The Choco-holics Oktoberfest: Eurochocolate in Perugia

Last week we snuck away from a house full of guests to indulge our sweet tooth at the Eurochocolate Festival and Exhibition in Perugia (the chocolate capital of Italy.)  This was no small event - the police closed the exit off the expressway & redirected traffic up to the medieval town.

We haphazardly left the car in a non-official parking spot and made our way in to the city walls.  It started sprinkling as we approached the first tents & within minutes a full blown rain storm was sitting over us. We pressed on determined to eat of fill of sweet, dark, rich chocolate in all forms....

 The chocolate sculptors were a crowd-pleaser! Not only did they create incredible works of art out of massive blocks of chocolate, their shavings were bagged up & given away to the hungry watching audience. (You would think these people hadn't eaten in days they way they snatched up the free bags)

The event was well organized with a choco-card available at 5 Euros for the choco-holics out there. As a card carrying member of the Eurochocolate festival you received a discount off purchase and a bunch of freebies at different booths.  There were lectures, demonstrations & more. Shops & cafe's throughout the city hosted chocolate themed events with special hot chocolates, chocolate tea & liquors, sauces, syrups - you dream it up, they covered in cocoa!

Which reminds me - Note to hot chocolate lovers: the warm classic drink is a bit different in Italy (called a cioccolato caldo) here it is served thick with a spoon - more of a hot pudding in a cup. If you like pudding you will LOVE it. On the other hand; if you (like me) prefer the classic hot chocolate ala warm milk - you will find this more than disappointing, especially on a cold, rainy day when all you want is good ol' hot cocoa.

The day we visited was a total wash - the streets were over crowded & unpassable due to open umbrella's blocking the way.  We of course still found our way to eat about a kilo of chocolate. However I was a little disappointed that Euro chocolate did not include chocolate from all over Europe but mainly Italy - I was looking to try something new (I could have just missed it in all the rain). That being said the dark chocolate peperoncino was spicy & unexpectedly delicious.

Hopefully next year we'll make it on a sunny day.