Antwerp in Four Acts -Act 1

We headed off from Central Station, just after nine for our day to Antwerp. The train trip took less than an hour. Antwerp station is amazing in so many ways - it is stunning to look at and quite grandiose, and there are about four or five levels of platforms.

Once we had a cup of coffee at a café in the station, we headed off for our first destination, Chocolate Nation, the Belgian Chocolate Experience. And, what an experience it was. The museum is very modern and interactive, and takes you through the process of how the coco bean is grown, harvested, transported and becomes chocolate. The whole process from tree to plate is quite long and technical. We also learnt about why Belgian chocolate is the best in the world. There is a Chocolatier Academy within the museum where people undertake a two year qualification. Callebaut is one of the most innovate chocolate companies; they worked out you could transport chocolate in a liquid state, which was a game changer for the industry. They were also the company that collaborated with an ice cream company to develop the Magnum, using Belgian chocolate. It was quite a difficult process to maintain the integrity of the chocolate when freezing it, but through perseverance they had success and billions of magnums are consumed around the world each year.

The last stop on the tour was the tasting room, where you were able to taste 10 different chocolates from white, ruby, milk, caramel, dark and a number of other iterations. We tried Saône Thomé, 811, Arriba, Power 41, Madagascar, Santonga, Gold, 823, Ruby and White. The chocolate was served in liquid form from a contraption like an ice cream soft serve machine, and you were given a spoon. You placed your spoon under the nozzle and pulled the arm, and chocolate was released onto your spoon. I tried each one once and then returned to my favourites - about 5 or 6 of them - and served myself a double portion. I think I probably over did it just slightly but, hey, it was delicious.

We then went to the chocolate shop to make a few purchases before heading out into the wet weather.Read more