I’ve returned from my little Canadian adventure, and while there are many tales to tell, I shall begin with the story of the Great Smarties Hunt.

Smarties are, for those who don’t know, the “un-M&M”; a hard-shelled chocolate candy made by Nestlé that is not available in the United States. They are well-loved in my family, travelers that we are, and the expectation is that whenever we travel to Europe or a Commonwealth nation, we had better come back bearing Smarties.

So when I was in Vancouver this past weekend, I needed to find time to raid the local stores and stock up on some giftable candy. This proved more difficult than first expected. Smarties were traditionally packaged in a round cardboard tube. While I understand that, around the world, the round packaging has gone the way of the dinosaurs (or evolution in Kentucky schools), to me, Smarties means round tubes. So when I could only find Smarties in rectangular boxes or massive plastic bags, I became forlorn.

Our Canadian hosts, trying to help, were secretly laughing at me, I know. “Silly Americans… tubes!? We don’t keep our Smarties in tubes! Next you’ll be asking us if we drink lots of beer and say ‘eh’.”

I did eventually meet with success. Apparently, all the round tubes in Canada roll south, because the only place I was able to find my beloved Smarties tubes were at the duty-free store on the border. So, armed with Smarties, I have returned home to the delight of my kin.

So when I next come up, Vancouver, I’m bring a round tube with me. We can enjoy it with a six-pack, eh?

Note: There is a candy in the U.S. called Smarties, a compressed fruity chalk that makes its appearance every Halloween. The two are not to be confused.