I am a recovering sugar fiend and a self confessed health freak. So much so that anybody who has spent a great deal of time with me will probably tell you that my eating habits just plain piss them off. However on this particular occasion I let myself slip and tiptoed over to the dark side, just for one afternoon...
Around these parts Aunty Betty's ice cream parlour is a thing of legends. I'd heard many a story here and there, but never made the journey to the mysterious sugar cavern itself. It was a sunny afternoon, a rare sight in Aberdeen, and if ever there was a time to go this was it. My flatmate Harriett and I loaded in to the car Google Maps at the ready and buzzing with anticipation. It was about twenty minutes later when we realised we were terrible at directions and so close, but oh so far from our Aunty Betty's ice cream dreams.
A further twenty minutes and after much comparison of the giant ice cream cone outside to the one on Google, we concluded we had finally made it and headed inside. Like excited children we stood in the rather impressive queue, eyes wide from the sheer amount of treats that covered the shop from top to bottom (perfect height for greedy little hands I noted!)
Before we knew it, and after suppressing the overwhelming urges to grab as many treats as we could get our hands on, we were at the front of the queue presented with a myriad of ice cream flavours and not even close to deciding what we wanted.
Having neglected to put my contact lenses in that morning I pressed my hands against the glass and squinted at the ice cream rainbow whilst Harriett quickly rattled off the flavours. I ended up going for Bramble - purely for the fantastic colour and Toffee - what I thought to be a safe option. Additionally from my intense squinting session these looked like two blobs which would compliment each other nicely in a cone. Harriett on the other hand (always the adventurous one!) opted for Spearmint Ice Cream and Mango Sorbet, which surprisingly went really well together, I know this because I took it upon myself to check for her when she wasn't looking.
Content with our purchases (only £2.50 for two scoops and decoration!) we left Aunty Betty's heading outside to enjoy our ice cream in the sun. Only to find that it had well and truly left the building and instead the sky was sporting a rather disconcerting grey tinge. We continued to admire the view as we ate for all of two minutes before the heavens decided to rain on our parade - quite literally.
It was at this point we fled to the car, sliding into our seats as the sugar coma well and truly kicked in and the rain went into full pelt around us. I am certain that if there is a heaven, this is what it must feel like.
What about you guys? Where can you get the best ice cream in your area? Let me know!
