Friday, 20 November 2015, h 20:45
Belostikale
Belostikale
It has been a fun Friday. It has been a long Friday, starting with a drink among friends and ending at sometime A.M. under heavy rain... but let us proceed in an orderly fashion.
We meet outside of ARRIOLA, in Belostikale, and drink Amstel lagers with our friends Jon, Giedre, Patxi and Ester. It's a crew of staunch supporters of our project, and we owe them for the best photos (especially you, Jon, great pics!), laughs and some rounds as well. Thanks guys!
Before the weather betrays us, we can take some chairs out and enjoy our drinks in the open air, like real callejeros. Owner was actually friendly, never mind Bea's unimpressed expression in the pic below.
Next caña is a Mahou Classic ordered next door at ISIPIL. The bar looks like every other bar at a first glance, but then we are surprised to discover a first floor with frescoes of cats adorning the walls, instead of the usual tavern decorations. Why limit yourself to Athletic Bilbao scarves and beer coasters when you can decorate with kittens?
We need to munch something and find shelter from the rain, so we move on to OKAPI. This cafe (notable also for a kids corner and a book-crossing spot) offers several veg-friendly dishes, so we order a plate of falafel and a round of queso frito. While Alex and Ivan, faithful to the caña cause, drink a draft Estrella Damm, Bea and Patxi are happy to find craft bottled beers more to their taste. Patxi's "Patxi" IPA qualifies as the most fitting order of the night. Look at that happy face!
In the meantime, more friends and friends of friends join us: the local Oier, Hameed from Libya, Svea and Judith from Germany, Helen and Mathew from UK, Stéphane and Stéphane from France. It's getting quite crowded and our glasses are empty. Time for the next bar, and we choose TXOMIN BARULLO TABERNA in Barrenkale for another Estrella Damm. See their cool Groucho Marx tribute on the wall?
Chatting with so many people makes one thirsty. We walk to another street and enter BAR SANTA MARÍA, where we order Heinekens and sweet moscatel wine. You can see Giedre on the far right of the photo, holding her share of liquid social skills.
Just in front we find the TABERNA TXIRIBOGA, where Hameed buys a round of San Miguel.
At ANDER ETXEA, in Barrenkale, the guys drink Amstel lager; Giedre encourages the others to try a Martini, since this bar is famous for them. We can happily confirm that they are lip-smackingly good - although mixing several types of drinks might not be the best idea, you know, healthwise. Whoops.
Our last beer stop is the PIN UP BAR for an Estrella Damm. At this point, only a few of us are left: in addition to Ivan, Bea and Alex, followed by Judith, Svea and Hameed. We are tipsy, there is music, and well, inhibitions lower... The worst happens.
We start dancing.
Eight - yes, eight - bars have been conquered tonight, and in some cases more than one drink was ordered, bringing the grand total of alcohol units per person to... well... a "we are too old for this s***" figure.
And yet we are not done. Being three guys and three girls, the KAFE ANTZOKIA disco sounds like the perfect way to end such an evening. Technically no beer was drunk there, but some moments are worth remembering. Yes, we will regret this next time one of us applies for a job, but how not to mention...
....Alex opening his umbrella to better dance Rihanna's hit song?
...Bea improvising a limbo using the new t-shirt as a rope?
...Ivan with his weak attempts to fight away unwanted attentions?
Enjoy. And until next chapter, obviously: cheers!
*****
First things first: WE GOT AWESOME T-SHIRTS!!! An original design by Alex, featuring Drunk Obama approving the long list of streets in Casco Viejo. There's a long way to go, still... But with these cool clothing, bartenders actually started to take note of us. Read: free beers are a dream getting closer and closer every week. 
We meet outside of ARRIOLA, in Belostikale, and drink Amstel lagers with our friends Jon, Giedre, Patxi and Ester. It's a crew of staunch supporters of our project, and we owe them for the best photos (especially you, Jon, great pics!), laughs and some rounds as well. Thanks guys!
Before the weather betrays us, we can take some chairs out and enjoy our drinks in the open air, like real callejeros. Owner was actually friendly, never mind Bea's unimpressed expression in the pic below.
Next caña is a Mahou Classic ordered next door at ISIPIL. The bar looks like every other bar at a first glance, but then we are surprised to discover a first floor with frescoes of cats adorning the walls, instead of the usual tavern decorations. Why limit yourself to Athletic Bilbao scarves and beer coasters when you can decorate with kittens?
In the meantime, more friends and friends of friends join us: the local Oier, Hameed from Libya, Svea and Judith from Germany, Helen and Mathew from UK, Stéphane and Stéphane from France. It's getting quite crowded and our glasses are empty. Time for the next bar, and we choose TXOMIN BARULLO TABERNA in Barrenkale for another Estrella Damm. See their cool Groucho Marx tribute on the wall?
Chatting with so many people makes one thirsty. We walk to another street and enter BAR SANTA MARÍA, where we order Heinekens and sweet moscatel wine. You can see Giedre on the far right of the photo, holding her share of liquid social skills.
Just in front we find the TABERNA TXIRIBOGA, where Hameed buys a round of San Miguel.
At ANDER ETXEA, in Barrenkale, the guys drink Amstel lager; Giedre encourages the others to try a Martini, since this bar is famous for them. We can happily confirm that they are lip-smackingly good - although mixing several types of drinks might not be the best idea, you know, healthwise. Whoops.
Our last beer stop is the PIN UP BAR for an Estrella Damm. At this point, only a few of us are left: in addition to Ivan, Bea and Alex, followed by Judith, Svea and Hameed. We are tipsy, there is music, and well, inhibitions lower... The worst happens.
We start dancing.
Eight - yes, eight - bars have been conquered tonight, and in some cases more than one drink was ordered, bringing the grand total of alcohol units per person to... well... a "we are too old for this s***" figure.
And yet we are not done. Being three guys and three girls, the KAFE ANTZOKIA disco sounds like the perfect way to end such an evening. Technically no beer was drunk there, but some moments are worth remembering. Yes, we will regret this next time one of us applies for a job, but how not to mention...
....Alex opening his umbrella to better dance Rihanna's hit song?
...Bea improvising a limbo using the new t-shirt as a rope?
...Ivan with his weak attempts to fight away unwanted attentions?
Enjoy. And until next chapter, obviously: cheers!
