Tag Archives: twitter

martha & joe

29 Monday May 2017

Posted by in friends, gastronomy, sevilla, tapas, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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I first met Martha @marthakimes when she joined one of my tapas tours as a solo traveller back in November 2014. She then came back on her own last November, which included a memorable evening out with Ania @ania_marchlik at La Azotea (I think that was the night I sold Ania my old iPhone…) and since then Martha decided that Sevilla is where she would like to live when she retires. To wit, this latest trip Martha dragged invited her husband Joe with her, hoping to get him to fall in love with her adopted city.

It’s quite impressive that Sevilla has won such an honour in Martha’s heart, since she has travelled pretty much everywhere, and has seen many amazing and beautiful places. And yet, this is where she wants to be. You can see how committed she is by the tattoo she had done between her last two visits.

NO8D0 … Sevilla’s official motto

Anyhow, Martha, Joe, Peter and I got together a few times during this visit, and we did our best to convince Joe that this is also where he wants to live when he retires. I hope we succeeded, because it would be great having M & J as neighbours.

roma

26 Friday May 2017

Posted by in andalucia, fiestas, food & drink, friends, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I went to Córdoba this week to see Roma @artsylife again, after finding out that she was back in Andalucía but wasn’t going to make it to Sevilla this time. This happily coincided with feria, and we spent a great day out together with Peter @SVQconcierge.

I first met Roma when she came on a tapas tour in September 2014, and saw her again when she returned for a second visit to Sevilla in October 2015. During that trip she also became an honourary We Love Tapas team member when she volunteered to be our victim guest on a practice run of the Oldest Taverns Tour. Good times. Come back soon, Roma! xx

Peter & Roma

Aside from going to the Feria we also did a fair bit of tapearing…

breakfast of champions at Bar Santos

an elegant pre-feria lunch at La Regadera

late night snacks at Taberna El Gallo

the Cordobés holy trinity at Taberna El Gallo:
salmorejo, flamenquín, berenjenas fritas

tim

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by in friends, sevilla, sherry, spain, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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I met Tim @Biltawulf last year when he and his friend Ed came on a tapas tour with me. Then earlier this year Tim got in touch again – he was planning another trip to Sevilla, this time to celebrate his 40th birthday with four friends from London. I was looking for something different for him, and in the end took them out on Saturday afternoon for a Tasting Triana Tour. But as Tim arrived a day earlier than his friends, we met up on Friday afternoon too and he helped me with some Tapas Research. This turned into an impromptu tapeo, starting with cold beers in the sun before heading to Sahumo (which had a new tapas menu I was keen to try out), with a short detour to La Cata Ciega across the street, as we got there before Sahumo was open.

The next day was the tapas tour and then, after Tim’s friends left early Sunday afternoon, we met up again for yet another impromptu tapeo, this time taking in Casa Morales, Abacería Antigua de San Lorenzo and Eslava, finishing with a birthday cake and cava. Then it was time for Tim to catch his flight home. Looking forward to getting together again, either here or in London. Good ol’ Twitter does it again.

As you can see, the tapas tour was a serious affair. Birthday treats at Eslava.

barbara

02 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by in friends, social media, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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Neither Barbara @emoticomma nor I can remember when we started following each other on Twitter, other than it was several years ago. But when I found out she was going to be making a one day only “cameo appearance” in Sevilla of course we had to meet up. We ended up doing a nice tapeo in barrio San Lorenzo, where mucho jamón was consumed. Also mucho vino, finishing with some lovely cava at La Azotea. Barbara promises to come back with her husband next time for a longer stay. Good ol’ Twitter.  🙂

katie parla

30 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, sherry, tapas, tapas tours, twitter

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katie parla (1)I continue to meet wonderful people thanks to Twitter. This time it was Rome-based food goddess Katie Parla. On Friday morning I was doing my usual social media stuff and attempting to catch up with my massive To Do list of reviews, photos and blog posts before the big #LondonGetaway next week, and up popped a Twitter notice from @jengonroff suggesting that @katieparla get in touch with me. I’d heard of Katie and was keen to help out, thinking she might be coming to Sevilla soon. Turned out she was in Sevilla in that exact moment and was STARVING, so we made plans to meet up later in the evening. What followed was a fun (and sherry-filled) impromptu Sevilla Tapas Tour...

katie parla (2)I immediately felt at home with Katie and was pleased to discover we share a similar philosophy when it comes to our food & wine tours (Katie also offers Art History & Archeology tours in Rome), which is to keep it simple and real. We’ve both noticed the recent influx of food tour opportunists showing up where we have lived and loved and worked for so long. It’s sad to see these people ruining what we have helped to build with them scheduling regular touristy-scripted tours that clog up and destroy the natural ambiance of the places we love. Progress? I don’t think so.

But we had a great time, starting off with sherry and jamón at Las Teresas, then moving on for some fusiony-fun at La Azotea in barrio Santa Cruz (with unexpected guest appearance by Ania – see silly selfie). Then a quick stop at Casa Morales – Katie had to see the tinajas! – before finishing up at Bodeguita Romero. And finish up we did, closing the joint sometime just before 1.00 am! Loved watching Katie experience her first pringá, and we were totally spoiled by Alejandro, offering special sherry pairings. Pretty much a perfect night out.

