Author: azahar

Metropol Parasol

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Undecided…

This past Sunday was the official opening of the Metropol Parasol – aka Las Setas (wild mushrooms). I stayed away from the celebrations but snapped this pic of it yesterday once everything was back to the usual work-a-day crowds. While it was going up, which took years, I hated the damn thing as much as everyone else seemed to and couldn’t imagine how such a monstrosity would “fit” into such a beautiful old city as Sevilla. Though it’s actually sitting in the middle of the Encarnación Plaza, which had its heart and soul cut out of it during a fit of sixties “rebuilding” which destroyed palaces and old houses and left a strip of hideous office buildings and storefronts. But I digress…

The Setas (how can you not call them that?) are on the original site of the Encarnación Market which was levelled and moved to a “temporary” site next door … about 35 years ago. I don’t know the whole story there other than the original site was pretty much a parking lot when I first moved to Sevilla in 1993, then they started digging it up and discovered ruins that held up any building for several years. And then they started constructing The Setas.

The market was shifted over just before Christmas last year and although the building is now officially “open” there’s still some construction going on. When the scaffolding first started coming down, unveiling the first seta (in the foreground of the photo) I was startled to find myself liking how elegant it looked, swooping up towards the sky. But as more of the structure became visible I became less entranced. So I remain undecided. I guess the real test will be how well the site ends up being used. Aside from the market there will be bars and restaurants (coming soon!), and there’s a big shaded area up on the first level which has a small playground for children, benches for adults, and will apparently be used for concerts. There is also a walkway along top of the structure with panoramic views of the city which residents of Sevilla will be able to access free of charge. Anyhow, for better or worse, there it is.

What do you think?

Sevilla en Boca de Todos

azahar4 Comments

The second Sevilla en Boca de Todos started this week and runs until the 3rd of April. This is a contest in which tapas bars around Sevilla compete to make the best tapa in Sevilla for less than 2.50€. The winner is chosen by your votes.

Compared to last year’s event, there are almost twice as many tapas bars taking part. Here is the list of participants.

You can also check out this excellent map which not only shows the location of each bar but tells you (in most cases) which tapa is being featured.

Sevilla en Boca de Todos
9 March – 3 April 2011

See photos of tapas I’ve sampled below…
Continue reading “Sevilla en Boca de Todos” →

Barrio La Alfalfa

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[click on image to enlarge]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and the main reason for that is I’ve spent the past three months looking for, moving into and getting settled in a new apartment. For over 17 years I lived on calle Mateos Gago, 16 of those years in a corner building where I had lovely balconies and a fabulous view of the Giralda tower. When I found out in December that my landlord wouldn’t be renewing my contract I was devastated and convinced I couldn’t be happy living anywhere else but on MY street. How wrong I was!

After much searching I was getting quite discouraged and then one day a friend of mine noticed a for rent sign up on a building just off the Plaza Alfalfa and gave me a call. I went to have a look and it was love at first sight. It’s much bigger than my old place and has a huge terrace, and after a month of unpacking and organising it’s starting to actually look like a home. Though it’s felt like Home since day one.

I’m also loving the barrio. The whole style here is different from the barrio Santa Cruz. More homey, no tourists or souvenir shops. In fact, it’s full of wonderful – and useful! – shops, like bakeries, supermarkets (3 just off the plaza, one with a fab fish section), a gourmet butcher, florist, “euro shop”, convenience store, pharmacy, fruit & veg shop, a place that makes churros & crisps, and lots of little boutiques. There are also lots of tapas bars full of locals. The Plaza itself – about a two-minute walk from home – is always bustling and was recently pedestrianised, making it a pleasant place to sit out in the sun and enjoy a beer and a tapa.

I’m very pleased with the new barrio. It feels very comfortable and more “authentic” to where I was before. And I can still see the top of the Giralda tower when I look out my bedroom balcony…

I Love Tapas interview

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It’s been quite a week for Sevilla Tapas! First I got a glowing Trip Advisor review from Tara and Christian, who’d been on my Christmas Day tour, and then a new website called Andalucia Direct surprised me by giving me a free listing.

And today the interview I did this past weekend with Rosana Domínguez (aka Holly Cocina) for I Love Tapas went live!

I’ve been given permission to post an English translation here, which you can read below. You can see the original Spanish version here:

Entrevista a Shawn Hennessey y sus tours de tapas Sevilla Tapas

Shawn Hennessey, compulsive blogger, Twitter addict (with 4 accounts) and long-time Foodie, is originally from Canada but never felt like she truly belonged there and so moved to Spain (via Bristol England) in 1992, where she finally found her home. After a year in Salamanca she moved south to Sevilla and in April 2007 started the Sevilla Tapas blog. According to Shawn it all happened by accident while she was out for lunch with a friend on a lovely spring afternoon and it occured to her to take some photos not of just the square and the orange trees, but also of the food, which were then posted on her personal blog, casa az. The response was so positive that she started publishing regular “tapas posts”, which eventually led to a separate website for Sevilla Tapas. Aside from running several blogs, Shawn also writes for travel sites such as Slow Europe, Travel Intelligence and National Geographic, and has recently become the Seville Expert for Simonseeks.

Presently Shawn is working on several projects including her very popular tapas tours, working with local restaurants managing their social media, and organising special Restaurant & Hotel English courses.

Continue reading “I Love Tapas interview” →

Butting Out

azahar14 Comments

Today marks the beginning of the new smoking ban in Spain, which effects all “enclosed spaces of public or collective use”. There are many opinions surrounding the new anti-smoking law, both positive and negative, including worries about the possible adverse effects on bars and cafés, as stated here by Graham Hunt. And many people think that Spaniards will just ignore the law and continue to allow smoking in their establishments.

I’m not so sure. First of all because bar owners would face being fined, but also because when the first stage of the anti-smoking law came into effect in 2006 people adjusted to it surprisingly well. Used to be I’d walk into the bank or post office and workers would be sitting there with heaping ashtrays on their desks, and almost every tapas bar was so full of smoke that it would seriously interfere with enjoying a meal. These days – at least in Seville – I seldom notice smoke in tapas bars and restaurants, so it’s hard to imagine that taking this next step is going to prove too difficult for smokers to handle, or that it would seriously affect their social habits. Also, there have been a lot of comments by Spanish people on places like Twitter saying how great it’s going to be not to have to put up with second-hand smoke anymore, so there is clearly some positive opinion about the anti-smoking law.

What do you think? How will the new law effect you as a smoker, a business owner or a client? Are you for it, against it, indifferent?