(lights hung throughout the city - they are different in each neighborhood)

we spent five christmases in amsterdam while we were living there as expats… there is no more magical place to spend the holidays… there are strings of lights outlining the bridges and arching across the streets so that the whole city is lit up, there are pop up outdoor ice skating rinks and holiday markets and olie bollen (DELICIOUS big round donuts doused in powdered sugar) trucks suddenly appear all over the city. but my favorite tradition was the christmas candy. pompadour, our beloved neighborhood chocolate shop, made whimsical marzipan characters (funny frogs, little piggies, red, polka-dotted toad stools) and fruit (oranges, pears and a pokey, round one that i could never identify) each december. i still don’t know what those guys had to do with christmas, but i looked forward to seeing them (and EATING them) in pompadour’s front windows during the holiday season. 

(an olie bollen truck in the dam)

(theo making a snowman in front of our stoop)

(snowy theo)

(pompadour at christmas)

(a close up of pompadour’s window display with some of the marzipan)

so i was delighted to find this amsterdamesque marzipan candy here in boulder to share with my clients this year. seeing the funny little candy sculptures brought back so many good memories. HAPPY, HAPPY HOLIDAYS all! x0x0x

click here to read more about amsterdam during the holidays