It’s always such a pleasure to meed kindred spirits like Katie and I look forward to visiting her in Rome soon.

elbah

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, instagram, sevilla, social media, spain

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elba

I’ve been following Elbah on both Twitter and Instagram for ages. She is not only as obsessive about posting fab food pics as I am, but a lot of her photos are taken in Sevilla and Málaga. So a few days ago I left a comment under one of her Sevilla food pics that we should meet for a tapita one of these days, and she agreed that this would be a great idea.

Then, when I was walking home from the Sherry On Top event on Wednesday evening, Peter and I decided to stop into Tradevo Centro for a penúltima. On the way in I spotted a spectacular looking fish dish and asked the people sitting at the table if they would mind if I took a photo of it (yeah, I know…). And one of the women said “Are you Azahar???” and we both went a bit crazy then, laughing and hugging like old friends. Of course, it was Elbah. And it turns out we are actually neighbours! So plans are now afoot to do some serious Tapas Research together. LOVE social media…

thane & bob

09 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, sherry, tapas tours, twitter, twitter friends

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with jamonAnother reason to keep on loving Twitter. After at least a couple of years, maybe more, of mutually following the fabulous Thane Prince @ThanePrince on Twitter we finally got to meet up. Which only seemed right after I actually stayed at Thane & Bob’s fabulous Málaga flat last December. Which obviously also came about via Twitter, and because we have so many Twitter and RL friends in common.

Anyhow, since Thane & Bob are in Málaga this week they decided to do a short getaway to Sevilla, spend the night, and basically eat loads of tapas with me. And drink sherry. And then eat and drink some more. Which we did.

So much fun. I felt immediately at home with them… two very distinct personalities, but somehow perfectly matched. And both funny as hell. I especially felt like I’d scored big points every time I made Bob laugh. So it was a wonderful day of lunchtime tapas, followed by a siesta, and meeting up again later that same night for more tapas and wine, finishing off with midnight drinks on the rooftop of Gourmet Experience. And then a farewell jamón snack the next afternoon (because you can never have too much jamón).

Now I can’t wait to repeat this in Málaga with our mutual friend Victor @welovemalaga. We also might meet up in London this summer! More on that later…

a virtual tapas tour

14 Saturday May 2016

Posted by in friends, internet, tapas tours

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kiwiSaturday morning dawned bright and sunny after two long weeks of solid rain, and I woke up feeling great. But after my morning coffee I felt a bit odd, and at lunchtime I didn’t have much appetite. Then I started feeling all weak and woozy, so around 4 o’clock I thought I’d better lie down for a bit, because in the evening I had a special tapas tour lined up with Twitter pals @EricBurgess and @LauraWBurgess (and their new mascot Kev the Kiwi), something we’d planned months ago. Well, when I woke up again at 6 o’clock I was shivering and nauseous and knew there was no way I was going to make it. So I did my first ever Sevilla Tapas Tour from my bed!

First of all, Peter met up with Eric & Laura a half hour before his own private tour started, brought them to their first stop and got them set up with starter tapas and sherries. After that I took over and, staying in touch by Twitter DMs, I helped them find Bodeguita Romero after previously getting in touch with Alejandro. Luckily I’d just had a sherry-filled afternoon the week before with José & Peter, so Alejandro knew what to do and he took very good care of them. It was kind of fun, doing a virtual tour, and better than not being with them at all. But I do look forward to finally meeting them in person when they come back in September.

twitter is 10!

22 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in social media, twitter

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twitter birthday

Twitter has just turned 10 and it turns out that it is also my 9th Twitterversary today (as @azahar). To be exact, I signed up at 12.36 pm on March 22nd, 2007. Since then I’ve had various other Twitter accounts and still have these 5 active ones. I know that a lot of people don’t “get” Twitter, but for me it’s been the most amazing social media experience. I’ve met friends and biz contacts, connecting with people all over the world. And I still learn something new every day by reading my various feeds. It’s good to be here.

family christmas

25 Friday Dec 2015

Posted by in christmas, food & drink, sevilla, sherry, twitter

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becky

With someone else’s family! A few weeks ago I started chatting with Becky @withpaprika on Twitter, as I saw she was planning a trip to Sevilla. I offered her some advice on places to eat and she ended up taking a We Love Tapas Tour with the fabulous Delia. Everyone had a great time and the next night I saw Becky and family at the Flamenco Museum. They were having problems getting a booking for Christmas lunch and so I helped them with that, and said I’d stop by and have a drink with them on Christmas afternoon. Which turned into – ahem – more than one. In fact, I sat with them through most of their lunch (mine was mostly prepared and waiting for me at home) and it was so much fun. The kids were inquisitive and charming, and Becky, Scott and I really hit it off (next visit Scott wants a sherry tour!). It was a lovely way to spend my Christmas afternoon, and I came home much cheered and enjoyed my own (late) lunch and an evening of Christmas films.

So, a little Twitter magic helped make this Christmas extra special.
How was yours?

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