Chestnuts

Well, it's that time of year again....time for "chestnuts roasting on an open fire...." Here in Skopje, chestnuts are available just about every 50 feet in the center of town, usually being "roasted" over a gas grill type contraption. Scruffy looking men bundled up for warmth heat them, turning carefully with silver tongs, and package them in paper cones for customers. I am deeply surprised at how popular they are, particularly due to the hideous smell!!! When I hear The Christmas Song being crooned by Bing Crosby (or one of the other many artists who have shared their version of the Nat King Cole classic), it seems so romantic and iconic. It loses a lot of it's charm when you actually smell the chestnuts roasting on the Skopje Plostad! I don't know if it's the heating source or the chestnuts themselves, but it's nasty!!! However, they must be a delicious treat, as folks line up to buy them and we watched two little boys fight over a paper cone full of them this past weekend--you would have thought it was jellybeans or chocolate in that cone! Maybe I should try some, maybe if I hold my nose...lol.