all three days of the getaway. And with thunderstorms on the last day. But aside from a bit of rain the first morning, we were spared. Okay, it wasn’t blue skies and sunny, but I was so happy it wasn’t raining, since we did a LOT of walking over those three days. Here are a few of my favourite pics.

lemon tree in the bodega garden

neighbourhood bar
looking out over Sanlúcar rooftops

fabulous catavinos bar table
donkeys being prepped for the San José pilgrimage
dusk view of the square from my hotel room