I am in Amsterdam. It's warm and sunny - almost hot for this time of year, and I have just turned 50 years old today. It's Sept. 11, and the first time in about five years, I am not thinking about the anniversary of the whole 9/11/01 debacle in NYC in the U.S. For about five years, I felt it was somehow not appropriate to celebrate my birthday. (Good thing I have always believed in having a "birthday month" and not limiting a birthday celebration to just one day.) I am excited about this coming year. And Amsterdam, I have decided, is a great place to start my Yes,-I-sure-can-eat-a-different-kind-of-chocolate-each-day-for-a-year bet that I've just accepted. An early ancestor with my same last name, apparently headed out to the U.S. back in the 1600s from Amsterdam. So, this is a nice place to start a journey - even if it's just a chocolate one.
After looking at tulip bulbs being offered for sale, boats quietly shooshing by in the canals, a very large pair of wooden shoes on the sidewalk outside someone's shop, and seeing some impressive bicycle parking garages, I duck into a little store to buy some chocolates to take back home to friends and family. (The shopkeeper is very nice and speaks English, and listens politely as I try to explain the whole chocolate bet idea.)
Then, I decide to have a birthday dinner at Haagen-Dazs ice cream store. It is warm for this time of year, and some kind of chocolate-related ice cream sounds good to me. Of course, after I return home, and do a bit of research on the web about the company, I realize I am an idiot - because I've forgotten that this is really an American (not European) company that made up a vaguely Scandinavian-sounding name in the early days of premium ice cream branding a few decades ago. Ah well, I will have to try harder tomorrow to find something more locally authentic. It's tough work, but I am determined to forge on. This year is going to be a blast.
Chocolate of the Day:
1 scoop sundae
Haagen-Dazs
Very Good
$ (translation?)
Purchased at: ? ice cream shop in Amsterdam
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