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This filler is gonna be really short. :)

Last night, I went out with some colleagues from this workshop I'm attending in San Sebastian to sample the nightlife of the city (which like most university cities also boasts of Erasmus parties). In one of the places we went to, I came across this nice drink - Satanas (Satan, in Spanish) which was really devilishly good. We took the shot without asking what it was first and found it surprisingly nice and I got a second shot because one of the guys didn't want his. 


 
This the first of many filler articles to come. Filler articles are short posts that I could quickly scribble and compose to keep a steady stream of information sharing when I'm busy writing blog posts as well as other things. As my hands are full in writing blog posts now (there are at least 3 under work), I decided to give the filler thing a go.

First, a short update on what I've been up to -- currently recovering from the short 2-day trip to Budapest that I did last weekend (more on that on a coming blog post) while also prepping for another trip for this coming weekend, an official one, this time to Spain... in the Basque country (up in the northern Atlantic coast, near the French border). Since I'm somewhat excited to do this trip (even if I've been there before, a couple of years ago), I'm writing a filler to share something which I'm looking forward to -- food-related, of course!

The Basque country (in particular, San Sebastian, one of its two main cities) is an important gastronomic center not just in Spain but also in Europe (boasting of being the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in Europe) - a fact that manifests in their participation in developments on modern cooking (nueva cocina or cuisine nouvelle) that can be sampled in their fine-dining posh restaurantes as well as in more accessible food options such as pintxos - the Basque equivalent of the Spanish tapas.
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Gambas al ajillo (Shrimp in garlic), a classic tapa one can find almost anywhere in Spain (this one is from Sevilla)
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Shrimp and fish paté on top of a piece bread, a classic pintxo in the Basque country (this one is from San Sebastian)
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Skewered shrimp with chopped bell peppers, onions and light vinaigrette, another pintxo (again, from San Sebastian)