Europe Here I Come!!

image from: simplecomplexity.net

I will be in Europe next month visiting Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. I do need some assistance on what sweet stops that I shouldn't/can't miss while I'm there. I only have two weeks, so I have to make use of my time there. I'm super excited, and can't wait to see all that there is to explore. If you have any suggestions I'd be glad to hear from you. Thank you all!! xoxo

Jean Philippe Patisserie- Aria at City Center Las Vegas, NV

Located in the heart of Las Vegas's relatively new attraction, City Center, lies Aria Resort and Casino, home to Jean Philippe Patisserie. This is quite a sight for anyone to awe at, and there is a lot to see with their extravagant display of cakes, chocolates, candy, and pastries. When I first saw this location, I didn't even know that it was a Jean Philippe Patisserie. I have seen their other location at Bellagio Resort & Casino, known famously for their Guinness record setting chocolate fountain, but this was something else. Everything here seems so delicate and artfully crafted. There is so much detail in all the work that is displayed for purchase here. There are no real walls surrounding the store, so it makes for a larger atmosphere that extends beyond the stores original size. You are encompassed by a sea of cake designs, chocolate sculptures, and even carefully detailed mini cakes no larger than the size of your hand (featured below).

 

 You can't help but throw in an "awh," or "oh my gosh" in this store. Their items are truly that amazing. The location offers a retail side and also a cafe dining side. Their cafe offers a selection of freshly made crepes, gourmet sandwiches, salads, pastries, coffees, and other beverages. My favorite on a cold day is their vanilla latte. It's so light, fluffy, and flavorful. Their coffees are not overpowering, and their flavoring is not too syrup empowered. They go excellent with one of their cookies, or anything in this store for that matter.

They do carry prepacked items and gift packages, but you are also able to create your own mix of Jean Philippe Maury's famous chocolates. Pastries are a must buy here, Chef Jean Philippe is a World Champion Pastry Chef, so there is no mistake that these pastries are nothing short of HeaVenLy DeLiciOusneSS.

Candyality- North Bridge Shops on Michigan Avenue

Do you think it's possible to predict your personality based on the type of candy you enjoy eating? That's what Candyality believes. It's not a science or a mathematical formula, but owner Terese McDonald thinks that her store is nearly close to the mark on what candy says about you. This company has two locations in the Chicago area however, I visited the location in Michigan Avenue's North Bridge Shops which is also home to a Lego store residing on the same level ;). It makes for a great location because it is located in a "mall" atmosphere, so if you're with a group, there's a store for everyone to be occupied with while you take your trip through Candyality.The store is not very large, but it houses a numerous assortment of candies including bulk, retro, nostalgic, and chocolates. They also offer snack items and candy related products such as apparel, cupcake notebooks, pens/pencils, stickers, etc. 

  

This store was featured in several articles including Candybuyer.com and Candyindustry.com, which gives a brief description as to how Candality came about. McDonald was originally a sales representative and manager for a company that sold luxury cosmetics and fragrances. To obtain the attention of her employees and fellow retailers during training sessions, she used candy to bring them together, which also to sparked their interest by relating their candy selections to their personality types. As her training method became more popularized, she was able to create her own candy wonderland and hone her confectionery skills to open shop. 

It's amazing to see all the candies tucked inside this store. I wasn't aware of the history behind this store before browsing around, but I wish I had been so that I could find out my own candy personality. None of the store associates explained the store's background to me which I was disappointed about, so I'm not quite sure if they're specifically trained on the special skill of candy personalization. Most of the candies in their store brought a "homey" feel to them. It seemed more like the old fashioned kid in a candy store feel, without a real modern twist to it. One thing I did find interesting in the store was the different Jelly Bean art that was featured on the walls which were all created locally. They even had a Jelly Belly Obama piece! They also offer customizable gift baskets that can be created for any size. Usually candy stores only offer extravagant gift baskets that are outrageously priced however at Candyality, you are able to make baskets at any size (even a small assortment of bulk candy pieces). I usually don't like to take a large amount of candy at a time so these more individualized sized packages served as the perfect size for me to bring while I spent the rest of my day shopping around Michigan Avenue. :)

 

Fannie May's- (E.Wacker) Chicago,IL

Not too far from my hotel in Chicago was Fannie May's, a candy shop that has multiple locations however, it is found typically in the Mid-West (www.fanniemay.com). The location which I visited was on Michigan and Wacker. For those who have never been, but know of See's Candies, this store seemed relatively similar. The store's main product is chocolates, and they had a bunch of gourmet flavors to choose from. They have the option to either hand select your box of chocolates, or choose from the many prepackaged gifts they have all along the store walls. 

They even have cute themed candies such as the one's featured below. You can either have them placed in bags and measured by weight, or as a packaged set. If you look above, they had a few in plastic round containers (bottom shelf).

The store wasn't too large, and when I went, there were hardly any people inside; which made it easy to look and think about what I wanted to purchase while I was in the store. Their selection of chocolates included creams, caramels, nuts, dark, milk, cookie stuffed, white, marshmallow, fruit, nougat, and mint. My favorite is the fruit fudge milk chocolates which are comprised of a chocolate cream fudge with fruit and nuts covered with milk chocolate. I'm a huge fan of Cadbury's Fruit and Nut chocolate bar, and not many companies make this mix, so I like when I find stores that carry it. They have a flavor to please almost any person. I think that the only flavor they were missing from their hand selected chocolates was coffee.    

Other than chocolates, Fannie May's also carries gummi assortments, fudge, cookies, nuts, and in this location, ice cream. What I found to be unique when going to this store was that they had local souvenirs. Since this store was in Chicago, they had Chicago Cubs chocolates, and also chocolates with Chicago packaging. It sort of made me think of collecting the chocolates to say which Fannie May's I've visited, it's something I always do when I see a Hard Rock Restaurant for their pins, but chocolate is so much sweeter ;) hehe.

Towards the back of the store if you have time, you should take a look at the photos that they have commemorating the history of Fannie May's. This brand is almost a century old, so they have a lot of history. Make sure when taking a look around to read the labels on their products. Everything seems to look the same however, each box has something different. It was quite interesting to see the huge assortment of chocolates they carried. Their cookies were great too, and really fresh. It's not common to see prepackaged cookies that are still soft to the touch. I like my cookies soft and not crunchy, so I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up a few of their cookies and they were able to be bent at the slightest touch.