Welcome to azahar’s Sevilla.
Posts here will include topics such as culture, travel, accomodation, “alternatours”, cooking classes, tapas, restaurants, wines, flamenco, books & films, and places of interest.
Comments and queries are most welcome. Please feel free to leave suggestions for any post or page content that you would be interested in seeing here. And be sure to visit The Forum.
Young Murillo Exhibition
Bellas Artes Museum, Sevilla
20 February – 30 May
The “Young Murillo” exhibition studies the art created by Seville painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682) during his early years between 1638-40 and 1650-53. This is the first time that a large-scale exhibition on Murillo has ever been held in Seville, making this a major public event which explores almost 20 early years of production by the Seville painter through 40 paintings chosen from museums and collections from around the world.
I came across this poster the other night at La Bodega in the Plaza Alfalfa, one of the 55 tapas bars competing in the first edition of Sevilla en Boca de Todos (Sevilla on everyone’s lips), which is a citywide gastronomic challenge to come up with the best tapa for under 2.50 € or less. People can vote for their favourite via local paper Razón de Sevilla and also receive a 50c discount on their next tapa.
You can see a list of the participants below.
Also check out Horacio Mangas’ blog for more info.
Revoluciones Gastronomicas
Organised by Global Humanitaria, this colourful outdoor market has more than 46 stands of art & crafts from various countries including Spain, Perú, Brazil, Senegal, Colombia and Ecuador. You can find clothing, jewellery, pottery, perfumes, food, along with other items of interest. I was tempted by the saquitos térmicos, which are filled with seeds and fragrant herbs and can be either heated or chilled to soothe a variety of aches & pains. I was also intrigued by the spinning crystal on a metal spiral that is actually an optical illusion – the crystal only appears to move. And the display of non-stick cast iron pans left me wanting to buy a whole set. In the end I settled for a couple bags of roasted and lightly caramelised sunflower seeds and almonds, but I will be back after a bit of consideration. I know I don’t really need a non-spinning spinning crystal, but…
Mercado de la Solidaridad de Global Humanitaria
February 11 – 28
[held over until March 7th]
Plaza Nueva, Sevilla
With our relaxed and casual tapas tours you can experience some of Sevilla’s best tapas bars and sample an excellent selection of tapas & wines. Lunchtime (13.30 – 16.00) or evening (20.00 – 23.00) tours are available, with all-inclusive or pay-as-you-eat options. A typical tapas tour (known as “tapeando” in Spanish) will include visiting three bars and having a couple of tapas at each place. There are several tours available, each focusing on one particular barrio (neighbourhood), and the usual duration is approximately 2 1/2 – 3 hours.
You will be encouraged to order your own food & drink and will also be given a list of food translations, as well as other “rutas de tapas” that you can try out another day on your own, with your newly acquired knowledge of Spanish cuisine.
Special requests (eg. vegetarian and other food preferences) are taken, though not all barrios will be available for these. For wine lovers a wine tasting evening is also offered (for groups of 4-10) in which people will be able to sample several types of Spanish wines along with delicious tapas selected to accompany each wine.
Because tapas bars tend to be small and often quite crowded, groups will range from 2-6 people. Sometimes you will be standing up at the bar, other times it will be possible to find a table, or even book a table in advance.
Larger groups of 6-10 can also be accommodated, but with a slightly modified itinerary.
For more information or to book a tour contact us at:
You can read a first-hand account by Alejna Brugos here:
Sevilla Tapas Tour
It snowed here today for the first time in over 55 years.
I stayed inside under the duvet.
azahar’s forum
My new Seville forum goes live today!
I’ve created the “all about Sevilla” forum so that visitors and locals alike can ask questions and share opinions about such things as accommodation, transportation, things to see & do, and – of course – tapas! So if you are planning a trip to Seville and would like some specific information, please feel free to start a new topic in one of the forums. If you live here, or have visited Seville in the past, and would like to share your experiences and knowledge with others, well, same deal.
The forums can be read by anybody, but you’ll have to register in order to contribute. Once registered you will be able to personalise your profile, adding a photo and signature. You can also choose whether you’d like to receive personal messages from other members.
Advertisements and self-promotions of products, websites or services are not allowed. For now I haven’t implemented the “must post x-amount of times” restriction for first-time users, and I hope it can stay that way.
Well, that’s about it. I’ve really enjoyed the emails I’ve received from readers, and I have always been happy to help out with extra information and personal recommendations, and will continue to do so. But I also thought it could be fun to have a place where the people I’ve met here could interact and share stuff.
Please let me know here what you think of the forum, if it is easy to register and navigate, and especially if there are any other forums you’d like to see added. I really look forward to meeting more of you soon.
azahar’s forum
You still have a week to see some splendid works from the private collection of the 13th Duquesa de Alba, about 40 paintings covering 400 years. Included are family portraits by Titian and Rafael, as well as works by Renoir, Chagall and Goya. These paintings are usually kept at the Duquesa’s homes in Mardrid and Seville.
The exhibit is at the Museo de Bellas Artes until January 10th.
Much more minimalist than in previous years, but still very pretty.
The tenth annual Christmas Market began last Thursday in
the Plaza Nueva and will continue until January 5th.
The first Feria de la Gastronomía & Artesania is being held in the Patio de la Diputación, 11-20 December, featuring products and crafts from the villages in the province of Seville.
Check out the photo gallery below…
read more…
