Tag Archives: seville

sevilla silver anniversary

17 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by in 25th anniversary, casa azahar, cats, home, sevilla, spain

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Yesterday was my Sevilla Silver Anniversary! 25 years ago I moved into that studio apartment up there in calle Mateos Gago, which was where I spent my first year in Sevilla. It was a memorable day for many reasons, arriving in town at precisely 8 pm on September 16th after a long drive from Salamanca with all my worldly possessions and two screaming cats (Lua and Sunny). And THEN having to wait in the car for three hours because the landlord was late. Luckily we found parking right out front, and the friendly gang at Bar Campanario brought drinks and snacks out to the car for us.

Somehow this year the date had slipped my mind, so there was no time to organize a special party like I did for my 20th anniversary. Though that party didn’t take place on the 16th either, so I guess there’s still time. We’ll see.

To celebrate I almost did another getaway with Peter, this time to Mérida and Cáceres (which would have also fit as they were on my route Salamanca-Sevilla), but that was also a bit too last minute to organize. So instead I met Peter at midday yesterday and we went on a little tapeo, visiting some of the places I’ve known and loved all this time – Las Teresas, Bodeguita Romero, Casa Román – and finishing at La Azotea (where Bar Campanario used to be). It was a lovely day.

Back then it would never have occurred to me that I would end up working with all these fabulous bars on my Sevilla Tapas Tours. Something that has become somewhat tainted by recent copy-cat tours (while we were at Las Teresas one was there with a big group, overtaking the bar, being loud and obvious, and ruining the natural bar ambiance) but you know what? I was there long before these wanna-bes and I also know they are merely “tolerated” by my bars, not loved by them like I am. It’s a shame these other companies can’t use their imagination and create their own tours like I did. After all, there are more than 3,000 tapas bars in Sevilla.

But yeah, I’ve come a long way. From a young-ish 36-year-old arriving in this glorious city on a wing and a prayer in 1993. And after close to 15 years teaching English, and then almost 2 years being laid low by cancer and treatment, I ended up finding the work I was always meant to do. I get to meet people from all over the world, share my experiences to optimize their enjoyment of Sevilla and its fabulous food and wine, and – I won’t lie 😉 – I also get to TALK A LOT. Love it.

So… 25 years.  Wow. Seriously wow.

noche de pescaíto

16 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in culture, flamenco

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The noche de pescaíto (night of the fried fish) is a time-honoured tradition, taking place on Monday evening before the lighting up (the alumbrao) of the April fair grounds  at midnight. Until now. When the powers that be decided last year that Feria should be extended to include two weekends – the more money to make, my dears – this meant that the alumbrao would now take place on Saturday night. Along with the pescaíto. Except at one special location in Sevilla that will not give up the traditional Monday evening custom.

The Antigua Abacería de San Lorenzo is host to all manner of weird and wonderful special events that celebrate various Sevillano traditions. And nobody does seasonal window dressing quite like husband & wife owners Ramón and María Carmen. It’s always a bit chaotic there and always a lot of fun.

I actually learned a couple of things tonight. First that THE sherry drink of the Sevilla feria (manzanilla) is a relatively recent thing – 30 years ago it used to be fino. ALSO… this whole noche de pescaíto thing is also only about 30 years old, and nobody seems to know how it started. Other than the evening before the alumbrao there were obviously people still setting up their casetas and having a casual meal before it all got lit up. Why it ended up being a fried fish meal remains a mystery (since you can actually have fried fish all week long at Feria). But whatever. The pescaíto and manzanilla at the Abacería tonight were great!

arroces at alabardero

21 Wednesday Feb 2018

Posted by in events, food & drink, sevilla

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[click on image to enlarge]

This week we were once again at the annual rice cooking demonstration held by the Escuela Superior de Hostelería de Seville at the Taberna del Alabardero, presided over by master rice chef Juan Tamarit.

The school is regarded as one of the best in Spain training people for the hospitality and catering industries, with hands on experience in the bar-restaurant-hotel of the Taberna, a rather splendid 19th century building in the heart of the old city.

The demonstration itself was held in the main courtyard of the building, on a day bright enough to open up the roof for an almost out of doors experience. After the demonstration, of course, comes the sampling of the results (always my favourite part). This time we had a traditional rabbit and chicken paella, a seafood rice, and a vegetarian rice, washed down with a nice glass of chilled Tío Pepe. And of course, as always, the chance to touch base with friends and colleagues in the biz.

A big thank you to all those involved in organizing this event. You can register here to take one of the courses being held throughout the week.

Also posted on Azahar’s Sevilla