23 Friday Jun 2017
Posted in gastronomy, sevilla
Ania & Delia
We did it! A very special night out with 45 guests who were here all week for conference meetings, and who asked me to arrange something nice for their final evening in Sevilla. And it was fabulous. But I couldn’t have done it without these two… nor without this guy…
Juan Tarquini
And special thanks to the always fabulous Vineria San Telmo team. They are the best! And the best compliment ever? That we turned a corporate event into something that felt very personal. 🙂
03 Saturday Jun 2017
Posted in food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas
Juan, me & William
It’s been quite a week for meeting up with people, either for the first time or after a long time. William @madguide1 fits into the second category. We first knew each other via social media as he is a Spain expert for the very famous Rick Steves global tours. Then one fine day we had time to meet up while he was in Sevilla… that was a few years ago. Then I saw on Instagram that William was back in town this week with a tour group, he promised me that FOR SURE when he was back in September that he’d make time to meet up.
Later that same day I was having lunch with my dear friend Juan Tarquini @jmtalexeew, at his fabulous Vineria San Telmo, when a guy sits down at the table next to us. Suddenly I hear… SHAWN??? Heh, it was William. He was there to meet two other mutual friends, MarĂa and JosĂ© who, along with their partner Victor, run the excellent Taller Andaluz de Cocina cooking school. I mean, what are the odds? I love when stuff like this happens. 🙂
William, JosĂ© & MarĂa
04 Thursday May 2017
Posted in food & drink, gastronomy
I got a call from my friend Juan from Vineria San Telmo the other day asking me if I’d be interested in giving a sherry tasting to a group of 15 people from Australia and New Zealand and so of course I said YES. Though I was also a bit nervous as it would be the first time I’d be doing this with a larger group, and also as a “presentation” rather than as part of a tapas tour. My Sherry & Tapas Tours are just as much about the food pairings as they are about sherry, so this would be something quite different.
As you can see, it was very nicely set up by Juan and we also included snacks (olives, cheese, almonds, chocolate) and some printed material for the guests to take home. And they were a great group. Not total “sherry virgins” and clearly quite knowledgeable about wines, so they asked a lot of good questions.
We tried 5 different sherries, talking about each one along with the history of the region and the sherry making process. I soon forgot about being nervous and the time flew by. Hoping to do it again now!
10 Saturday Dec 2016
Posted in birthdays, friends, gastronomy, sevilla, sherry, spain, tapas, tapas bars, wine
So okay, it was almost a month late (through no real fault of either myself or Pilar) but better late than never. Today we finally managed to get together for lunch and celebrate Pilar’s birthday, which has become a bit of a tradition over the years.
This time we went to the always fabulous Vineria San Telmo and, not only was Pilar sung to by the staff when her candle lit birthday, erm, pie arrived, another client came over to us and said it was HIS birthday too, and gave Pilar a kiss. Great food and wine (including sherry), cosy ambiance… a lovely afternoon with a lovely friend.
07 Wednesday Jan 2015
Posted in birthdays, food & drink, friends
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Pink wouldn’t have been my candle colour of choice, but then I got sung Happy Birthday to in Portuguese and was given a complimentary bottle of cava, so what the hell. This was the end of a perfect birthday lunch, and I am now too stuffed to say any more but to thank my friends who joined me today. And also to the Vineria San Telmo for such a fabulous feast. It was all lovely. Off to lie down now… 🙂
