This week is American Chocolate Week. And it just so happens that I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, "Exercise is a dirty word...Everytime I hear it, I wash my mouth out with chocolate." I cracked up.

I do see their point though--there's always some obstacle between me and exercising. I may not be able to find the time, I may not have the right equipment, I may not have a partner, etc. But--I can ALWAYS find time for a Hershey's with Almonds.

When I was up North, I absolutely loved to go to Hershey, Pennsylvania where the air smells faintly of chocolate and the streetlights are shaped like Hershey's Kisses. I even stayed at the Hotel Hershey once and was treated to one of their famous chocolate spa treatments. Please know that you haven't lived until you've had a Chocolate Sugar Scrub.

But then, when I moved to South Florida, one of my first discoveries was the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop, down on South Beach. There are only a few around the country. I was in absolute heaven--anywhere with both chocolate AND ice cream is fine in my book. They give you a sample of chocolate when you enter the store and it's only uphill from there. I had the best white chocolate macadamia cookie there...

What about you? Are you a chocolate monster? What's your favorite? Do you have a great chocolate shop near you?

Your comments--priceless!