My last trip to Ferrara in Italy was full of events and one of the unexpected attractions was a short visit in a chocolate factory Offelleria Rizzati. I got invited to see the process of chocolate production, however, I hope to visit this place again as I didn’t have enough time to get the details, take good photos and-OK let’s go public- to eat enough chocolate! Although short this was a fascinating visit. I am generally curious of how particular things are being made, especially if its about food. Rizzati is a family business and their production has started about 10 years ago. They import cocoa beans from: Equador, St. Domingo, Peru, and Madagascar. The cocoa seeds are cultivated and harvested 2-3 times a year depending on the weather conditions. This is the reason of diversification of the seeds’ origins. Some years are very generous while some others modest and as the factory needs to run all year round they need to secure the import. The main focus of this company is to make the chocolate produced of high quality. They have a strong preference towards techniques and productions process that takes more time than usually employed in huge factories. Moreover, they offer some products of their own recipe, like tenerina without flour or creams of consistency similar to Nutella but prepared of crushed nuts and sugar solely. I felt really strange trying particular types of chocolate like you normally do in a vinery or something. I have never thought that the proportion of the cocoa beans or the process of crushing and melting it can change the final taste. One of the chocolates prepared of more than 80% of cocoa left a sensational small pieces of cocoa in my mouth, similar to the grains of sand. I also ate the cream made of pistacchio and it was one of the sweetest thing I have ever eaten. The company also produces candied fruits. Unfortunately, I didn’t  have time to go into details but of what I heard the main characteristics of their fruits is related to long process of frying and drying with huge amount of sugar. I hope to visit this place again pretty soon to give you some further details.  

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Paris is one of the most popular touristic destinations in the world. While you find thousands of “good advises” and “must-see” spots I would like to encourage you to a lazy walk around one of the city islands: Île St-Louis. Frankly, even if Paris is not my favorite city I think I would agree with Audrey Hepburn who said: “Paris is always a good idea” I went to Paris many times and I saw it in various seasons: extremely warm when the city seams to be empty, in the rain, covered with autumn leafs. Personally, my last trip to Paris was the most memorable for me. Mainly because I saw it so many times before that I finally could get wonderfully lost. If you are in Paris Île St-Louis is highly recommended. You may even be lucky and avoid the crowd if you visit this part of the city in late afternoon. The island itself is lovely, with its tiny little streets and stylish houses, with wonderful views on the river. But what you really need to do is to visit one particular place called Cacao et Chocolat, a small chocolaterie. It is located in Rue St-Louis en l’Île  at the corner with Rue de Regrattier.  It is very easy to find: all you need to do is to walk down the main street and at certain point it is simply there. Why after so many years I still remember this place? Mostly because of the exceptional taste of hot chocolate with chilly, then because of a very cozy and friendly interior. It reminded me some old fashion cafes with wooden shelves and this beautiful containers for coffee beans, candies and other goods. Also because of a variety of smells and flavors. You get the impression that this chocolate comes from all over the world. But most of all because I visited Pairs in late October when it is already chilly. I traveled to Paris from Italy so even knowing it is much colder in Paris than in Rome I still had no warm clothes that I could take with me. So, I was freezing for most of the time. When I was drinking my chocolate I remember until today this soothing sensation of warm, first in my stomach and then gradually spreading all over my body. This was the only moment during my whole stay in Paris, that I was feeling warm. From this very moment for me Paris is a city of warm and sweetness. I don’t know if this place still exists but if it does you need to go there! Credits: Samuel Globus and brangal (flickr.com)  

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