Chocolate
Going to Europe has reawakened my lifelong love affair with chocolate.In Bruggges, Belgium, I visited my third chocolate museum (shout out to Angela and the Barcelona one in '02 and Matt and the Tasmanian Cadbury's factory/museum in '03!). The emotions I experience upon seeing ancient Mayan chocolate-grinding tools or dainty Victorian chocolate-serving pots (similar to teapots), and the delight I take in reading about Napoleon taking away the chocolate tax or learning about how the processes by which white chocolate is generated must be akin to how what history-buffs experience upon seeing old battlefields and important political buildings (the important question, however, is: do they receive chocolate samples at the end of their tours? i think not!).
In Brugges, I saw my first real cocoa pods, suspended in some viscous liquid similar to how you see body parts and brains in mad-scientist movies! I don't remember seeing these before, nor do I remember seeing the extent of the ancient central american artifacts as they had in their museum. I also revelled in learning how many medicinal benefits chocolate has been purported to have over the years - ja, i say, ja ("yes," in Dutch)!
My favorite part, perhaps, was learning about how Europeans used to have hot-chocolate bars that served the purposes of a sort of fusion between the contemporary coffee shop and pub - they were places to gather and chill, similar to coffee shops, but also engage in some racuous conversation and debate, similar to pubs...I say, let us bring the chocolate bar back!
I spent some time wandering the streets of Brugges, daydreaming about a future career as a chocolate barrista extraordinaire... | posted by Cheryl, 11/06/2005 09:06:00 AM
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