We are now in San Sebastian, a beautiful city on the Bay of Biscay, near the Spanish/French border and Pyrenees mountains. Although there are many things I love about it (a city on the sea, the architecture, the history, the shopping), I am particularly fascinated with the food. Do you blame me?

Basque delights:

1. Sidra (cider): This area is known for the plentiful cider, which is quite delicious and sometimes poured three feet above its glass by a bartender watching European basketball on the tele. Sidrerías, where cider is made, are prevalent in this area and offer tours and tasting.
2. All things buttered and all things sweet for that matter: you can barely go 3 storefronts without running into a pastelería, panadería, or cafetería with the most enticing delights in the window. I'm not saying I mind. I actually DID spend some time last night dreaming of what I would have for breakfast this morning at a café I was eyeing yesterday: “will it be the croissant, the croissant dipped in chocolate, the croissant with chocolate inside, the butter butter filled with crème...I just don't know.”
3. Pinxtos: The basque tapas go by the name pinxtos, and they are pretty tasty if I do say so myself. You simply have to go to a bar where the counter is filled with all the pinxtos you could imagine, pick what looks good, eat them standing up, and wash it down with cider!
4. Wine: we are in great proximity to some of the biggest wine regions in Spain: Rioja and Navarra, where we are headed tomorrow.
5. Baby eels, squids in their own ink, and scum...OK, so perhaps we're not the most adventurous and won't try these, but the specialties of the area include the aformentioned treats, with the exception of scum, which seemed to be a bad translation on our Spanish/Euskara/English menu.
6. Pan (bread): people walking around with bags of baguettes, just like in Paris. I get it, you like a carb.
7. Jamon y queso (ham in cheese): We are still in Spain, duh. The only difference if the ham and cheese in more pastry-like dishes. Greg ate ham and cheese for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner yesterday.