2009 March 1
by azahar

Welcome to azahar’s Sevilla.

Weekly Sunday posts 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.

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tapas tours

2010 January 17

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:

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You can read a first-hand account by Alejna Brugos here:

Sevilla Tapas Tour

snow in sevilla!

2010 January 10
by azahar

It snowed here today for the first time in over 55 years.

I stayed inside under the duvet.

azahar’s forum

2010 January 7
by azahar

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

Casa de Alba Collection

2010 January 3
by azahar

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.

Christmas lights

2009 December 27
by azahar
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Much more minimalist than in previous years, but still very pretty.

christmas market 2009

2009 December 20

The tenth annual Christmas Market began last Thursday in
the Plaza Nueva and will continue until January 5th.

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1ª feria de gastronomía & artesanía

2009 December 13
by azahar

gastronomia & artesania

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…

11870.com

2009 December 6
by azahar

Jesús, Emilio, Antonio, Samuel, Angel & Javier

11870.com is a website that you can use to save and share reviews, pictures and videos of your favorite places and services and have them all close-at-hand. I’ve been a member there since August 2008 and usually add new restaurants and tapas bars (this is my 11870 page). About a week ago I got an email from one of my Seville contacts there, Javier, saying that he was organising a meet and after a bit of back-and-forthing with group emails we ended up going to Puracepa last Thursday evening. Those are the boys up there – I was the only woman and the only guiri (foreigner). A wonderful time was had by all with excellent food & wine and very interesting conversations. By the end of the evening we were all laughing together like old friends and looking forward to the next meet up, which should be sometime in January.

You can see more photos below…

[also posted on casa az]

read more…

sevilla festival de cine europeo

2009 November 8
by azahar

cartel

The Seville European Film Festival
presents its sixth edition November 6-14

a taste of portugal

2009 July 19
by azahar

portugal

Sabores de Portugal
C/ Feria 4
Tel. 638 205 166, 663 142 048

I came across this wonderful Portuguese food shop quite by accident the other day and made a special trip back on Friday because I was told they have fresh Portuguese bread brought in that day. Memories of Lisbon and Tavira came flooding back after making a simple lunch of crusty bread, a selection of cheeses, black olive paste and salad.

The shop features wines, beer, coffee, oils, vinegars, jams and preserves, a variety of cheeses, organic produce and it also has a small bar area where drinks and snacks are served. Lovely ambiance.

You can see more photos below (including lunch!) …

read more…