Every country has its own set of traditions. Some are considered good or welcome, whereas others are preferably hidden or banished. Take for example the little Spanish town of Buñol, which welcomes thousands of visitors every year to participate in their massive food fight at La Tomatina. Or take the restricted Dutch luilak, nowadays so rare and uncommon most Dutchies themselves have never heard of it. Still I think it’s a hilarious feast, where late risers are brutally awaken with loud music, eggs, fireworks and other forms of torture.

Istria (Croatia) also has a festival that could potentially attract curiosity-seekers like myself. Little known, the region celebrates ‘Ivanje’ every year on the 24^th of June. In this event goats (and their owners) gather from all over Istria to Svetvincenat, where a beauty contest open solely to these hoofed creatures is held. Contest categories include: most beautiful goat, most original goat, most likable goat and the obvious category Mr. goat.

Personally I love these events, as they reveal so much about the culture from which they sprang. Another great Istrian invention is zuppa, a small beverage made from red wine, fried bread and bits of olive oil, sugar and pepper. It is best drunk in a typical Istrian tavern, called a spacío, while listening to some bitinadu or other types of traditional music.

My favorite in Istria however has nothing to do with goats, taverns or flute music. It’s all about the gastronomy, as I learned during these last few days of wine tasting, olive-admiring and truffle searching. I wouldn’t say I’ve become an expert all of the sudden, but it definitely thought me a good lesson in food appreciation. And the food… it was well appreciated! I think I gained at least 5 kg this past week as we stuffed our stomachs with local delicacies. ‘One bite, one zip’ was the rule, just as ‘everything goes well with olive oil’ complemented every dish. The food was an amazing variety of seasonal, high-quality products with special attention given to wine, olive oil, truffles, seafood and pork. And best of all: it was affordable… very affordable in fact. Due to the lack of intermediary’s the prices remain low and a personal touch still accompanies every meal.

One of my favorite places visited was Batelina, a small seafood restaurant with a varying day-to-day, catch-to-catch menu. Normally I wouldn’t post the names of individual restaurants or hotels, but in this case I think it’s well worth the exception. This restaurant shall forever be remember by me as the place where I learned to eat fish, an astonishing accomplishment considering my usual aversion to anything sea-related. For years and years I’ve struggled with fish trying everything possible to accustom myself to its strong flavor. Bottles of ketchup or ravigote, flavorless fish types or hiding it inside pastries.. my frustrated friends and family tried everything to help in the process. In the Bolivian jungle my aversion got so bad I stopped trying altogether, preferring plates of plain white rice to a tablespoon of freshly caught piranha.

So I was surprised, to put it mildly, when at Batelina I did manage to eat the fish on my plate. And what was even more surprising, I ended up quite liking it too. For some reason I didn’t get nauseous at all. Maybe it was the owner, who went out to sea every morning to collect today’s menu, the chef’s sublime sense of taste or the kind waiter whose smile convinced me to try all the different delights. Whatever it was… it was good!

Visit http://www.istria-gourmet.com/ or www.istra.hr for more information on Istrian cuisine.