Gourmet Prague, Day 1

It wouldn't be a vacation without local food. Looking for a cappuccino break, we walked down an alleyway and found a wonderful candy and chocolate shop. Similar to fudge demoes in the States, we watched candy cane makers massage huge lumps of molton, multi-colored sugars into long canes and then chop it into bite size candies. The inside of the candies are wonderful patterns, similar to New York candies my friend Betty gave to Laura for her birthday. The other half of the shop showcases Belgian chocolates of all kinds. Walking around salivating we got a good chuckle from the porno shapes in a tear corner. But most importantly, they had HOT CHOCOLATE just like in Rome. After much debate over whether TWO hot chocolates would be too cloyingly sweet, we decided to share a large chocolate, a cappuccino and a tart, nicely balancing the sugar, caffeine and fruit!

That fueled us for some more walking. Surprisingly, we were AWAKE! Georges watched movies the whole 9 hour flight but I slept. Coffee and a nice hot breakfast on the plane gave us a good start. We took a 90 minute rest before dinner , including a long soak in the large bathtub for me.

Wanting "local" good, the concierge sent us to Vun... , warning us to bypass the vibrant bar scene, to the charming cellar restaurant. All kinds of house made sausages sounded great, but we settled on two Czech specialties: roasted goose leg and grilled pig's knuckle. OMG, we were in Foodie Heaven. The goose leg looked like a very large chicken leg, and was better than duck. The log knuckle could have fed four. I sent a nice portion if leftover back with the waiter, suggesting it would make a dog very happy. I enjoyed a Czech rose wine and Georges lapped up a Urquell pilsner. We ended on a high note with apple strudel (Ibi, Georges' mother made it much better) and two Czech brandies, which we hope to bring home.

I had no trouble falling asleep. :)Read more