03 Monday Aug 2020
Posted in coronavirus, sevilla, sevilla shutdown, spain, welcome
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It turns out that you can get a Covid test in Sevilla at any private clinic / lab. It costs between 50-70€ and you get the results in five hours. Question. Why doesn’t our government set up a booth at the airport so arriving UNTESTED tourists can be tested and, by the time they have settled into their hotels, they will know if they are carriers or not and if they need to quarantine? Why is the focus on tourists getting tested after they get home again?
25 Thursday Jun 2020
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These two so-called “safe travel” stickers (apparently there are others) are being promoted by ICTE and WTTC but do little more then create a false sense of security. Anyone can get one of these online just by PROMISING to obey the protocols. No inspections, no control, no nuthin. Worse than useless, they are actually dangerous.
Since our borders were flung open again this past Monday, the very first day after our three-month lockdown, coronavirus infections have been on the rise throughout Spain.
What has really made me feel sick this past week is seeing people on Twitter discussing their summer holiday plans, saying shit like “let’s go to Spain or Italy, they have way fewer cases than we do!” as if… what?? Think about that for a minute. How is it okay for you to go somewhere without even considering the people who live where you are going? The people you are likely to end up infecting. And who the actual FUCK decides to go abroad on FUCKING HOLIDAY during a FUCKING GLOBAL PANDEMIC? The mind reels.
Just to be clear… I am far from anti-tourism. My entire business relies on tourists, and especially from the UK and US. But we have all seen the whole tourism thing spiralling out of control over the past few years so maybe this had to happen. Problem is that people keep refusing to believe things can’t just go back to the way they used to be. Well, they can’t and they won’t. Because they never should have been that way. So deal.
15 Monday Jun 2020
Posted in andalucia, coronavirus, sevilla, sevilla shutdown, spain, tourism, travel
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So remember when I was mostly concerned about tourists from the EU Schengen countries (and frankly, also from Spanish virus hotspots like Madrid and Barcelona) suddenly being allowed to travel freely throughout Spain from July 1st? Well it turns out those were the days!
In a blink of an eye the Spanish government caved once again and now we are opening our borders to Schengen countries NEXT MONDAY. That’s right, the very day that we are released from lockdown after 100 days. Without giving us any time at all to adapt and see how we do here with implementing the “new now” regulations as well as dealing with our own homegrown Covidiots. Like, we now have to deal with untested asymptomatic carriers coming here ON FUCKING HOLIDAY from day one. But okay, at least this new deal excluded tourists from the UK (aka Plague Island) so I thought that was at least one less worry. Except now it looks like it actually may become a worry, and a big one.
Ah who am I trying to kid? Of course our government is going to cave again and allow UK tourists in. Bear in mind there will be no testing or quarantining involved with anybody coming here. Just a quick temperature check (useless for infectious asymptomatic carriers, approx 40% of people who test positive for Covid), fill out a form, and welcome to Spain. The only question now is when? Also next Monday? Or will they stick with the original (still way too soon) date of July 1st?
05 Friday Jun 2020
Posted in coronavirus, sevilla, tourism, travel, welcome
This was rather a cheering sight during my first (and probably last for some time) river walk since lockdown. Because upon seeing this very dead scooter on the river bank I realised that I hadn’t actually seen any of these annoying things these past couple of months, not from my balcony nor during quick trips to the supermarket. Obviously most were being (mis)used by tourists, riding them on pavements and leaving them just anywhere all over the city, so this has been one of the other positive aspects to getting our city back.
Then I read this morning that the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has named Sevilla (where they held their annual global summit last year) as one of the five travel destinations IN THE WORLD to receive their new Safe Travel Stamp, to “reassure and restore the confidence of travellers and make travel safe again”.
21 Monday Oct 2019
Posted in gastronomy, getaways, madrid, tapas, tapas bars
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After an intense week of activities in Galicia it was nice to be able to get up at my leisure on Sunday morning. We had arrived in Madrid two hours later than scheduled on Saturday night, so didn’t actually get to the hotel until almost 11.00 pm. Luckily Andrew had recommended a nearby tapas bar, El Del Medio. I got in just before the kitchen closed and had time for a couple of tapas (hadn’t eaten since lunchtime!).
perfect smoked salmon on crispy toast with avocado, roasted vegetables
baked butifarra with mustard, mixed hot pickles, micro greens
On Sunday my train home was at 6.00 pm, so I made plans to have lunch at another place recommended by Andrew, Amano, which had just opened in August. When I went downstairs to have a bit of brekkie I ran into Rachel, who was leaving for Scotland that afternoon. After a couple hours chatting over coffee we checked out and then continued chatting for another couple of hours, this time over wine. It was great because although we’d been together for five solid days we hadn’t really had time to talk much. Anyhoo, by 2 pm we were both feeling a bit blurry so it was time to get our taxis, hers to the airport and mine to the train station.
Bag checked at Atocha, I made my way over to Amano for lunch. I was excited to try this place because Andrew had told me that it was run by Fran (former co-owner of Alabaster) and a chef that he’d partnered up with, so I was expecting good things. But I was still surprised by the amazing service. There was only bar space available when I got there, but I told them I lived in Sevilla and was used to sitting at the bar (Madrid is really more of a restaurant city). Then I asked for a glass of white wine and THIS happened…
casa azahar 