Treats from England

Last month my older son went to England for just over a week.  It was a tourist/pleasure trip and he was lucky to go with a friend of ours who happens to have a son as well (our boys/men pretty much grew up together).

Thanksgiving night he showed the family a wonderful slideshow of pictures and talked about the places he had seen, the adventures he had and yes, the food he ate.

The first pictures I received while he was across the big ocean were of his first meals including an Indian plate that wasn't very well received.

Among the treasures we received as souveneirs from the excursion were Cadbury chocolates and some unfamiliar sweets.  Why does my mind wander off to Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka?

Of course I am fooled by the name of these candies and assume they are similar in some way to our version of Smarties (which I do not like), however, my son assures me they are more like our M & M's.

The cardboard tube is a lovely packaging idea and I notice it is designed to be opened and closed, not simply ripped off and tossed aside.  Ah, reading the package - the serving size is 2.  I'm sure most consumers here would simply tear into it and enjoy, but I like this idea very much.  Sometimes after a meal I simply want something a little sweet.  I blame it on being an ex-smoker and needing something to take on the job of those old after dinner cigarettes.

The candy seems to have a thinner, crisper, yet more flavorful shell.  Again, I think of Willy Wonka explaining the flavored, lickable wallpaper, "The snozzberries taste like snozzberries."  Why, the orange candy shell actually resembles a citrus taste, not just chocolate.  How wild.

Most readily available chocolate from the grocery store here has become somewhat flat and waxy tasting to me.  Not sure if the chocolate itself has changed or my palette, but either way, the Smarties have a deeper, richer taste that could almost be accused of having a better quality.  The nerve.

My son had a lovely adventure and a fabulous time.  He enjoyed the change of pace at breakfast with a table that included eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms as well as baked beans (which he doesn't eat) and yes, he had fish and chips.  It was not the culinary adventure that left him feeling Fed Well so much as the overall experience.  Back home, we were happy he shared some sweet bits with us and that we could enjoy his stories and photographs of a wonderful week in England.