Candy Chat Chicago

Finland and Schwannomas and Bears, Oh my!

Candy Chat is back with a 3-hour extravaganza. Ronnie Raviv joined hosts Leah Jones and Jocelyn Geboy to talk about medical diagnoses, Finland, the Ice Hotel, the last Bears game of the post-season, all while eating a lot of Finnish candy.
Candy that we sample during the episode. Photos on Threads
Suffeli Puffi
Marianne
Dumle Winter Mix
Jaffa
Karl Fazer Blueberry Truffle
Karl Fazer Salty Toffee Crunch
Salted Caramel Fudge
Ollo All Sorts
Susu Snacks
Tutti Frutti Winter Mix
Tyrkisk Peper
Fazer Glogikulaat
Lapland's blueberry candy 
Vestibular Schwannoma or Acoustic Neuroma information
Mayo Clinic
Dr. Ricky Wong
 
Ronnie and Leah's guide to Lapland
Time-lapse drive to Sweden:
Housing between Kittila/Levy and Muonio
Villa Borealis (where we stayed)
https://www.villaborealis.com 
Lapland Dream Villas (3adjacent cabins, different owner, same operator)
https://www.laplanddream.fi 
 
Appropriate clothing
Our property owner had a warehouse that she took us to for boots, coats, gloves, snowpants, etc
Ice hotel provided coveralls, gloves, boots, balaclava
Base layer of cotton is a no-no in a cold room at Icehotel so make sure you at least have something synthetic or wool for top and bottom
 
Places we ate in Finland
Swiss cafe Muonio
Takka at Olos resort
Panoramic restaurant at Levi resort via gondola
Levi Pizza
Salteriat (schnitzel)
Finland activities and vendors
Aurora Chase with Arctic Frontiers http://www.arcticfrontier.fi/ 
Phenomenal. Would’ve booked a second night if needed
Base camp was on a frozen lake with a hut with a fire, warm juice and brownies
Dogsled http://www.maglelin.fi/ 
What a delightful afternoon! Ronnie drove a sled himself and I was a passenger on the guide's sled. Once she saw my cane, she made arrangements for me to sit and take 200 photos. 
Family owned and operated. She offers different distances based on the weather and party size. 
Arcandia Adventure Park 
What a fun, silly night! 
We did ramen with the shamen for dinner. Hot pot cooking with reindeer meat, filet, ramen, fresh veg
A la cart sausages and snacks looked good
Hot chocolate with mint liqueur was delicious 
We threw spears, axes, archery, and did an astrology chart
This is hilly terrain with snow packed paths. We saw people slip and fall, but kept our footing. 
Of course it’s a tourist trap! Take your best ren faire or Comic-Con attitude and have fun
https://www.arcandia.fi/ 
Reindeer safari https://www.getyourguide.com/sirkka-l139331/levi-reindeer-experience-with-sled-ride-t418396/?ranking_uuid=3248de96-0922-420f-af99-54f05c66decf 
Warm drinks in a hut with a fire for fascinating reindeer facts after short sleigh ride and feeding reindeer
 
Ice hotel in Sweden
https://www.icehotel.com/ 
What we did
Ice Dinner
Slept cold in 365 art suite
Aurora photography with Scandinavian Sami Photoadventures
Www.scandanavianphtotoadventures.com. 
Ice sculpture class
Ice Hotel suggestions
Look at the calendar for when the winter exhibit opens. We went a week before. Fun vibe with all the artists and builders on campus, but we didn’t get to see the annual build
Skip the ice dinner and eat a la carts
Use their gear! It’s really good
Make it two nights - one warm, one cold - and enjoy a slower visit
Overall thoughts
We went Nov 30 to December 6
2 hours of daylight stretched into 4-5 hours with dawn and dusk
Went before peak season of total darkness, so more cost effective 
We didn’t do any Christmas or Santa stuff
A few notes on traveling fat and mobility-impaired
IceHotel had gear in sizes too big for me!
The icehotel sleeping bag was snug and a little claustrophobic, but it zipped
The property manager had coats big enough for me (actually a little too big)
WinterRent coat was my fave, but their 6x pants didn't fit. Their boots were also the best I borrowed for me. 
The Snow Country snow pants I bought on clearance last year were perfect https://www.snowcountryouterwear.com/ 
Smart Wool base layers in largest size fit great
Darn Tough socks were tight on calf, but worked good enough 
Every restaurant has comfortable seating for me
The wheelchair plane access in Kittila was an elevator on a truck. If you are unsteady on your feet, get wheelchair services in the airports and save your energy for dogsledding. 
Bring your own towel. No towel in Finland wrapped around my body. 

