In which I take a side trip in time and space to consider the Mayans, the Aztecs and Chocolate

During our visit to Antica Dolceria Bonajuta,  the artisanal chocolate producer in Modica, our guide emphasized the fact that most modern chocolatiers, who use heat based methods such as conching and tempering to create smooth chocolate with a shiny appearance. By contrast, the Bonajuta chocolate makers still used a traditional “cold-processing” method similar to that…

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Road Trip Through History: Old Fort Madison

And now, back to the Great River Road after a brief detour to South Africa at the end of the nineteenth century:   We got to Old Fort Madison, outside what I suppose would be called new Fort Madison Iowa, shortly before the site closed. We had driven past the town where we planned to…

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Road Trip Through History: Black Hawk State Historical Site

My Own True Love and I are big believers in stopping at the local tourist information center in any town we go through, even if we are simply in transit rather than on an official Road Trip. More than once, a local booster has steered us to something we might not have found on our…

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