Text 11523, 77 rader
Skriven 2014-03-29 23:05:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: cultural 399
====================
So I'm opening a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate, and it's
individually wrapped, and the little thing, 1/3 oz it is,
oddly, labeled for individual sale, says on the back

     SEALED FOR FRESHNESS
To Open: Lift Flap and Tear at End
   -------------------------->

So I get to thinking, which end does one tear at. I mean,
it's pretty obvious that the arrow is pointing to an end,
but what does one actually make of it - does one go to
the end where the arrow is pointing and start tearing
from there, or does one go to the other end and tear
down in the direction of the arrow. Turns out, I was
doing the latter, but thinking about it, the former was
probably meant. But what would you do - visually follow
the arrow to an end and start tugging from there, or
start at the opposite end and use it as a guide? Both
work, by the way.

Anyhow, these were the same kind of Intense Dark
collection that I reported about before (CVS periodically
has a good deal on it). I now think the 60% is worth a
B- rather than a B-/C+ as I gave it a while back, but I
was stuck inside by Lasix today and had very few Calories,
and that might affect my judgment.

I also found a few individually boxed chocolate lozenges
somewhat smaller than the Ghirardelli, maybe 1/4 oz,
labeled (text centered attractively)
R
Renaissance
Izmir Hotel
"Asjkabn baska birseye
ihtiyacimiz yok aslinda.
Ama tabi, arada strada bir parca
cikolatanin zarari olmaz!
All you need is love.
But a little chocolate now and then
doesn't hurt."
- Charles M. Schultz

Probably part of my welcome amenity when I stayed there
at the beginning of the month.

One was a bit melted from the journey, the rest intact.

Very sweet, sweeter than my 60% above in the same ratio
that Turkish coffee is to regular coffee. Strong vanilla
aroma and taste, and even though the product was quite
dark, it tasted rather like milk chocolate to me, though
not bad for that. It made me flatulate, too, so I guess
that's dispositive. The melted one tasted strongly of
the cardboard wrapper, not objectionably, but rather like
what you experience with a pizza that has endured a
delivery journey.

By the way, that was one of the finest hotel stays I've
ever had - Middle Eastern hospitality can't be beat,
especially in a baksheesh-driven environment. I had to
keep replenishing my supply of small bills, and with the
exchange rate being what it was, I was tipping more than
the standard US tip, because the smallest bill there is
no longer a one or a two, and tipping change is said to
be an insult (or are the travel writers scamming us?).
Later, after I left, I read that even the suited and
professional desk staff are supposed to be tipped. I
had not done so, but they didn't have their paws out or
anything, so I figured I was good to go, and they were
uniformly polite. We had tipped doormen, bellhops,
bartenders, waiters, and maids more than adequately, so
I'm pretty sure I didn't give the impression of being
a stiffer, but who knows.

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