One Bitesize Year

phew! made it!

It’s Christmas Day and I’m coming up to my Bitesize Sevilla anniversary - my first post here was on January 1st this year, the same day I sadly left Twitter after 18 years because of you-know-who, but I’m now happily ensconced in my lovely Bluesky home - pop over and say hello.

Christmas blue skies in Sevilla

It’s been quite an interesting year here on Substack! One thing I have particularly noticed (as I am an immigrant who lives in Spain) is the number of expats living here doing the whole “omg I moved to Spain follow me for my insights” thing. Well, that’s not me. First of all I’m not an expat. I came to Spain on a wing and a prayer over 33 years ago and somehow I’m still here. It wasn’t easy, heck it wasn’t even much of a plan, but all those years ago I followed this crazy notion that I needed to live in Spain, a country I’d never even been to before. And thank god I did because, against all odds, I found my home. And I am reminded of this all the time, often in just small ways.

There was no internet back then so in my free time I spent a lot of time reading, writing letters (remember those?), taking photos… and just living here. Then in May 2006 I started my first ever blog, just posting random stuff about my life here like a “dear diary” thing about whatever happened that day (truly it’s the most boring blog on the planet, so don’t even go there, you have been warned). I joined Twitter in March 2007, around the same time I started my accidental food blog Sevilla Tapas, and that’s when my online life started taking off. It’s probably safe to say that I am somewhat addicted to social media, but don’t tell anyone.

During 2008-2009 other stuff happened too. I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, with metastasis to the liver and peritoneum… not good. Three major abdominal surgeries later and twice on chemo, well I’m still here. Nobody knows why, but hey, I’ll take it.

Then I got back to work but after all that I didn’t want to just go back to teaching English, it felt like it was time to turn a page. So, based on the close connections I’d made with the bars (they kept wondering who this crazy woman was taking photos of her food) I became a part of their world. And so along with my love of our food culture, and also because I love teaching… I decided I would teach tapas instead!

At the time there were only three people offering food tours in the city. I had a lot of fun back then, not even realising I was actually a pioneer in my small pond, and the only one (of the three) with a blog reviewing bars and restaurants. In that sense I am probably the OG pre-instagram “food influencer” in Sevilla… at first it was funny when people started calling me that, but now I am like OMG NO, please do not call me a bloody INFLUENCER (you all know why).

why I will never do “influencer” videos… I can’t even bear having my photo taken

Ten years ago I became a Certified Sherry Educator and in 2019 I began writing wine-focused travel articles for Decanter Magazine. Then in 2023 I co-founded the Asociación de Guías de Gastronomía de Andalucía with three other local food tour operators and that year I was also invited to become a member of the prestigious Academia Sevillana de Gastronomía, all of which has kept me busy and well-connected with the gastronomy and wine communities here and throughout Spain.

And now? Well, I keep doing what I’ve always done. With some limitations. I’ve had mobility issues for over two years while I await knee surgery (still not sure when or even if it will happen at this point) and since August 2024 I haven’t been able to get around without crutches. As a result, obviously the food tours are not an option right now, but I am always happy to offer my Sherry & Tapas Tasting (I’m still able to slowly hobble to Casa Morales and back). Meanwhile, my small network of like-minded fab food tour friends have been helping out so I don’t have to turn people away.

And so to help stay occupied (and keep from going insane) I’ve been writing stuff here this past year… all about my lovely Sevilla. I didn’t want Bitesize to be only about gastronomy and wine, so I’ve tried to include other aspects of our culture with the help of other local experts who have been very generous with their time and with sharing their knowledge.

And okay, I admit… sometimes I get a bit cranky here. I talk about how over-tourism is destroying our lives, I suggest how to be a better tourist and remind tourists that they are not in fact Living Like a Local (hey you’re here visiting, just relax, enjoy yourselves, spend your money and don’t forget to tip). So if I seem a bit spiky at times, please understand that it comes from a place of deep love for where I live and because I feel very protective towards my adoptive home.

I told myself that I would write this newsletter for at least one year. A few times I did struggle with putting together my usual three articles a month (with the month-end compilation of new reviews and updates). It’s certainly a lot more work than I had imagined. But I think I’m ready to tackle another year so if there’s a topic you’d like to see covered here, please drop a suggestion.

A big shout out and thank you to all the people who have helped and supported me, especially my friend Jeffrey Xtreme Foodies - we got started on here at the same time and helped each other navigate the murky Substack waters of too many dashboards and other complicated issues on this very unintuitive platform (and hey I’ve been building blogs and websites since 2007).

And of course my heart-felt thanks to all you lovely subscribers… wow, we’re up to almost 500 now! Because you are basically why I am here. Additional thanks to my paid subscribers who help make it possible to keep on with this. I have also met some wonderful new online pals here on “Notes” who are writing wonderful stuff too.

Cheers!

So that’s it. ¡Felices Fiestas & Feliz Año Nuevo! Hope to see you all here again in 2026! Who knows, I may even start that podcast…