Serenate de Amor bon bons are made in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil, where I grew up.

A Taste of Childhood

As the summer 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, end, it's been interesting to see parts of a country where I grew up and how it has changed since those days.

One of the things that hasn't changed is a bon bon that was made in the island town where I grew up. The Garoto factory made this treat that is most similar to Kit Kat bar waffers, only each piece was individually wrapped. This treat also has cashew butter, similar to peanut butter.

These chocolate treats are not found just anywhere. A friend took me to a world food market in St. Louis several months ago, where to my delight I found a box of these childhood treats.

Cashews were my childhood version of peanuts, we also enjoyed the cashew fruit as well.

We used to have these in the house, much as people today have single serving chocolates. They were given as treats to guests and left on bedside tables for visitors. Didn't think about it at the time but these are the taste of home to me, at least from my childhood.

I enjoyed the last piece in the box on the last night of the Summer 2016 Olympics. Seemed an appropriate way to mark the end of the two weeks of jumping, diving, running, cart-wheeling and reliving a part of my young days.