As part of my ongoing 20th anniversary in Spain celebrations I took a day trip to… Triana! Yes, I know that Triana is just over the bridge, but many people would argue that it is a very different place to Sevilla, and some (mostly Trianeros), would say that it isn’t actually Sevilla at all. And well, I can’t argue with that. So off I went with Peter (aka Seville Concierge) to spend the day on the other side of the river.

The main focus of this particular day trip was to do a bit of research, which of course involved some tapas and checking out cool places (I know, it’s a tough job, etc, etc). I was very interested in having a look at the future home of the Triana Ceramics Museum as well as visiting the new Ostrerías de Mercado (oyster and champagne bar) in the Triana Market. As a result I also discovered a new micro-brewery that had just opened. There were also some old familiar places that were overdue for a revisit, so it ended up being quite a full day…

First stop didn’t go quite as planned. I’d been putting together an article on abacerías (food and wine shops where you can also sample the products), and I wanted some photos of the Antigua Albacería on calle Pureza. But it turned out it was Wednesday and their day off (typical in Triana, but I’d forgotten) and so it was off to the market to have a look around. My favourite fruit & veg stall there is called La Alegría de la Huerta (the joy of the market garden) and the owner is a true joy to be with. He’s enthusiastic and helpful and has a nice selection of dried herbs and mushrooms as well as come curiosities such as yellow pineapple-watermelons and tiny pear tomatoes.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the Ostrerías de Mercado. I’d half expected it to be a bit snooty and pretentious, but as it turned out I was totally wrong. Luís the manager was friendly and down to earth, and we sampled a couple of oysters and some sushi with a nice pinot noir cava before heading off through the ceramics district.

I found out that the new ceramics museum will be opening in November, next door to the famous Santa Ana Ceramics shop just next to the market in calle San Jorge, and I did a little shopping to replace a favourite small hand-painted bowl that had broken awhile back. Then we stopped off to say a quick hello to my pal Norberto at his studio and shop in calle Alfarería (he makes beautiful seragraphs) before heading off for lunch.

As usual we got lost going to Puratasca. With its delibarate tongue-in-cheek 70s cheesiness it’s one of my favourite Triana tapas bars, and I wanted to do an update for Sevilla Tapas. I was glad to find that the tapas were as good as ever, especially the arroz meloso. We were given a free tapa at the end for moving tables so that a large family group could all sit together. Good deed for the day.

The second stop on our lunchtime tapeo was Bar Bistec behind the Santa Ana church. It’s run by the same family as La Primera del Puente, one of my long time favourites, and like them Bistec specialises in all kinds of fish and seafood, though my favourite turned out to be thinly sliced, breaded and fried courgettes. We hadn’t planned on a third stop but passing by Bar Santa Ana we couldn’t resist stopping in for one last cold beer. The place had actually changed quite a lot, most notably in that the side street had been pedestrianised since I was last there and the terrace was larger and much more attractive. Nice new awnings too. So I took some photos for Sevilla Tapas and  also got to meet the owner this time. By then it was quite late in the afternoon and time to go home, as most of Triana was shutting down for siesta and wouldn’t start coming back to life until early evening.

It’s actually quite fun taking day trips in your own city. Perhaps I’ll get on the Metro next time and check out the Aljarafe or even Dos Hermanas!