thankful for my friends

With thanks and gratitude being top of mind this week because of the celebration of US Thanksgiving that has just passed, it made me realize how grateful I am to have terrific friends–and friends who love to travel!

Sure, I’m fortunate to be able to travel the world for chocolate. But it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, or fiscally possible for that matter, if I didn’t have the companionship of my dear friends who not only provide me with a sounding board, a few laughs, guidance, and a tasting companion, but also help bear some of the costs associated with some of our amazing experiences while Chocolatouring the planet.

So in this post, I’d like to introduce you to the amazing women who have accompanied me over the past five years as I’ve made my way through a dozen countries in my research to date.

Kathe Lieber and me in the Grand Place, Belgium, Brussels, October, 2009 .

Kathe Lieber was the first to jump on the chocolate train. Kathe is a writer and editor who lives in Montreal. She was happy to arrange a mini-Chocolatour of Montreal for me. Kathe’s profound knowledge of and love for fine chocolate made my 2009 journey to Belgium, France, and Switzerland a most memorable journey. Kathe is also credited with suggesting that the title for my book be “Chocolatour.” So thanks to Kathe, for your friendship, support, and inspiration.

Virginia Heffernan happily donned rubber boots with me to explore cocoa fields in Peru and Ecuador in March, 2012.

Virginia Heffernan is an amazing friend who accompanied me to Spain, Italy, and Holland in 2010, and also to Peru and Ecuador in 2012. Virginia is a Toronto-based writer who specializes in writing about geology and mining. But she also loves fine chocolate and wine, and kept me smiling through some challenging situations, including a mud slide in Ecuador and bug bites in Peru.

Suzanne and I had the pleasure of staying at the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawaii, February, 2014.

Suzanne Boles lives in London, Ontario, and also has made two Chocolatours with me to date. We visited London, England, together in 2011, and Hawaii in 2014. Suzanne has persevered through health and personal challenges, and via her impassioned writing, is helping others deal with grief. Suzanne also specializes in writing business profiles and has a book or two in the works.

Mary-Anne prefers not to have her photo on the internet so here is a shot of the town of Soufriere, St. Lucia near where we stayed in December, 2012.

Mary-Anne Ignaszewski is a long-time friend I met through the insurance industry when I worked for Manitoba Public Insurance. She loves to travel, and when my husband Reg had to back out of our trip to St. Lucia, Mary-Anne stepped forward to join me on this amazing journey of luxurious chocolate exploration in December, 2012. I was extremely grateful for that, as although I have done several trips on my own, I really enjoy the companionship of a dear friend.

Susan Cooper and I met online but have become great in-person friends as well.

Mary Ann Porter (who prefers not to have her photo online) accompanied me to California on a Chocolatour in late 2013. I’ve known Mary Ann longer than any of the other friends I’ve done chocolate travel with (we met in 1974) and both our lives have made many twists and turns since the early days, but we’ve always held onto our friendship. The California Chocolatour was special in that it also introduced me in-person to a dear but relatively new online friend. Susan Cooper was kind enough to extend her incredible hospitality inviting us to stay with her while we explored chocolate in the California’s wine country. What a tasty journey that was!

It was great having Christine Peets join me at the Readers’ Favorite Awards

And most recently, Christine Peets of Napanee, Ontario, joined me in a Chocolatour of Kingston, Ontario, immediately followed by a trip to Miami, Florida, where I received my Readers’ Favorite award for Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate (volume I), and where we discovered some fantastic chocolate in the process. How wonderful it was to have a friend with me in Miami when I experienced the highlight (to date!) of my writing career. Christine is a writer and author who loves to travel, and is a joy to travel with–as are all of the amazing women named in this post.

My sincere thanks to each one of them for making the many journeys over the past five years INCREDIBLE.

Are you like me in that you prefer to travel with a friend, or do you prefer to celebrate the joys of solo travel? I hope you’ll share a comment here, and that you’ll join me back on this blog the week of December 8th for our next new post.