A collection of guides, reflections, and resources on Gastronomy and Life in Spain.
The Perfect Birthday I Didn't Plan: Four Days, One Celebration, and the Gift of Being Exactly Where I Am
Sometimes the universe conspires in your favor in ways you could never orchestrate. My birthday this year didn't just fall on a day…it fell on the eve of San Sebastián's biggest celebration, the Tamborrada, gifting me a four-day weekend and a cascade of moments that reminded me exactly why I'm here.
I spent it wandering alone through morning streets, treating myself to an omakase dinner at Kai Sushi, sipping a mezcal martini at the legendary Dry Bar in Hotel Cristina (where staff surprised me with champagne and cake), meeting friends for craft beer at Baga Biga Faktoria, and walking home along the quiet Urumea River. When I arrived, a gift from friends back home waited on my doorstep, tangible proof that love travels across oceans.
This is the story of celebrating a birthday abroad: grateful and homesick, solo and surrounded, honoring both the life I chose and the people I miss. Because pursuing a master's degree in a foreign country means learning to hold contradictions, and finding beauty in both.
Designing Delicious: Why Sensory Science Is the Most Underrated Food Technology
Sensory science turns “cool ideas” into food people love. Here’s how GOe approaches sensory evaluation, chef panels, and consumer insight to design delicious outcomes.
Sensory analysis, GOe Tech Center, consumer science, chef panels, product development, flavor perception, San Sebastián
Fermentation Is Technology: How GOe Turns Microbes Into Flavor, Sustainability, and New Possibilities
Fermentation isn’t a trend, it’s a technology. GOe is using microorganisms, labs, and culinary creativity to design foods that are delicious, healthy, and sustainable.
Fermentation, GOe Tech Center, microbiology, flavor innovation, sustainable food, gastronomy technology, San Sebastián
GOe in San Sebastián: When a Building Becomes a Food Innovation Ecosystem
San Sebastián just gained a new kind of landmark: GOe, Gastronomy Open Ecosystem. It’s not only a building; it’s an ecosystem that connects education, research, entrepreneurship, and public engagement to build a more delicious (and more sustainable) future. Here’s what GOe is, why it matters, and what I’m learning from being in this environment.
#GOe #SanSebastian #FoodInnovation #Gastronomy #FoodTech #SensoryScience #Fermentation
Santo Tomás Day: When Food, Farmers, and Rent Built a City
I almost stayed home, but Santo Tomás pulled me into the streets of Donostia, where smoke, corn talo, and txistorra turned a winter day into a living archive. This is the story of a festival rooted in rent, land, labor, and how studying food systems is changing the way I see everything.
Hiking in Donostia
Planning to explore San Sebastián on foot? This hiking guide includes beginner to moderate trails near Donostia, Spain, with maps, photos, and trail links.