Tag Archives: spain

the very BEST

12 Thursday Sep 2024

Posted by in gastronomy, restaurants, sevilla

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

hake

Well this could also describe my lovely friend Reyes but in this case it also describes the VERY BEST hake I have ever tasted in my life. No kidding. Reyes and I were out having an early celebration lunch for my Sevilla 31st Anniversary (coming up this Monday but I’ll be stuck in an MRI machine, hence the early celebration). Anyhow… we went to try our pal Iván’s original Ivantxu Espacio Bistronómico (having previously gone to his new restaurant La Carmela) and we weren’t disappointed. We were also smart enough to let Iván choose our dishes and when he said – you MUST try the hake – we did. And I mean, I like hake but I did not expect this. Pan-grilled line-caught hake served with a gazillion slivers of sweet garlic and “pan potatoes”. None of these words actually describe this dish. The hake was lightly seared, tender yet still firm, the garlic caramalised and melty and those fucking potatoes. One of the most simple dishes – santurce style, look it up – but in the deft hands of Iván turned into something magical. Later Reyes said that she was going to think about this hake for the rest of her life, and well, me too.

Ivantxu review coming soon on Sevilla Tapas

hake (1)

hake (3)

hake (2)

 

officially dead

30 Friday Aug 2024

Posted by in sevilla, spain

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

ficus 2024

The hundred year old “San Jacinto Ficus” that was brutally cut down two years ago has been pronounced officially dead by city council. I took the photo above earlier this month, concerned at how badly it had deteriorated from even a year ago. When it was first “rescued” in 2022 after public outcry we were told that city council would take over responsibility of its care and maintenance from the church, which seemed optimistic at the time. But now it seems this was always the outcome they wanted as the tree was left to wither and slowly die over these past two years. No words.

ficus-001the ficus in 2009 (taken on my very old camera),
it was even bigger than this in 2022

new lease on life

23 Tuesday Jul 2024

Posted by in casa azahar, home, sevilla

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

lease

So, you may or may not know about the housing situation here in Sevilla. Over the past ten years or so we have lost so many of our neighbourhoods to tourist apartments and boutique hotels taking away from us what used to be our homes. I moved here in 1993 and after 18 years in Barrio Santa Cruz I was forced to move. Ended up in a place with all-night bars which meant five years of no sleep… then in 2017 I happened upon the place I live now. It’s smaller than my other apartments (had to down-size, got rid of lots of STUFF) but that was fine because it’s just so cosy and charming here and I love the neighbourhood. And I damn well know that now – in 2024 – I would never find anything even remotely similar in the centre of Sevilla at a price I could afford.

Right now I am on a year-to-year contract. And omg this gives me so much anxiety. Because what if one year my landlord decides not to renew? Here rent increases are based on the annual IPC, which varies from year to year and this year the percentage is 3%. Given the scarcity of dwellings many landlords choose to oust tenants and get new ones in at a much higher rent. So far this hasn’t happened but I always worry that it might (because it has before).

Today I signed my new contract for the upcoming year, same as last year, but with a significant bump in the rent. I know it’s not within the legal guidelines but I also wasn’t about to argue, because I really don’t want to lose my home. We can just about afford the increase, at least better than the cost of moving (both financially and emotionally). And so this Casa Azahar will continue for another year, and hopefully many more to come.