Snack of the month: European chocolate adventures

Last month we went to Disneyland Paris and while we were in France I took the opportunity to try some chocolate bars I hadn't seen before. I've decided to review them here but the delay between me eating them and me reviewing them means the reviews might be quite short!

The chocolate bars were:

Nougatti by Cote d'Or

Snax by Cote d'Or

Balisto

Joyfuel - chocolat au lait & cookie dough flavour

Nuts by Nestle

By far the best ones were the Cote d'Or bars as they has really nice chocolate on them. I'd eat the Nestle 'Nuts' bar again, but it wasn't as nice as the Cote d'Or bars. The Balisto was OK as something to try. The Joyfuel bar was one of those protein power bar things that are on trend over here and are basically the equivalent of energy drinks in the beverage aisle. A lot of promises and a weird inauthentic taste. I mainly bought it so I could send a picture to my niece, Joy.

And on to the more detailed reviews...

Composition-wise, the Nougatti bar was pretty much what you might expect - a soft nougat wrapped in chocolate. It had enough consistency to get slightly stuck on your teeth, as nougat is wont to do. 

The Snax came in two parts and from the wrapper I thought it might be peanut butter in a thick chocolate shell with peanuts embedded in it. 

Instead, the central core was a whipped nougat, like you'd find in a Mars Bar. There was crisped rice in the chocolate which gave an added crunch. It also came in two pieces, which makes it a good bar to share. I scoffed both pieces myself, though - and too quickly to take any pictures!

The Nuts bar was like a Mars Bar, complete with nougat and soft caramel, except for a line of hazelnuts down the middle of it. It was a good combo although the sweet flavour of the nuts couldn't compete with the sweetness of the nougat, caramel or chocolate. Generally I find Nestle chocolate overly sweet and this didn't dissuade me of my opinion. 

Balisto was two thin biscuits with an unmemorable fondant creme on top. Like I've already said they aren't a bar I'd bother eating again if there were other options. I ate my Balisto in the dark in DisneyLand and didn't attempt to take any photos. 

The Joyfuel bar had a weird composition. I couldn't taste the 'cookie dough' flavour and there didn't seem to be any bits in it that were meant to be cookie dough, although it was chewy. 

It probably goes well with a can of Monster or a bottle of Prime. I'd certainly class it in with the stuff that is more hype than flavour. 

But my niece Joy liked the photo I sent her, so it was worth it. 

Disneyland train delays

I was just about to get on the Disneyland train, for a leisurely trip around the park, when the attendant stopped me. "We have a problem with the train," he said.

Cue a group of engineers and maintenance guys gathering on the platform trying to work out what was wrong. 

However, the worst thing about the delay was that I was there without any of the other members of my party. And there were no other people from the UK near me in the queue. I was just about to make a joke about 'leaves on the line' when I realised the French, German and Spanish families near me probably wouldn't get the reference!

Eventually we got moving and I got to see Disneyland from the train. It gives an odd view of the park. My dad once said that travelling by train meant you saw "the backside of cities" and, it seems, the same was true on this train ride.

I liked the view of Thunder Mesa, home of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, though. It seemed to lean and loom more from this angle. 

There are a couple of 'vignettes' that are only visible from the train. There was a trope of abandoned vehicles...

Frontierland station was the only other station open besides Main Street. 

Discoveryland station looked eerily deserted as we choo-chooed through. 

And then I was back at Main Street again. My train photography skills were as bad and uninspiring as on the regular railways.

Cymru in Disneyland

In my post about Disneyland Paris I said I didn't get a good picture of the Welsh characters on the It's a Small World ride. So my sister sent me a picture.

She also took a picture of me eating a healthy lunch!

It was delicious.

Disneyland Paris

For the first time in seven years, Cathy and I left the country on holiday. We went to visit the most magical of lands... Disneyland! We took over 1,400 photos. Here are a handful for your enjoyment.

Because it was nearly Hallowe'en, Disneyland was decorated in autumnal and Hallowe'en decorations. There were pumpkins everywhere!

We saw all the big stars including Mickey and Minnie...

...Donald...

...and Daisy (in the Hallowe'en Parade)

Minnie was also in the Hallowe'en Parade with a giant horn of plenty symbolising harvest.

We went with my sister, Sarah, brother-in-law, Dan, and their three kids, Iona, Jura and Finlay. We mixed and matched going on various rides together. Finlay joined me on the Mad Hatter's Teacups.

My favourite ride was the Thunder Mountain Railroad. I liked it so much I literally bought the t-shirt. In the evening I got what I think is a great photo of it, all lit up.

Other rides I enjoyed included Star Tours (well, naturally...), the Ratatouille ride and the Cars Road Trip. And, of course, It's a Small World!

There were some Welsh representatives in the visit to all the cultures around the globe, but I didn't get a good photo of the little Welsh people. However, it's not just humans depicted on the ride - there's animals too!

The main Parade attracted a big throng of people. Cathy got a kerbside view and took some great pictures.

There were also plenty of other places to take selfies and other funny photos.

We had a bit of rain one afternoon we were there, but our final morning was bright and sunny again. The last ride I went on was the classic carousel.

And then, sadly, it was time for us to go. We left the castle behind, looking stunning in the sunshine.