Bissinger's Chocolate - the tasting (Part 2)

In a follow-up to our conversation with Dan Abel Jr, the Willy Wonka of the Midwest, we sat down with four boxes of Bissinger's treats to see if the old world recipes hold up.
Spoiler alert: they do.
We sampled....
The 1668 Collection
Strawberry Bark
Sea Salt Caramels
J'adore Bissinger's
The chocolates were provided by Bissinger's PR Team, but we were not compensated for this episode or the interview with Dan.
Please rate and review Candy Chat Chicago 5 stars and tell your friends to listen.
 

Bissinger's Part 1 - Chatting with Dan Abel Jr

Jocelyn and Leah sit down with Dan Abel Jr, the Chief Chocolate Officer of St. Louis-based Bissinger's Chocolate. We learn about the history of the company from the 1600s in France to the 2000s in St. Louis, Missouri, why they import oranges and chocolate from Europe and what handcrafted means to them.
In Part 2, we get into the chocolate treats.
A few links
Bissinger's Chocolate
The St. Louis Podcast
Youtube: Inside the Bissinger's factory
Please rate and review Candy Chat Chicago 5 stars and tell your friends to listen.
 

Korean candy and summer vacation

The night before Leah went on her summer vacation to Africa, Jocelyn came over with very special Toney's Chocoloneys and Korean candies. They also tried salt water taffy from Oregon and talked about movie podcasts.
Rovos Rail
How Did This Get Made
Newcomers
Blank Check
Unclear and Present Danger (Jamelle Bouie)

Nougat is nuts?

Jocelyn went to Woodman's and brought some post-Halloween treats, so we recorded an episode.
Want to eat along with Jocelyn and Leah?
Fiery Cinnamon Zots
Pecan Snickers
Jello Pudding Cups (candy)
Mango Chili Rips

Jocelyn's 50th Birthday Celebration

In March, Leah and Jocelyn were joined by friend Jo McCawley to celebrate Jocelyn's birthday the only way we know how - by recording a podcast episode. This episode is heavy on chat and a little light on candy, but 100% Candy Chat.
Show Notes
Cheryl's Cookies
Carol's Cookies
Chamoy pickles
YaBoy Chamoy
Phony Negronis
Mocktails
Seedlip
Fre
Braunschwieger
Ham Salad
Dehydrated candies
Skittles lentils
Chubbies (breadsticks and shorts)
Girl Scout Cookies
Nutter Butters
Oreos
The history of bagels
Little Debbie vs Hostess
Please rate us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts
If you found us through Dinosaur at The Den - welcome!

Merry Christmas from Candy Chat

Leah and Jocelyn are back to talk about Christmas traditions and try some Secret Santa regional treats from Robert Persinger (AKA The Drop King).
We try...
Chukar Cherries
Fran's Park Bars
Aplets and Cotlets 

Candy from Spain and Sweden in September

Happy birthday, Jocelyn! We are working on bringing Candy Chat Chicago back with weekly episodes. Here's an episode recorded in September with treats from Spain and Sweden thanks to Lily, Shai, James and Abby!

Korean Candy and Roadtrip candy

In August, Leah and Jocelyn took a road trip to Rochester, Minnesota where they bought a lot of candy. Then our friend Jamie in Germany sent a care package. Jocelyn's friend Matt went to Korea and brought us back candy.
We have so much candy, friends.
We're trying candy from Germany, Korea and Minnesota. We're talking sad documentaries and highway signs. Fast 9, AMC movie pass and so much more.

Shai Korman visits Candy Chat HQ

In July - JULY - Shai Korman from Friday Night Movie Podcast was in Chicago for 24 hours and he dropped into the Candy Chat Chicago HQ for a quick record. Then we sat on the file for months, because... life is hard sometimes.
It was worth the wait - Shai tells us about how our mutual friend Justin Korda changed campaigning at their high school in Montreal, his favorite parts of a nuero-psych exam and how a good joke means love.
July was when our second care package from Jamie in Germany arrived, so we started trying some treats from Europe!
Listen to Shai and his sister's on Friday Night Movie Podcast  and
Shai's first episode with us