The second day of our trip started in the morning at around 8:30 with a nice breakfast in the hotel. We then took the metro to head towards a chocolate tasting and walking tour. The chocolate tasting was at a small craft chocolate shop called Cacao & Spice. A woman named Salome ran the shop. She gave part of our group a chocolate tasting while the rest of the group did a walking tour, and afterwards the two groups switched. I first did the chocolate tasting. We tried ethically sourced chocolates from Ghana, the Congo, the Netherlands, and some other countries. Each chocolate was very special, as they were “Single Origin Chocolates.” These chocolates were all grown in specific environments in these countries, and thus their flavor had been influenced by the things that surround the cacao plants. When I first heard her describe that we would be able to taste how “fruity” or “nutty” the chocolates were, I was assuming that the taste notes would be subtle and very hard to detect, but they really weren’t. She described what we would be tasting as we tasted the chocolates, and it was a magical experience. The chocolates also all had varied taste notes and very noticeable differences. While we ate the great chocolates, Salome told us about the history of the spice trade starting in the 17th century, and how spices like nutmeg and clove are directly connected to Amsterdam. She also mentioned current challenges with the cacao business. Many large chocolate companies are still using child labor on their plantations, and these businesses refuse to meet the fairtrade standards because they are too focused on making as much money as possible. However, Salome is trying to make sure that all of her chocolate and the chocolate she sells at her shop are ethically and sustainably sourced.

After the great chocolate tasting, we had the walking tour done by Salome’s husband, Ian. Ian was very knowledgeable about Amsterdam and the Netherlands. He told us stories about Amsterdam and its history. One of the most interesting things he taught us about is how the cost of the buildings used to be based on how wide they were, so people would try to find ways to make their narrow property have as much space as possible. To make more space, they would slightly expand their buildings forwards as they go up, making the building look like it’s slanting forwards. Below is an example of a building that did this.

Ian took us to see some other cool places in Amsterdam, told us some more stories, and then we went back to the chocolate shop. We had a couple hours of free time, so I and some others went to get food at a Surinamese place that Ian recommended. I had a spicy chicken sandwich that was amazing.

After eating, we took a nice canal cruise in the canals of Amsterdam. It was very peaceful and very cool to see the city from a different perspective. After the cruise, we walked around and did some shopping and then later got dinner. Finally, I then walked to a beautiful park called Amstel park with some people. It was a full day of learning, walking, and exploring this cool city.