So, now for the honest (yummy!) truth: I have tallied up my chocolate haul from Europe and broken it all down for you. I confess; I lived up to the last half of my nickname (think “maniac”, instead of “-iaK”) in my quest for chocolate. A huge thanks goes to my mom for following me all over the place as I stepped into every chocolatier and grocery store we encountered along the way. She was my true partner in the quest for new chocolates!
BY THE NUMBERS:
New brands collected: 47 in five countries
Pounds of chocolate brought home: Belgium 7.81, Netherlands 1.50, France 0.44, Germany 4.33, Switzerland 9.9. Total: 23.98 pounds
Chocolate purchased and consumed before returning home: 7 oz.
Chocolate consumed last night and not pictured: 3 oz.
Calories that will be consumed? Too many! But, who’s counting???
LABELS ADDED TO MY CHOCOLATE LABEL AND WRAPPER COLLECTION:
Belgium: Davinia, Delhaize, New Tree, Cachet, KC Chocolatier, Lucrotsaert, Union Edel Chocolade, The Chocolate Line, Jacques, Chocoholic Chocolatier, Stefs Chocolatier, Kathy Belgian Chocolates, Noble Chocolatier, Chocolates Keerman, Chocolaterie De Burg
Netherlands: DeHeer, Price
France: Monopix Bio!, Grand Jury. (I would have liked to have found more, however, the chocolatier I found in Strasbourg was ridiculously expensive!
Luxembourg: Sadly, none; it was Sunday and all of the chocolatiers and grocery stores were closed!
Germany: Schwermer, Sarotti, Peters, Rausch, Café Hansen Confiserie Bernkastel, Fin Carre, Eszet Schnitten, Ja!, Coppeneur, Rudesheimer Confiserie Laden, Hussel, Omira, Trumpe, Choceur
Switzerland: Sprungli, Alter Eco, M Classic (Migros Supermarket), Denner (Supermarket), Bachman, Max Chocolatier, OK, Minor, Choco CH, Chocolates Halba, Camille Bloch, CoOp (Supermarket), Swiss Lion Takova, Le Chocolatier Suisse
Thinking back on my purchases and examining the bounty before me, I realize I was more drawn to milk chocolate, this time around. It was quite the opposite when I brought home a carry-on full of Belgian chocolate, after my Belgium & Holland river cruise, in 2002. But, my preference for savoring bittersweet chocolate is to pair it with a jammy zinfandel, vintage port, or tawny port. And, I have cut back on my alcohol consumption, since returning to competitive swimming. This year, until Nationals ended in early August, I probably consumed no more than a total of 5-10 glasses of wine!
Milk chocolate, on the other hand, is my comfort food, and I enjoy it all by itself.
Next up on Elaine-iaK’s Travels: While I was in Europe, I took a lot of photos of chocolate displays; something I really enjoy doing. Check back soon for a tour through the chocolatiers of Europe!
Elaine-iaK's Travels: A Traveler's Tales of People, Places, Photos, Pools... and CHOCOLATE! 
WOW, what more can I say?!?!?!
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Wellll, I think you summed it up!
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Wow, I just got back from a holiday in the US. I thought I had stocked up- I mistakenly thought that buying 4 blocks of Vosges Naga was a lot! It wasn’t a lot at all. (There was other stuff don’t feel too sorry for me). Thanks I feel almost virtuous, and miserly about my purchases now!
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Hi Louise! Welcome to my travel blog and thanks for reading! I hope you had an enjoyable holiday in our country. I see from your e-mail address that you are from Australia. What part? As you may have noticed from previous posts, I have travelled in Australia and love it! I spent six months in your country, back in 1984, as part of a one-year travel adventure throughout the South Pacific, after graduating from San Diego State University. Since then, I have returned several times.
So, where did you visit in our country? I am pleased to hear I made you feel better about your American chocolate purchases, after you read about mine! If I were you, though, I wouldn’t have purchased much American chocolate, either. Although we have a few good chocolatiers (Chuou and Richard Donnelly are a couple of them from my native state of California), our mass-produced chocolate bars are, uhhhh, rubbish, compared to what can be found in Europe. Australian Cadbury beats anything we mass-produce, as well! Although, Scharffenberger, another California company (now owned by Hershey’s), does made good chocolate bars… Just stay away from American Cadbury, Hershey’s, Nestle’s, etc. Dove beats any of those, however, it still is inferior, in my opinion, to the bars from Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, etc.
When I was in Tassie, I toured the Cadbury chocolate factory; actually, on two different occasions. The “tour” isn’t what it used to be, but it still was fun; especially the free samples! Cheers!!
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Your blog makes me HUNGRY!!! 🙂
Elaine, I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every picture, anecdote, and whimsical post. You are just too much fun!
When I travelled Switzerland, many, many years ago, one of my best memories is of the wonderful chocolate. I also brought lots of it home and enjoyed every bite.
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Hey Deb! Thanks for reading my blog; I am so glad you enjoyed it! Wow, what a nice compliment; thanks for letting me know! Next time we get together for a swim meet, we’ll have to SERIOUSLY get into the chocolate- after we swim!
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