Friday, January 25, 2013

OZ/NZ Epic Trip Roundup - Part 5 - Disappointing Candy Stores

I had a great time traveling through New Zealand and Australia.  It was a great place to visit, explore, and sample great food.  I managed to sample so many sweet treats and junk food bites that I just couldn't find anywhere else in the world, but I was really disappointed about one thing, candy stores.

It's not that there wasn't any candy stores in either of these countries, in fact there were many.  Small towns, large cities, malls, main streets, there were plenty of candy shops to choose from.  The problem I had with most of them was the selection of treats.  These stores were full of imported candy, mostly from places like the UK or USA.  Don't get me wrong, I love UK and US treats, but not when I'm in Australia or New Zealand.  When travel, the candy I want is the stuff I can't find anywhere else, or at the very least the stuff they make better than anywhere else.

In North America and the UK they too have candy stores, and these stores also supply imports, but they have more.  Many have a supply of classic and retro candy from their own area.  Candies that are local, but that you're not likely to find on the shelf of a grocery store.  Most candy stores, the good ones at least, also have staff that weren't such candy snobs that they could recommend a local treat, even if it was "pedestrian" to them.  I didn't walk into any candy stores in either country feeling like I learned something about Australia or New Zealand candy.  Instead I walked out with a feeling that most of these candy shop owners and employees just wanted to show off how much they new about treats from other places.

CC

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