life's little pleasures.

Every now and again, I get to do awesome stuff. Well...I often get to do awesome stuff. But every now and then I get to do stuff that makes me feel like a giddy teenage girl.

Like sticking my hand in old bloody salty fish juice.

On a recent visit to Getaria, we made the obligatory stop in to Itsas Mendi to buy/eat what some say are the world's best anchovies.  Our friend Michael showed us around the back of the store, which is actually where they clean and process all the anchovies from the ocean right outside.  And this time, they had a barrel of fish curing, which they do for 7 to 8 months in loads of salt at room temperature before being refrigerated. 

I loved learning about the process of making anchovies. Then, Michael invited me to pick up some of the fish.  And it was awesome. In America I never get to stick my hand in a barrel of dead fish. For me, these are the moments where I really appreciate where I am. Weird.