When I was writing my list of gift ideas I ended up with a category of gifts that was just a little on the extravagant side of things. The items on the list just didn't fit among the more reasonable chocolate gifts I was presenting so I just sort of held them back. I wanted to share the ideas, but decided that they should get their own post. And now, with Christmas behind us, I am going to belatedly finish posting my little list.

So the concept here is this: what do you give the chocolate lover on your list when you have entirely too much money? The answer seemed pretty simple to me: travel. When giving a box of chocolate just isn't enough then you step up to the next level and give an entire city of it. Once again - this list will be anything but complete and limited by my knowledge and experience. Use you imagination and I'm sure you could come up with something to put my little list to shame.

Now, to the list!

First off I have to offer up the Hershey Hotel. Hershey Pennsylvania is (I am told) a fun place to visit and with the whole Hershey Park and Hershey's Chocolate World it's a great one to do if you have kids along. And the hotel offers up a chocolate spa and various chocolate packages. So whether it's a trip to just relax and indulge or a full-fledged family vacation it offers up something for everybody.

Next up are a pair of cities that have a serious chocolate presence. I'll start with San Francisco. Home to Ghirardelli and Scharffen Berger as well as Recchiuti Confections (so embarrassed I forgot them first time through) and Charles Chocolates the city has a lot to offer. And the Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival each year sounds like a winner. And if the timing for that doesn't work, then hitting the Chocolate Salon when it's running is another option. And even if you don't get into town during a big event, it still has more than enough to offer to make it a great chocolate destination.

And then there is New York City. I've learned first hand that there is an insane amount of good chocolate to be had in the city at restaurants and chocolatiers and even grocery stores and beer specialty shops. To take it all in would require at least a month of concentrated eating and I don't know if even that would be sufficient. They have outposts from some of the finest chocolatiers in the world in the city as well as local players who easily compete with them. And for the child with you (or in you) there are the Hershey and M&M's stores in Times Square. Personally I think somebody should take a good boutique hotel in the city, add a restaurant with a world class chef, and make it a chocolate hotel, but that's just my little vision. Anyway, while there you can wander on your own or take a couple of walking chocolate tours through Chocolate ZOOM as a great guided introduction to the city's chocolate. And while you're there you have everything else that New York has to offer right at your fingertips. And if you time things right you can do the New York Chocolate Show as well. As far as I'm concerned this is the ultimate chocolate destination in the US. As I travel more I may change my mind, but for now I don't see how anything could beat the Big Apple.

But if you open your eyes beyond the borders of our little country you get some even more interesting possibilities and even a destination that puts New York to shame. There are chocolate cruises offered throughout the year and I've seen a few cruises offered where a chocolatier will be along to teach and share on the cruise. And since a lot of cruises go down to Central America it offers the chance to go out and visit an actual chocolate plantation. There was, at a time (can't find evidence of it now), a class you could take where you would spend time at the plantation working on making chocolate and making chocolates and that, to me, would be an amazing experience.

But possibly the most over the top and extremely awesome chocolate travel idea is a trip to Paris and a chocolate tour led by the incomparable David Lebovitz and Mort Rosenblum, too!). Even as great as I think New York is, I can't imagine that there is a better city in the world for chocolate than Paris and when you set aside the chocolate for a minute you realize - it's Paris! I suppose if you want to take it even further over the top you could make it part of a Mediterranean cruise or a whirlwind chocolate tour of Europe. Any way you offer it up, it's a heckuva way to tell somebody you love them.

So those are a few ideas that I happened to have while putting together my list. They aren't your normal every day chocolate gift by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're looking to give something over the top extravagant then this might help get you started.