spaniards (an non-spaniards) look at me with pity when i tell them that i´m allergic to shellfish. shellfish are a large and well loved part of the spanish diet. what they don´t know is that not only am i allergic to shellfish, but that has led to an allergy to tapas.
i love tapas as much as the next girl, but due to what i am guessing is my severe (before i thought it was mild) allergy to shellfish, i cannot eat all tapas, due to cross contamination (using the same pots and pans to cook non shellfish as shellfish.) so i pick and choose my tapas wisely.
but a few days ago, i went to meet up with some friends who were finishing up at a tapas bar. after walking in my face began to feel hot...and itchy...and puffy. behold, i was having an allergic reaction to vaporized shellfish protein!
how, i ask, how and i supposed to live in spain if i can´t even go into tapas bars? there must be shellfish allergy support groups in spain, there must be. i´m going to find one. i´ll keep you updated.
