Belle Provence Travels

Well, there’s not too much to say about the incredible-ness that was Sunday’s chocolate festival.  I think the photos speak volumes… and calories.

There were a few surprises from last year though. Namely, Champagne-tasting.  As if you needed another reason to make the trip? Then again, only to make sure we hadn’t “overlooked” anything, we put our brut, sec, and demi-sec tastebuds to the challenge. When in Rome and all.

Another great addition to this year’s fête was Provençal chocolatier Puyricard. Just taking a gander at their elegantly wrapped boxes brings a few words to mind; mainly luxurious & decadent.  Although we could probably add in another, less glamorous word… expensive.  Those dark gems cost more than a euro or two. And, if you ask me, they’re worth every gold & silver cent.

And what would a French festival be without macarons? I, for one, prefer to remain in the sugar-dusted dark about that one. Especially since we went “macaron mad” and spent 16 euros on these beauties.

Chestnut, tiramisu, coffee, pistachio, caramel beurre sale, and of course, chocolate. Ok, so those were only about half of the selections – need I say more?  Well yes, actually…. Only three words my friends: Macarons. for. breakfast.  Go ahead, come over to the dark side.

Well, if you’ve made it this far, you might just want to have one last peek at the stopping-point of all this choco-love: chocolate liqueur.  Of course there was also coconut, lavender, and our old friend caramel beurre sale (over-achievers) liqueur.  And if you couldn’t make it to this year’s fête, there’s always next year, or the possibility to attend Le Salon du Chocolat this week in Paris.  Can’t we make these high-speed trains go any faster? Bon chocolat et bonne fête les amis!