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…that feeling when you go out for a quiet meal and some fucker at the next table starts painting you. 😉
27 Tuesday Nov 2018
Posted in art, humour, social media
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…that feeling when you go out for a quiet meal and some fucker at the next table starts painting you. 😉
21 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted in food & drink, friends
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I first met Becky, Scott and their 4 kids in December 2015, after they had taken a We Love Tapas Tour with the fabulous Delia. And that Christmas Day I spent a wonderful afternoon with them. Then in the spring of 2017 Scott came back to Sevilla with a friend and took a Sherry & Tapas Tour with me. The family has been back to Spain a few times since then, but this time Becky was passing through Sevilla with three of her brood (husband and eldest stayed home this trip), and we got to meet up for a lovely lunch.
Wow, what a difference 2.5 years have made, as you can see from the two photos above. Honestly, I love these kids (NOT a phrase you hear me say often 😉 ). They are so inquisitive and fun to be with. And of course, it was great to catch up with Becky. After lunch we stopped at Rayas for ice cream and then it was time to say “hasta luego”. Plans are afoot for a return visit to Sevilla in October. Can’t wait!

23 Monday Jul 2018
Posted in blogging, social media
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I had to open a personal Facebook page a few years ago in order to have FB Pages for my business(es). But I never used the personal page because, well, I just don’t like Facebook. Then a while back I noticed that I could publish my Casa Azahar blog post links on other platforms (FB, Twitter, Tumblr) and so I started doing that. Then I started getting occasional comments on my FB, even though to see the entire blog post you have to click through to WordPress. And so it became just another way of connecting with people, especially those whose only social media is FB.
But that’s all about to end. As of August 1st Facebook will no longer allow third party publishing on personal pages. Why? Who the fuck knows. So my FB personal page is soon to go dark. Apparently you will still be able to third party publish on FB business pages, so my option is to either change my personal FB page to a business one (and why would I do that?) or else start publishing directly on my personal page. But you know what? I simply don’t have time. I don’t use FB, rarely scroll through the timeline, etc. Even on my business pages (Sevilla Tapas & We Love Tapas) pretty much everything published there comes from my Instagram accounts.
I was actually surprised when I started getting all kinds of new FB friend requests on the personal page, since it’s just links to my blog (making it probably the most boring FB page out there). Because my blog, now more than 12 years old, went through a change starting in 2008, while recuperating from various cancer operations and going through chemo twice. It took on another meaning for me, and became almost like a daily “therapy session” when I gave myself the challenge to post something every day, no matter how sick or scared or lost I felt, so that at least each morning I had something to get out of bed for and to work towards. Which meant it turned it into a “daily scrapbook” (dear diary?) kind of blog, and I’ve kept it going that way ever since, mostly because if I ever stopped posting something every day I would feel pressure that the NEXT post will have to be about something interesting or important. 😉
I’ve never been sure how that translated on the FB format, to be honest, or if anyone actually clicked through to read entire blog posts on WordPress, but as of next week I won’t have to think about that anymore. This will be good news for those of you who friended me on FB only to discover that – eek – I just posted a bunch of crap all the time. And for those of you who enjoy reading my stuff, well, you can still find me on the Casa Azahar blog and chat with me here. You can even subscribe (link in the footer) so a wee notice pops in your email when something is posted, in case you forget to look. Well, I guess that’s it. Back to work now…
09 Monday Apr 2018
Posted in food & drink, sevilla, social media, spain, tapas, tapas bars, wine
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The other day someone got in touch with me by email. I didn’t know this person, but it turns out they come to Sevilla every spring and spend a month in Triana… and they often check my tapas bar info against their perceptions. Fair enough! This time they wanted to tell me about a new discovery of theirs, a new vermutería that just happens to be in my barrio. So of course I had to check it out.

It’s called Yo Soy Tu Padre (I Am Your Father) and the name stems from what Venezuela born owner Esteban’s grandfather always liked to say to his father, and also is in no small part a reflection of Esteban’s obsession with Star Wars. Below you can see a photo of Esteban’s grandfather, who also became the image for his logo. This is the third location and the newest. I am thrilled! Because not only does Esteban create all his vermouths from sherry wines, but they also do breakfast at this bar … with bagels! Did I mention it’s just down the street from my house? Will be breakfasting there soon, I think.
Meanwhile, how cool that someone I have never met went out of their way to put me in touch with this wonderful place. Thanks Sally!

13 Thursday Jul 2017
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Back in April I posted this photo from the Sevilla feria on Instagram and then found out this little Sevillanas dancing cutie belonged to Sarah Gemba @spainsavvy (that’s also her daughter and mother-in-law). Thing is, although I’d “known” Sarah via social media for awhile, we’d never met in person, and since that day in April we’ve been attempting to meet up for a chat. You’d think it wouldn’t be that difficult, right? Wrong. So I was delighted to FINALLY meet Sarah over a quick brekky today (forgot to take a pic!).
After moving to Spain over a dozen years ago, and working in various travel/tourism companies since then, Sarah now runs her own travel design business called Spain Savvy. So needless to say we have a lot in common, as well as quite a few mutual friends. Looking forward to getting together again, next time for a bit longer… should be able to manage something by September? 😉