Tag: chocolate

Coffee, Cookies, And Chocolate!

These are the best presents one can get for Christmas! I have already shown the present I received from my friends living in Ireland – chocolates and an expresso-maker ornament.

Next was a package from my friend from New Zealand: cookies baked by her triplet daughters :), chocolates, and a Christmas pendant:

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Remember These Chocolates?

The ones I bought in Amsterdam, carefully chosen from an insane variety?

As with any properly made chocolate, it had to be consumed within 10-12 day, the mission which I successfully accomplished. However, i regretted not taking the pictures inside the store – although I remembered which flavors I chose, I couldn’t always tell which one I was about to consume. I enjoyed them anyway, but I had a moment when, after the box was emptied, I found a tiny black square on the bottom, which unfolded into a complete chocolate inventory!

Boston: When You Can’t Choose

That’s My Way!

The Best Hot Chocolate

The best thing that happened to me in Pasadena was Amara Cafe! It was on the list of recommended places to eat from the hotel reception. I was a little bit suspicious because I didn’t know much about Venezuelan cuisine, and Mexican cuisine is not my favorite, but after some hesitation, I went there, and I was sold on the spot!

I asked the clerk what kind of hot chocolate he’d recommend, and he said: Venezuelan, of course! I ate my arepa and proceeded with hot chocolate. Never in my life, even in Lausanne, I tasted hot chocolate like this! I was sitting, sipping it slowly, and taking it in. It felt more than a drink, more than a food – a complete mind and body experience!

I returned to Amara one more time, on Sunday morning- thankfully, their opening time does not change, and although the city was mostly asleep at 7-30 AM on Sunday, the chocolate was ready.

The owner came out and asked me how I liked it, and I tried to describe my feelings:). He said: you can make it at home, and gave me a package: just follow the instructions! I am unsure whether I can really do it myself, but I will give it a try!

The Chocolate Museum in Brussels

There was no way I would miss this attraction!

So many things about chocolate I didn’t know before!

Mayan chocolate vessles
Sugar Hammers
Chocolate-making pots
Spanish chocolate cups
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Vilnius: Lithuanian Comfort Food and Coffee

On this trip, I rediscovered Lithuanian food. I recalled everything I liked many years ago, and we made sure never to eat at the same place twice, and try different foods each time.

On the first day, there were zeppelins and Lithuanian kvass, and this kvass was so incredibly good, that we never skipped it:). The one which we tried in the first place was the best though.

Zemaiciu was another thing I had very fond memories of, as well as other kinds of potatoe-based foods.

I even tried potatoes pancakes with pig ears!
And Boris tried potatoes and pork sausage
Forgot this dessert name
Continue reading “Vilnius: Lithuanian Comfort Food and Coffee” →

Chocolates

I came home last night – a flight was a little bit delayed, but otherwise nice an comfortable, and there were very few people on the aircraft. I am on the CTA on my way to the office, and I have a detail appointment after work, and somehow I need to squizz in a conference call on a non-work-related topic.

I still want to post another hundred pictures from Tallinn, which I hope to accomplish in the next couple of days. Life goes on.

And here is… well, I had an “economy light” fare, which meant no luggage… but I know how to use my carry-on wisely 🙂

Stress, Chocolate And Me

I hoped that this weekend would be a “return to normal,” but it ended up being anything like that. On Friday evening, after I already spent two days trying to resolve upgrade issues, I realized that I would have to work on Saturday. At that point, I thought it would be just a couple of hours (it ended up being eight).

I had a million things to do in the morning, so I told my co-worker that I want to start the next upgrade at one. That still put me on a tight schedule since I also planned to talk to Boris before work started.

I was trying to lay out all my morning moves in the best possible way, including the fact that I had to go shopping with mom.

The point is that I was trying very hard to keep my schedule and be home at noon to talk to Boris, and I had ten stops to make.

As a result, I forgot two things. One is that I forgot to apply my birthday coupon at IKEA (it was valid for the whole month of January, but I am not planning to go there one more time). And the second is that I forgot to pick up my Brazilian chocolates at the w=Winter market. They are only there for two hours every other Saturday, and they only deliver pre-orders. Not like I do not have enough chocolate at home, but I thought it would be nice to support them, and my birthday is a good reason to do so.

So I ordered a box of brigadeiros and two packages of alfajores and figure out that between mom, post office, and IKEA, I will be able to stop by the Winter market. And I forgot!
Moreover, it turned out they texted me fifteen minutes before the market was over, and I didn’t see this message because I was already late for my online date:).
I only saw this message two hours later, when I was already deep in work and texted then a million apologies.

Their reply was: we are glad you are OK! I realized that, knowing me for a while, they could not imagine anything stopping me from picking up chocolates! And then they texted me that they will deliver, and they did.

ANd it was so good to have all this chocolate at the end of exceptionally stressful day!

Supporting Finnish Economy I

I think that if the Finnish government issued a free COVID test for me, it’s my moral duty to support Finnish Economy. With this in mind, I headed to the center of the city, hoping that the stores in Forum will be open at 11 AM (giving Sunday plus covid restrictions). TO my disappointment, nothing was open till noon,

I had no other choice than to go straight to the central Fazer store, which was fortunately open at 10 AM!