{"id":32536,"date":"2014-04-02T09:41:07","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T23:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=32536"},"modified":"2015-03-11T14:17:50","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T04:17:50","slug":"a-chocolate-fanatics-guide-to-easter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/a-chocolate-fanatics-guide-to-easter\/","title":{"rendered":"A chocolate fanatic\u2019s top five guide to Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<div class=\"pinkLinks\">The sound of crinkled alfoil, \u201ctaste testing\u201d the chocolate eggs and starting the day with buttered hot cross buns are just a few things that get me excited about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/dms\/site\/easter\/index.html?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">Easter<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"pinkLinks\"><!--more-->It brings back fond memories of dipping eggs in pastel coloured dye with my grandma the night before waking up to talcum powdered bunny footprints. It\u2019s also a time when I don\u2019t look out of place having chocolate crumbs on my chin or filling up the grocery basket with eggs (not the yolk kind). I like chocolate just as much as sloths like sleep. Munching on eggs is one way to satisfy my cravings but I\u2019ve been on the lookout for some other chocolate inspired experiences and these are my favourite finds:1.<strong> Raise your pinky to sweet treats:<\/strong><br \/>\nThink Alice in Wonderland meets the world of Willy Wonka and you get The Brisbane Stamford Plaza\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stamford.com.au\/spb\/restaurant--bar\/mad-hatters-high-tea?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">Mad Hatter\u2019s High Tea.<\/a> If you\u2019re disappointed that the annual Sebel chocolate buffet has discontinued and haven\u2019t tried this delicious experience, I suggest you make it an annual ritual. The white chocolate rabbits and toadstool pop cakes look too good to eat, but you won\u2019t be able to resist trying all the other scrumptious sweets after you take your first bite. You\u2019ll be devouring sticky jam tarts and pocket watch sandwiches in between sips of pink lemonade and sparkling wine. If you need to sleep it off you can always <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/accommodation\/australia\/stamford-plaza-brisbane\/W1070?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">stay a night or two<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32552\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/eggs.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32552\" class=\"wp-image-32552 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/eggs.jpg\" alt=\"Stamford Plaza Madhatter's plate\" width=\"300\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/eggs.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/eggs-209x300.jpg 209w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-32552\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stamford Plaza Brisbane&#8217;s Madhatter&#8217;s plate<\/p><\/div>\n<p>2. <strong>A winning combination: <\/strong><br \/>\nWhen I\u2019m not thinking about chocolate, I\u2019m reaching for the cheese and wine. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/accommodation\/australia\/nsw-hunter-region-nswhttp:\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/accommodation\/australia\/nsw-hunter-region-nsw?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">Hunter Valley<\/a> getaway is the perfect reason to see my three favourite food groups in one day. A full day <a href=\"http:\/\/lastminute.godo.com.au\/activity\/HUNT100?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">wine, cheese and chocolate tour<\/a> will take you to some of the exceptional wineries including swirling and sipping some fine drops at First Creek, Pepper Tree and Brokenwood. Then soak up the vino with a light lunch but save your appetite for sampling the local cheeses and chocolate. The chocolate is so smooth , it will probably follow you out the door.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32544\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Hunter-Valley-e1396395244564.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32544\" class=\"wp-image-32544 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Hunter-Valley-e1396395244564.jpg\" alt=\"Hunter Valley\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Hunter-Valley-e1396395244564.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Hunter-Valley-e1396395244564-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Hunter-Valley-e1396395244564-335x223.jpg 335w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-32544\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hunter Valley<\/p><\/div>\n<p>3. <strong>Dip me in chocolate: <\/strong><br \/>\nWhat\u2019s the next best thing to eating chocolate? Getting covered in it! Take your chocolate indulgence to the next level and wrap yourself in it with a chocolate body wrap (it\u2019s actually great for moisturising yours skin). Spa Botanica at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/accommodation\/australia\/peppers-pier-resort\/W45916?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">Peppers Resort<\/a> in Hervey Bay offers three delicious and relaxing chocolate spa packages. Grab your bestie or plus one for a getaway to Peppers and slather up with a chocolate body exfoliation and chocolate body wrap. Then finish with a red wine bath while getting your chocolate fix with strawberries and cream and champers. If you don\u2019t want to share, the \u2018me time\u2019 package also looks tempting.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32543\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/shutterstock-image-e1396395016835.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32543\" class=\"wp-image-32543 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/shutterstock-image-e1396395016835.jpg\" alt=\"chocolate spa packages\" width=\"300\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/shutterstock-image-e1396395016835.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/shutterstock-image-e1396395016835-211x300.jpg 211w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-32543\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chocolate spa packages<\/p><\/div>\n<p>4. <strong>Get chocolatiering: <\/strong><br \/>\nIf you can resist the urge to eat the ingredients before you make the chocolate (or at least most of them), then a <a href=\"http:\/\/wwwlastminute.godo.com.au\/activity\/SISS100?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">Melbourne chocolate class<\/a> is a sweet way to learn how to make your own chocolate treats. Get ganache filling, chocolate curling and decorating to make a box full of seriously good looking chocolates.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32541\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Melbourne-Chocolate-Class-e1396393853527.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32541\" class=\"wp-image-32541 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Melbourne-Chocolate-Class-e1396393853527.jpg\" alt=\"Melbourne Chocolate Class\" width=\"500\" height=\"409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Melbourne-Chocolate-Class-e1396393853527.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Melbourne-Chocolate-Class-e1396393853527-300x245.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Melbourne-Chocolate-Class-e1396393853527-335x274.jpg 335w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-32541\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Melbourne Chocolate Class<\/p><\/div>\n<p>5. <strong>Find out where your choccie egg was born: <\/strong><br \/>\nMunch on free chocolate samples while getting the low down on how Cadbury makes its tasty selection, at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lastminute.godo.com.au\/activity\/GRAY132?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">The Hobart Cadbury Factory<\/a>. There\u2019s plenty of time to stock up on chocolate for Easter and you\u2019ll also score a discount so leave enough space in your suitcase if you\u2019re not a local.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32539\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Cadbury-Chocs-e1396393597688.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32539\" class=\"wp-image-32539 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/last-minute\/blog\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Cadbury-Chocs-e1396393597688.jpg\" alt=\"chocolate heaven\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Cadbury-Chocs-e1396393597688.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Cadbury-Chocs-e1396393597688-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Cadbury-Chocs-e1396393597688-72x54.jpg 72w, https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Cadbury-Chocs-e1396393597688-335x251.jpg 335w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-32539\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chocolate heaven<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Need more ideas for Easter? Click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/dms\/site\/easter\/index.html?cid=social=blog:lmau:retail::SM31:\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><em>What are you up to this Easter? Tell us in the comments.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sound of crinkled alfoil, \u201ctaste testing\u201d the chocolate eggs and starting the day with buttered hot cross buns are..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":38719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,116,94,9],"tags":[1876,981,2984,4198,4199,42,4436,4200,987,4201],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32536"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32536"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38720,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32536\/revisions\/38720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}