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“Perhaps one day we can have tapas together in real life!”
Thus spake Wandering Coyote in her comment on yesterday’s post. And this got me a-thinkin (always a possibly dangerous activity) which then led to wondering about organising a ‘weekend getaway’ meet here for blogfriends who either live in the EU, or are planning to be in Europe and might be able to also pop over to Sevilla, or who own their own jets . . . whatever!
As I mentioned over here, this was quite the spontaneous trip, which was also suddenly extended from an overnight stay to three nights when I found a charming little inn that had a special 3-night offer going. Pipocas and her husband Chucky (not his real name 
) really made this trip special by taking Nog & me out for lunch every day and also driving us to places near Tavira that we would have never seen otherwise.
As Chucky is Portuguese he ‘did the honours’ at mealtimes, ordering all the food and drink so that we often didn’t know what was coming until it showed up at the table. This was quite a refreshing change for me since I’m usually the one doing this for friends visiting Sevilla. It was nice to be on the receiving end for a change and be totally taken care of.
Muito obrigada, Pipocas & Chucky! 
Here are some of my travel notes on what we saw and did. There are also a few small photos here - if you’d like to see the complete photo album just click here…
So, who out there keeps travel journals and which has been your most memorable trip?
[written at 12.30pm yesterday]
Writing to you from the top of a mountain somewhere in the Algarve. Was kidnapped picked-up today by Pipocas and her husband CHUCKY (who doesn’t like having his name mentioned on blogs - this is my revenge ) and driven up a very long and winding mountain road until I thought I was about to lose my brekky.
Nature all over the place. Meh.
Anyhow, just arrived in Cachopo (our destination for some reason) and next to the wee Museo Vivo - where they sell flax products and also show the flax-making process - I found this free internet access place! Interesting combination of high-tech inside with chickens pecking and clucking around outside the window.
Have no idea what the others are up to right now, but I know the Kidlet (P&C’s 4-year-old daughter) wants to have lunch soon so I’d better get going. I think we’re having wild boar.
Nog’s laptop can’t pick up the wifi connection at our inn, which is totally gorgeous and charming, btw, so I might not be around again till Thursday night.
Having a great time so far! Especially as we are being threatened with being taken over here for a cold beer after we get back to Tavira…
When Pipocas and I went out for some much needed cold water after our Japanese luncheon the other day she mentioned that she was going to Tavira during Semana Santa with her husband and 4-year-old daughter and asked if Nog & I would like to come and hang out with them for a couple of days while they were there. And well, I’ve never been to the Algarve and Tavira is very close to the Spanish border (and also accessible by bus) so I started looking into this possibility . . .
. . . for some last minute prezzies
This weekend (January 5th) is Los Reyes Magos, which is traditionally the day that gifts are exchanged in Spain. As I still had a couple of people to get a little something for I popped back to the Christmas Market this afternoon and bought two very pretty wooden boxes with mosaic lids (blue with yellow stars - similar to the pic above but without the black outlining and ‘face’).
And so I’ve updated the Christmas market post, adding a photo of Fernando wrapping up one of my boxes and posting his website link. There are also a couple of new pics there showing the other side of the Belén and the big tree in front of city hall at night. Check them out . . .
Happy New Year to all my friends and loved ones!
Wishing you all the best in 2008 
~ pretty angels were found on 70steen’s blog ~
And a new tapa experience…
For ages my friend and student iskenderum has been telling me that I MUST go to Taberna del Azafrán (azafrán means saffron) and today was the day. Kind of impromptu as it was around 12 o’clock and I was still in my pj’s so we decided some serious motivation was required to get me dressed and out the door. Being a gorgeous sunny day I suggested we hop on a couple of Sevici rental bikes and finally try out this place. And so that’s what we did, arriving just before 2 and getting the last free table in front of the bar.
So okay, it ended up being a lot more expensive than we’d planned on since at the tables you have to order raciones (you can only get tapas at the bar, which was jam-packed) but we decided what the heck. Especially as we didn’t go to Lisbon. And so we ended up having quite a substantial and delicious lunch. Which would have been really lovely had the waiters been even remotely friendly, which they were not (according to iskenderum this is always the case with the waiters there, but he says the owner is very friendly and pleasant). Anyhow, the food was very nice so maybe we’ll go back sometime and give the tapas a try … and hopefully the bar staff will be friendlier than the waiters.
The best part was the monogrammed plates with a stylized AZ on them.
Check it out on the Sevilla Tapas blog…
For anyone who would like to drop by. . .
Nog & I will be out mid-late afternoon, having lunch at Casa Robles and then stopping by our friend Eric’s place for a drink, but other than that it’ll be a quiet day at home (famous last words - last time we stopped by Eric’s for a drink we ended up lurching home around 6am!). We were actually invited to Eric’s ‘Christmas orphan’s’ lunch out on his huge rooftop terrace, but somehow we feel more like a quiet meal together this year, and then joining in on the party ‘ambientation’ later, picking up our friend Maria Paz on the way, who will be working.
Anyhow, all the puters will be on in case anyone wants to say hello by IM or Skype:
Yahoo IM - azaharh2g2
Skype - azahar.sevilla
And look! Matt has made it possible to snow in Sevilla!
It’s been a lovely day so far . . .
In Spain just about everything closes down at about 5-6 pm on Christmas Eve, including bars and restaurants. Tonight is the traditional family meal, sometimes followed by midnight mass (and sometimes presents, though those are usually saved for Los Reyes - on January 5th).
My Christmas Eve morning started off a bit shaky as I’d woken up at 4 am and just couldn’t get back to sleep, and then it was time to get up and go to yoga. Which I did in spite of feeling like total crap (cos I knew I’d feel better afterwards - and I did ). Nog met me at the gym afterwards and we did some last minute food shopping. A few hours later we went out for a walk and ran into my friend Maria Paz, who runs Bar Campanario (one of our two favourite locals), and she said we should stop by after our Christmas lunch tomorrow. Meanwhile, we had been invited to our friend Eric’s place for a ‘Christmas orphan’s’ lunch, but decided we’d prefer to stop by later on for an after-lunch copita. And so we told Maria Paz we’d pick her up on the way to Eric’s . . .
Then off to find a pair of pretty red earrings for Maria Paz (she’d said that tomorrow we should all wear red, but she didn’t have any red earrings) and I also had to pick up a last minute gift for Nog (made him wait on the corner while I went and bought the whatsit).
Then back to Campanario for a Christmas drink … and to give Maria Paz the red earrings for tomorrow. Found them at the Christmas market - very pretty! After that we wandered over to our other favourite local ay Mari Cruz! because we’d seen Carlos (the manager) earlier and he said that we just had to stop by . . .
So had another Christmas drink or two there, though we also had a snack . . . and now we’re at home listening to the Johnny Cash CD that Steve (aka Blues Shark) gave me and we’re roasting some very garlicky potatoes for our Christmas Eve dinner. Nog is just cleaning up the kitchen now, so I can go back in soon and mess it all up again. Along with the roasted spuds we’ll be having grilled salmon steak in a jamón & cava sauce, with some steamed broccoli (Nog can’t stand sprouts and we didn’t get to the Corte Inglés supermarket that always has fresh green asparagus . . .)
Meanwhile, sipping some cava here and looking at the wee tree and feeling pretty good. And also thinking about all my friends and I’m hoping everyone is feeling cosy and loved . .
Merry Christmas everybody 
Welcome to casa az, which is somewhere in that postcard view of Sevilla below.
click on the sun to read a random post
