Wednesday 18 August 2010

Café Chocolat
I have had a dream,
and it was not past the wit of man
to say what dream it was!


Have you ever
engaged in flights of fancy,

such as finding
an airport café

that not only offered
a perfect cup of Java,

but also tempted your sweet tooth with pastries
that would do a French pâtissier proud?

Seek no more,
I found for you
that heaven
between the skies!

True Italian cappuccino -
"Just call me Illy"
she whispered darkly
from under a white frothy cloud -
and a melt-on-your-tongue chocolate morsel
filled with Whisky ganache,
presented on a heart-shaped plate

Yes,
perchance to dream!

I felt as if I were in heaven
and almost missed
my connecting flight,
so completely did I lose myself
in java bliss and chocolate!

*

This most rare vision
became reality at
Café Chocolat
Schiphol airport!
Amsterdam

Text and images
© 2010 by Merisi

*

"I have had a most rare vision.
I have had a dream past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about t’expound this dream. Methought I was—
there is no man can tell what.
Methought I was, and methought I had—
but man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was.
I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream.
It shall be called ‘Bottom’s Dream’,
because it hath no bottom."
From
"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
William Shakespeare

*

Subtitle of this post
with apologies to Bottom!

30 comments:

  1. Wonderful shots! Very cool post.

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  2. Oooooooooooooo
    All these nice colors!
    Provence did you good!!
    I was toying with going to Amsterday but by train
    This looks so much better.
    Major YUM

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  3. Lovely and yummy of course! delicate chocolate... and the passage from A Midsummer Night's Dream is precious.

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  4. Tempted to make a trip just to the airport. LOL! ;-)

    Paz

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  5. My favorite airport of all time. I couldn't get over that place. I just kept saying "are you kidding me?". I was even ushered off a plane there and taken to their emergency care room where I received an IV! They simply have everything.

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  6. You could publish these posts of yours and have a truly fabulous and beautiful book - I, for one, would buy it.

    These photos are so gorgeous and the composition is so satisfying, not to mention the brilliant color combinations.

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  7. Oh what a dream, Merisi and you shared it with us. What a wonderful cafe and you captured it all so well. I''m off over to Marcheline to vote for her.

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  8. Mmm. There is no doubt that I would have missed my flight. I would have been in dessert heaven.

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  9. I know where I am going to dream when I am in Amsterdam come this Sept.
    Thanks for the stunning lickable kissable photos!

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  10. Merisi, I know for a fact that you cannot get these delectable eats at our Louisville International Airport, I wish... Oh my goodness, does that all look tempting. The truffle sounds delish~ Lovely mood in this entry~

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  11. Dear Merisi,
    I have never seen anyone capture the colors of Provence in the way that you have. You've brought such a fresh eye to this much photographed place and made it look like a corner of the world none of us have ever seen before. Many thanks! Looks like you've been having a wonderful time.
    Catherine xx

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  12. I never saw cappuccino and chocolate at Schiphol. The last time I went through there, all I saw were smokers standing under a no-smoking sign, puffing away.

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  13. Merisi, I am just dreaming of the possibility of ever traveling again, by train or plane.

    This post of yours (and those prior ones from France) are so encouraging.

    Many thanks! xo

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  14. What a beautiful, delicious dream come true.

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  15. How civilized! I've never seen the like in an airport over here! (But I did once have a very good lobster roll in a restaurant in the Boston airport.)

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  16. Now I suppose you will be re-routing through Amsterdam more frequently. In Brussels thee is a very old cake shop on the Petit Sablon that has the most heavenly cakes that even a Viennese would die for.

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  17. My local airport does not have these wonderful things! Life is very unfair....I am now in need of chocolat and need to find some soon!!
    Great, great post!!

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  18. Just perfect! airports always have hidden treasure for us to find

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  19. OK, you just made me hungry. I love chocolate.

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  20. Lol, you would had an interesting post if you had miss your connecting flight. hehe

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  21. Merisi, it's really delightful to wait for a flight at Schiphol airport :-)

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  22. Sweet tooth yummy
    Oh, so saucy sweet
    Chocolat

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  23. Cathy!!!!!!!!!!
    *giggles*
    Good thing I lost that *opportunity"!

    Thank you all for your kind comments!
    I really enjoyed Schiphol airport (I even shopped for clothes! Yes, I bought).

    Merci beaucoup for your kind comments,
    I enjoy every single one of them.

    A wonderful day to you all,
    Merisi

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  24. N.B.:
    I forgot to mention that I did not eat that gorgeous chocolate creation in the first picture! It belonged to the customer in front of me (you have to pay Starbucks style, then carry your coffee to the table - makes sense, one wouldn't want to wait for the waiter and miss a plane). That whisky laced choclate truffle (thank you, Mary Howell Cromer, for reminding me of the word "truffle"!) was complimentary, and not only that, I was able to chose the flavour from a large tray of various flavours, amongst them also rhubarb, imagine!).

    Vicki,
    I'd fly through Boston just to get my hands again on a proper lobster roll! ;-)


    One more note:
    Four flights with KLM airline,
    and every one was like a dream come true too.
    Leg room so much one can only dream of when flying longer distances, ground and cabin crews nothing but delightful, extremely helpful, and to top if off: The tea on the flight from Amsterdam to Vienna was so good, my heart stood almost still after the first sip. I simply could not believe it at first it was so good! Now that was a first, great tea while high in the sky (yes, that was while flying economy!). So, go, fly KLM! :-)))

    Note to KLM:
    Yes, no problem, simply put the money in my account. Here's my number ....... ;-)

    .

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  25. They certainly don't have anything like this at Glasgow airport ;) Mmmmmmmmm that little cake looks delightful!

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  26. Catherine,
    I would have loved to have a bit of that chocolate fantasy! Doesn't it look a bit like Bart Simpson? ;-)

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  27. I have never seen an airport offering such tempting delights. Certainly not Stansted or Luton.

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  28. I nearly fell out my chair when I opened your blog to catch up and here are these photos. Two hours ago as the children were eating breakfast, we were looking at the Schiphol Airport website to find a way to spend time during our three hour lay-over in Octber. And of course, we'd decided to stop at Café Chocolat for a little pick up after the long flight. I can't wait to show the kids your pictures when they arrive home from school! Enjoy your trip and save just a bit of chocolate for us ;)

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  29. Now I am feeling hungry...

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  30. I need to go to Amsterdam if not for any other reason to go where you just took us! I need that chocolate whatever it was and a cappuccino!

    Beautiful photos and colors, as always!

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