Tag Archives: sevilla

rafael

03 Saturday Aug 2019

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

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raphael

I’ve known Rafael almost forever and he is without a doubt one of my favourite people in Sevilla. Some of you might recognise him as “the best jamón cutter in town” from posts on my blog and instagram. He is also the person who changed my life in terms of sherry by one day giving me a glas of VORS palo cortado by Bodegas Tradición, which led to me going on to become a Sherry Educator. But I know him best as just one of the loveliest guys ever, always willing to chat and share his stories about growing up in Sevilla.

Back in June I noticed that I hadn’t seen Rafael at his usual jamón cutting station at Las Teresas (aka My Happy Place) for some time, but assumed he was on summer holidays. Then July came and still no sign of him, so I asked where he was. Turned out he had suffered a heart attack (!!!) and was on medical leave of absence, which has since turned into retirement. But I was told he was fine and still popped by the bar most days, usually in the early afternoon.

So of course I was thrilled to run into him at Teresas this week. I think it was the first time I’d ever seen him without his usual white shirt and dark tie “uniform” and, while he looked a bit thinner he insisted that he was feeling fine and enjoying his early retirement. It’s funny how some people can feel like such an important part of your life even though they aren’t actually “close friends” as such. So while I know I will continue to miss seeing Rafael behind the bar, I am so happy and relieved that he is okay and doing well. Though my Happy Place won’t be the same without him.

toasted!

01 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in casa azahar, cooking, home

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What can I say? It’s dangerous going to El Corte Inglés after getting a nice tip on a Sevilla Tapas Tour. Because all of a sudden I needed to buy a sandwich maker! Justifications: 1) I’ve never had one before and 2) it was on sale! Also, there was that crazy good sounding savoury waffle recipe I saw on Twitter a couple of months ago that left me wishing I had a waffle iron (and dammit, if I’d had one then I would’ve actually saved that recipe). Another cool thing is that until I looked online for photos of this bad boy I didn’t realise it was designed to store upright – bonus!

To be honest, I probably won’t use this a lot, and when I do it will likely just be for grilled cheese toasties, but it’s been awhile since I bought myself a kitchen gadget (the mandolina back in 2017 that has yet to leave its box) so what the heck. What was the last frivolous thing you bought for yourself?

self help

29 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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In most bars this is known as “la carta” (the menu) but here at Casa Moreno Emilio calls it “la lista de auto ayuda” (the self help list). This week I’m doing the rounds – stopping in at my favourite bars that are going to be closed in August for their much deserved summer holidays. It’s nice doing this, just to have a drink with them and say… see you in September! Also, I get kisses.  🙂

at the office

27 Saturday Jul 2019

Posted by in articles, travel

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If any of you don’t already know that I’ve been GOING THROUGH IMPOSTER’S SYNDROME HELL writing this commissioned article about Galicia – which was the reason I went to Galicia two weeks ago – then, you know, where have you been?? 😉

Okay, I have actually written a lot. Way over the word limit I was given. The thing is that it all sounds like total crap to me and doesn’t seem very cohesive.  BECAUSE I AM NOT A WRITER, OMG, STOP ASKING ME TO WRITE THINGS. STOP IT NOW.

But then I remembered that my friend Ania said it sometimes helps to get out of the house, find a café or somewhere else to write for awhile… and in desperation I took this advice today. And hey… it worked!

Well okay… “worked”. Still not sure about that but it certainly helped. And I think part of it was – duh – using pen and paper, rather than just writing on the computer. I dunno, there’s something organic about physically writing that seemed to help me put my thoughts together a bit better. And well, the article is still not done, but at least I now feel like I’m a bit more organised. Thanks Ania!

tied up in knots

26 Friday Jul 2019

Posted by in health & happiness, home

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It was a normal day. I was working on this and that, spent most of the day at home thinking I would go out in the evening for a walk. Made a healthy “fridge forage” lunch that had plenty of fresh veg, some chicken and noodles. Then I relaxed a bit late afternoon, and then… OMG.

Suddenly I was hit by serious sharp abdominal pain, though not the same as what I experienced last week. This was way more intense. Thinking I could maybe “walk it off” I headed out to buy some ink for my printer, at the new shopping mall over the river. Halfway across the bridge I thought – uh oh, this isn’t normal – but then the violent cramps subsided and so I kept on. Bought my stuff, headed home, almost vomited in a public bin on the side of the street, but somehow made it back. And then it got much worse.

I crawled into bed, scared and in PAIN… it was so bad that I was actually crying out. Like all my insides were tied up in knots, like I was being turned inside out. I was so afraid I would end up back in emergency. Finally I fell asleep and when I woke up again in the middle of the night I drank some water (kept it down) and things seemed okay from then on in. But you know… WTF?