Chocolate Frogs

"Aw rotten luck. They've only got one good jump in them to begin with." - Ron Weasley

I guess the spell loses its effectiveness in our world because once I lifted the cover to the ornately decorated, pentagon box, the frog remained content to stay inside. Just as the movie scene implies, these frogs are made of pure chocolate, milk or dark, depending on your preference. Unlike the quintessential, hollow chocolate bunnies found in Easter baskets, these chocolate molded frogs are solid chocolate through and through. Hence why the box itself feels pretty hefty when you first pick it up off the shelf, and why a sturdy knife is required to break apart the torso.

The milk chocolate is unlike any recipe used in super market aisle, run-of-the-mill chocolate bars. My palette is more accustomed to the bitter sweetness dark chocolate offers, so I was surprised when the milk chocolate didn't make me want to run away from over indulgence of sugar. For me, this flavor resides one tiny notch above the semi sweet morsels often encountered in chocolate chip cookies.

The best part for many kids is the wizard card that nestles underneath the chocolate frog. Unlike the movie, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter only offers four different wizard cards, the founders and namesakes of the Hogwarts houses: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. I must be fated to be in the house of Rowena Ravenclaw, since this card isn't the first time I've been deemed Ravenclaw material .
- Shortcake

Photo Diary: A Bit More Wizard

In anticipation for this summer's biggest midnight premiere, that every muggle and their moms will be attending, let's hop onto the Hogwarts Express and briefly relive the sweet-tooth portion of Shortcake and Sandwich's adventures at the Wizarding World of Harrry Potter. For those that want to remain spoiler-free, hakuna matata; we only included a few close ups of the places/food we encountered so that your first trip will be as magically awesome as ours.

Clink!

Joined by our awesome friend, Amanda, we happily skipped into wizard territory and immediately set our sights for the infamous, magically buttery beverage known as Butter-Beer.

Can you imagine what would happen if it all spilled out onto the cobblestone paths?

Wizards make barrels upon barrels of this stuff for good reason. With a name that describes its exact taste, it's hard to resist second or third helpings of the cold beverage. Hence why we have the urge to attempt a homemade Butter-Beer recipe tonight.

It's like the tastes of Autumnn in a bottle!

Standing in line for Butter-Beer, other beverages stared at us, begging to be bought. While most were traditional muggle carbonated beverages, the wizard-beloved Pumpkin Juice waited patiently for pumpkin pie lovers to gulp them down.

21 and over crowd, this Scottish ale is a must try for you.

Hog's Head is your quintessential pub - albeit Harry Potter style -  but it's definitely a pub nonetheless. The mighty bar delves out a variety of domestic and imported beers on tap which you can enjoy in the relaxed, outdoor seating if the low lit, indoor tables are a bit crowded by family toting muggles. 

You can bet we'll return to try the strawberry-peanut butter ice cream, even if we are lactose intolerant.

Along the cobblestones, and attached next door, Madam Rosmerta's Three Broomsticks boasts a hearty menu of traditional British dishes, like Shepherd's Pie and Fish and Chips. Seeing as we were full from all the Butter-Beer and awe of being in Hogsmeade, we settled for a group photo. Plus, we wanted to check out everything else asap. Especially this place...

Best candy store experience ever! (As if you didn't already realize that)

Right next door to Zonko's, the humble sized, saccharine-filled Honeydukes is even more vibrant and candy-land-ish than what we imagined while reading the novels. We spent a good deal of time feasting our eyes on the detailed decor and the plethora of sweets. Even though Shortcake only walked away with a few chocolate frogs, she definitely wanted to purchase the entire shop.

Are you brave enough to try every flavor?

As soon as we spotted the "Every Flavour Beans" canisters on the opposite side of this sign, Sandwich asked a little too loudly if vomit was indeed a flavor available for purchasing. Meanwhile, Amanda and Shortcake wanted to open the tens of chocolate frogs just to see what the different wizard-cards were.

You know you're in a candy store when a candy-filled staircase is the first thing you lay your eyes on.

Man, even just a few glimpses and peeks into HP-World made us crave Butter-Beers, candy floss, and Hogsmeade Brew all over again. It's a good thing midnight is only a few hours away.

 - Shortcake and Sandwich