It's actually pretty uncommon for us to really relax and just do nothing on vacation. It is a new concept for us, and not one that Dave or I is overly fond of (though the kids seem to enjoy it!), so by the 27th we were itching to get out and really DO something.
After sifting through the brochures in the rental house, and playing around online, we decided on driving up the coast a short way to the town of Villajoyosa and a tour of the Valor Chocolate Factory. We all have an odd fascination with factory tours and have been on a surprisingly large number of them when I stop to think about it. So a tour of one that is free and involves chocolate samples was right up our alley.
So, armed with directions and information that tours are conducted on the hour and you are supposed to stand outside the locked gate to the factory grounds and someone will come out and let people in for the tour when the time comes, off we went.
The factory was on the edge of town; even the parking area was scenic:
And then we stood around waiting outside of the gates. We were reasonably confident someone would really come, not only from having read online, but also because there were about 25 Spaniards also standing around waiting on the next tour.
Sure enough, right on time the tour guide arrived to let everyone in. One of Valor's old delivery trucks was in the parking area inside the gates, where we gathered initially:
After a few minutes we went into a small building to watch a movie about the history of the Valor company, how the chocolate is made, and a few Valor advertisements. It was all in Spanish, but the tour guide spoke fluent English and gave us a rundown of what would be covered as we walked over to the building. We thought this ad, which requires no understanding of Spanish, was funny:
After the film (about 20 minutes) we were taken into the "chocolate museum." The guide gave a brief presentation in Spanish and then everyone was free to roam throughout, reading the signs. The signs are all in Spanish and the 6 English speakers (there was another couple) were treated to a much more detailed explanation after the Spaniards began to wander. It was really very interesting and well done We also still had time to see the exhibits--primarily older chocolate machines, molds, advertisements, etc. Here is Rio checking out some of the molds:
After about 20 minutes in the small museum, we headed into the factory itself. No photos are allowed in the production areas, and being a holiday week the machines were not running. Nonetheless it was an interesting tour and we enjoyed it. The smell of chocolate was intense even in the fully glassed in overhead walkway, on a holiday when the plant had not been in operation for several days. It must be overpowering on the shop floor on a work day!
Much like a good Disney ride, the factory tour ended in a gift shop. We were happy to buy a bit of chocolate, especially after tasting it! MMMmmm. It is really very good stuff. Of note, one of the main samples available was the sugar free milk chocolate. It was truly outstanding and we would have never guessed it was sugar free had the staff not told us. If you, or anyone you know, is diabetic, I highly recommend seeking out this chocolate.
I ended up ducking out of the gift shop ahead of the group to sit in the parking lot. I was feeling a bit queasy and thought it was just the chocolate scent. Fresh air did help some, but I continued to feel "off"and we cut our plans to walk through town short and headed only to the grocery store for BBQ supplies and then back to the car to head for home.
We spied these Mickey Mouse burgers in the grocery store and thought they were pretty funny, so we snapped a photo to share:
Unfortunately, by the time we made it home I was feeling very out of it. I had a fever and an upset stomach and was down for the remainder of the day. I have to say it was a good time to have a HOUSE to be in, and not just a hotel room.
Everyone else stayed out of my way and had a nice BBQ on the roof, watched oddball British TV on satellite and generally kept themselves entertained. What's not to love when you have burgers?
I hope everyone is staying safe in all that white stuff out there this weekend.
Hadley
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