Tag Archives: instagram

albert

31 Saturday Mar 2018

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After scoring a prime window seat at Flores Gourmet on Friday evening – all the better to see my favourite Semana Santa sculpture of all El Cachorro – Peter @SVQconcierge and I settled in to await its arrival. The great thing about this situation was that we could sit comfortably with drink in hand and, just as the pasos started passing, I could whip out the door and take my photos.

But I didn’t expect the other bonus of our situation. We ended up chatting with a few people who were in town for SS, and then another guy started talking with us. Albert @amennyc was here on his own and trying to get the most of the whole SS experience. So of course I recommended some of my favourite bars, then later on that same evening we all met up again at La Azotea Zaragoza. From there we made a plan to meet up the following afternoon to tapear and see a few more processions…

We had a great time. I was lovely to meet a new friend and spend the afternoon enjoying the best that Sevilla has to offer. And also a few processions! Albert is living in Lisbon and so plans are afoot to go an visit him there soon.

joel & kelly

30 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by in friends, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas bars, twitter, twitter friends

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Just over four years ago Joel & Kelly first came to Sevilla and we went out on both a Market & Tapas Tour and a Gourmet Tapas Tour together. This time no assistance from me was required, other than to give them a few tips about some new (or new to them) bars they might want to visit. But of course we had to meet up for a bit of sherry, tapas and chat. It was great to catch up. xx

under pressure…

28 Thursday Sep 2017

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So the other day Peter @SVQconcierge and I stopped in for a tapa on the way back from Andalucía Sabor and we were very disappointed in the quality of the fish, especially for a place that specializes in salt cod. It was tough and chewy, not nice at all. I mentioned it to the waiter and he said he’d let them know in the kitchen. Meh. We paid and left.

Later I  posted the photo on Instagram, mentioning how disappointing the tapas had been. Next day I got a call from the owner of the bar pleading with me to “modify” the post – he was clearly very upset that I hadn’t spoken to him first, and feared this negative post would affect his business. Well, first of all, the post was in English and the majority of my followers are not locals. Secondly, well, it was my opinion. I don’t often post a negative comment about places, but this experience had annoyed me.

After a second call from the bar owner I decided to just delete the post. It wasn’t worth “modifying” and I didn’t want to be pestered anymore, though afterwards I felt a bit annoyed with myself that I caved. Had it been a Sevilla Tapas review I wouldn’t have changed a word, but I’m still not sure I did the right thing.

Anyhow, after deleting the post the bar owner called me again, thanking me, and saying I would be invited to their next “new menu” tasting. Uh… no thanks.

#beeroclock

13 Wednesday Sep 2017

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I’ve been doing the Beer O’clock thing on my Sevilla Tapas Instagram for years, and can’t even imagine how many beer pics I’ve taken, but this is definitely one of my favourites. In fact I’d love this orange tree tile panel in my living room.

Then it occurred to me that if I ever wanted to see all those beer pics again (you never know), I should have been adding a more specific hashtag, other than #beeroclock. So I came up with #azaharbeer and added it to a few of the older photos, but it would take hours (days?) to re-tag them all. I know this because I remember it took forever when I re-tagged ALL my Instagram cat pics with #azaharcats, and there weren’t nearly as many as the beer ones. Maybe I’ll save this activity for when I can’t sleep at night – it should surely put me back to sleep.

elaine

17 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, sevilla

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Remember when I met Tim @clinchpics earlier this month? Well, turns out his friend Elaine also runs workshops at the same fabulous place –  Finca Buenvino – in the beautiful Aracena mountains. So while she was in Sevilla this week we met up a couple of times. First was taking in the whole Corpus Christi thang, as usual before the actual procession starts. We walked the route, then went for brekkie, and afterwards watched some of the procession before heading home.

Later that same evening Elaine joined me on a tapas tour, with two other couples, and it was great fun. She has such great energy and is smart, sassy and well-travelled. We really had a great time together. The good news is that Elaine has fallen in love with Sevilla and is working on a plan to live here at least a few months a year… so we may end up being neighbours!

jose toro walkers

02 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in instagram, photos, sevilla

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One of my favourite Instagram feeds is by Sevilla-based JoseToro.0, which features, well, people walking. Wonderful slice of life photos (go have a look and come back). Then last December José started a second account called JoseToroWalkers (also the hashtag he uses on his personal account) as people from around the world have been capturing #josetorowalker images and sharing the hashtag.

So here is my first one, captured while walking from one bar to the next (yeah, I know…). And it turns out that this fellow is quite well-known in the barrio. You can also see it on my Instagram here… https://www.instagram.com/p/BUzaDnvjR9p/

clinchpics

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, instagram, photos, sevilla, tapas, twitter, twitter friends, wine

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Yet another online friend I’ve “virtually” known for years. Although Tim @clinchpics has passed through Sevilla many times en route to his photography workshops at Finca Buenvino in the beautiful Aracena mountains, this time he decided to stop off for a couple of days and take in the sights. And so, after meeting up for a quick manzanilla at Las Teresas, we headed over to La Sal for lunch. And WHAT a lunch it was…

[click on image to enlarge]

La Sal specializes in all things tuna (the original family-run restaurant is in Zahara de los Atunes) and as we are in the almadraba season – the annual sustainable tuna catch off the coast of Cádiz – it seemed like the perfect time to revisit the Sevilla location. Seriously, it was one of the most spectacular meals I’ve had in quite awhile, starting off with marinated sardines on toast, followed by tuna loin cured in pork fat (wow) and a delicious bite of “something tuna” which ingredients now escape me. After that some tuna in tempura with bonito flakes (delish) and a “bento box” of six delightful tuna bites. Finally we opted for the tuna morillo (collar) baked in salt and served with Japanese style noodles. You can watch Antonio serving it here…

The wine and conversation flowed and it felt like I’d known Tim forever. And as so often happens we stopped for a post-lunch Penúltima (or three) at La Azotea (aka The Office). Then it was time for me to get home, and so I left Tim with a tapas bar Plan of Action for the evening, feeling happy to have met a new friend and kindred spirit.

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!  🙂

richard

14 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by in friends, instagram, internet, sevilla, tapas, tapas bars

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richard

That’s Richard @lucidcontent on the right, with his friend Neil. I’ve “known” Richard on Instagram for a couple of years now, the connection between us being his best friends David & Julie, who came out with me on a tapas tour a couple of years ago. Anyhow, Richard was passing through town this week and we got a chance to meet up in person. A very nice evening!

david-co-3Dave, Julie & family