Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet

I don't have a social life in France, so it took reading EJ's post about Saint-Nicolas to remind me that today is the day that European children get to open their Christmas gifts, or at least it is for some parts of the continent (no time for further research at this time since I have barely enough time to comb my hair!). In any case, it's definitely true for Holland, where Santa has a black slave named Saint Peter. While this seems like no big deal to Netherlanders, it was absolutely flabbergasting for me and my North-American friends who visited Amsterdam last week. Are you not flabbergasted by it too?



Just to give you an idea, these photos represent standard Holland candy store displays this time of year... Yikes!

First class seating

When in Amsterdam, I like to sit by the canal in Jordaan and watch the boats drift by. FYI, this photo was taken not far from where Anne Franks' diary was scribed.

You can't take photos in the house, which is reasonable, I think. If you ever find yourself in the 'Dam, I strongly recommend rising early to beat the crowds that tend to flock to this sobering tourist attraction lest you get impatient and miss it. Kitty, do you think she knows?

Finally, to end this low country capital city post on a lighter note, I just wanted to mention that I managed to spot not just one but two Invader mosaics in Europe's Venice of the North. Much better than my previous Berlin Invader art quest, which I quite miserably flubbed... Unless you count this lil' poseur:

Yeah no, I didn't think so either. Sigh!