Yesterday I was at home threatening the cat and Jess asked me if we were out of butifarra. I said that I don't think so, but if you get caught short there are some tissues in the cupboard.

Having eaten out daily since we arrived here eight weeks ago I can report that the hospitality operators in Jerez – even the ones running touristy joints – go out of their way to provide exemplary service and are among the friendliest folk in the country.

When you come to San Sebastian, you should avoid the places you've read about and seen on TV. Not because they're no good, but that they're full of tourists who've all seen the same lazy YouTube clip.

If you've read my post on how to eat out in San Sebastian, you'll know to avoid any place that has a queue outside – because within five minutes' walk there are 50 places as good or better.

When you read up on the food scene before you visit a new town you’ll inevitably find dozens of articles with titles like ‘The 10 best places to eat in …’ In San Sebastian, such a notion doesn’t make much sense. There are around 200 eateries within 15 minutes walk

A common sight in this neck of the woods is tourists with mildly shocked and confused expressions on their faces as they enter a pintxo bar for the first time. It can be a little overwhelming, particularly when it's busy, so here's a brief guide to ordering food like a local.

Google Translate often won't help you identify menu items. While lots of bars in Basque Country have an English menu, they've often been written by someone local who himself has used Google Translate.

Back to our second day in Spain nearly two years ago. We're stocking up on groceries. We've unloaded our cart onto the conveyor belt and everything is going dandy. Then the checkout lady picked up our bag of potatoes an ran off with them, leaving us and a growing queue of people behinds us baffled and angry, respectively.

I'd rather have my scrotum caught in a revolving door than go to a supermarket on a Saturday morning. In Spain they do have equivalent supermarkets – many with revolving doors, so there are some intriguing possibilities opening up – but reliance by locals on these corporate behemoths is a lot lower than it is in Australia.