Greetings from Seville, where springtime means caracoles

Miguel Macias/NPR

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

This is the time of the year when Seville is in full bloom. Quite literally. You can smell the orange blossoms as you walk down the streets, and Sevillians flock to their favorite neighborhood tapas bars to do one of the things they enjoy the most: hang out with friends and family outdoors.

Around the same time, for about two months, you can see one of the most popular tapas on almost every table: caracoles, snails. Caracoles in the south of Spain differ from the well-known French escargot. You eat caracoles directly from the shell; they are smaller too. And they are cooked in a spiced broth which is unique to every single bar you might visit.

Any respectable Sevillian is an expert in caracoles. And everyone knows a hidden place, in any given neighborhood of the city, where you can find the best.

Right around my corner, there is one of those places. The bar opens early for breakfast every day. They also serve lunch. They don't serve dinner. Except ... during caracoles season. For those months, it's packed every night. It's the kind of place where many people know each other. And where customers know Meli — pictured here — and her colleagues Juan and Miguel, all greeting you from behind the bar by your name.

At the bar, I recently ran into an old friend who had moved away from the area. The neighborhood is getting expensive, as are many others adjacent to the historic center, which has surrendered to tourism. She pointed at the tables behind her and said, "These people ... they are my tribe." You don't hear that term very often. But it made me think about the importance of this tradition in Seville. Any day of the week, gather around a table at a tapas bar terrace, eat caracoles, let the hours go by, share the small moments that make up our lives.

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