Sampling Belgian chocolate in Bruges COMPLETED 6/2 - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Here you go again, giving me many beautiful pictures to admire and chocolate to boot. I think I may just have to go to the store, even though I just got done at the denist for two fillings. Oh well, my mouth deserves a treat.
I agree - after all that, your mouth definitely deserves a treat!
As usual you TR is filled with great Architecture, Statues and wonderful information. I am trying to catch up with all the great TRs that I have missed for awhile. The chocolate Museum is really awesome. Looking for to the next update.
Tuesday 20 May – part five: so why is Belgian chocolate so good?
Now the bit I really wanted to learn about is why Belgian chocolate is so good, and I was expecting to see that at the start of the museum, but they left it until the end, which was a bit frustrating to wait that long to get the answer to your question…
The first chocolateries appeared in Belgium at the end of the 1600s, when the country was under Spanish rule, and they introduced it. Stringent chocolate composition regulations were introduced in Belgium in 1884, with all products called chocolate needing to contain at least 35% pure cocoa or 45% for dark chocolate. They also grind their chocolate down more, which ensures you don’t get a grainy taste in your mouth when the chocolate melts on your tongue. Finally, Belgian chocolate makers use high-quality cocoa beans. So now you know!
Here we saw tin boxes. The first were produced in France in the canning industry, then over the years they became more highly decorated and then chocolate was put into them:
When we were done, we headed back down to the ground floor, where thankfully there was now no wait for the restrooms. The line when we arrived, with the various tour groups, was a joke, and we soon found out the reason why – there was only one restroom for women and one for men! We were both surprised they didn’t have more facilities.
We were both very disappointed by the shop. There just wasn’t much in it. Debbie quite liked the look of the cyclist moulds that she’d seen earlier, as her husband and son are keen cyclists, but there was no sign of the moulds or the shaped chocolate in here. Although we had a browse, we both left empty handed and felt they’d really missed a trick with this.
We decided to wander for a bit, and made our way through more of the city…
Eventually we found this lovely area, Jan van Eyckplein square.
We got some photos of each other…
We tried a selfie, but it really didn’t work well. I think, on my phone, the quality for selfies is really poor compared to the general camera, and it also needed a flash, but you can’t use a flash with a selfie, which is a shame.
We carried on wandering, and found an amazing chocolatier that had these in the window: D
Unfortunately, it was closed. We weren’t sure if it was closed for lunch, but I suspect it was closed for the day, as it was a Tuesday and it’s not peak season, and I guess if you’re a small business, you want some time off at some point. Sadly, I never saw these guys again, so I wasn’t able to get any…
Once again, we just wandered…
… and found another part of the canal network…
With that, we decided to head back towards the city centre…
Too bad the shop at the museum wasn't better. Then the double insult of not being able to buy some of those cute chocolate cows? No fair! I do think you mentioned having some chocolate left from this trip, so I'm relieved to know you eventually found an open shop with items you wanted!
Hoping it isn't about to rain on you!
The chocolate museum could make a fortune in souvenir sales if they had the right stuff for sale. They are definitely missing out. I love the Belgian architecture. And was noticing the changes in the sky as your pictures progressed with your walking.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ballston Lake, NY
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 46,162
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 94
Likes (Received): 241
Thanks (Given): 0
Thanks (Received): 139
Pixie Dust (Given): 3
Pixie Dust (Received): 4
How disappointing that you left empty handed from the gift shop at the museum. And also disappointing that the shop with the chocolate cows was closed too!!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
How disappointing that must have been not having a shop filled with lots of chocolates. I noticed many bicycles in many pictures. Wish we had businesses that close to travel like that, sure would save lots of money on gas. Enjoying all the photos.
How disappointing that you left empty handed from the gift shop at the museum. And also disappointing that the shop with the chocolate cows was closed too!!
Fortunately we did have more luck with chocolate shopping later in the day...
How disappointing that must have been not having a shop filled with lots of chocolates. I noticed many bicycles in many pictures. Wish we had businesses that close to travel like that, sure would save lots of money on gas. Enjoying all the photos.
On the continent, they are very keen on cycling, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands. We keep trying it over here, but it's not that safe on the roads here. They have a lot of bikes you can rent in London, but a couple of months ago, we had a spate of cyclist deaths which hit the headlines, highlighting how dangerous it can be on a bike here.
About This Page: 
chocolate, so a tour of any chocolate museum would be on my itinerary. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
they left it until the end, which was a bit frustrating to wait that long to get the answer to your question… 
We were both surprised they didn’t have more facilities. 
Sorry you couldn't find any chocolate cows! 
At least I know where it is, so if we make it back later this year (I'd like to...) then I can try again... 
. I noticed many bicycles in many pictures. Wish we had businesses that close to travel like that, sure would save lots of money on gas.
Linear Mode
