One more item crossed off our summer bucket list: we finally visited the lovely Bohem’s Candies factory.
I’ve noticed it several times on the side of I-90 as we’ve driven in and out of town through Issaquah. How adorably eccentric is this place? It is quite possibly the most delicious-smelling faux-Swiss chalet in the world.
Mmmmmm, every inch of this place smells like divine melted chocolate. They don’t actually manufacture chocolate here, just the candies. I love seeing small family operations like this.
We all had to wear these funny paper hats for the tour. (Mine just barely fit on my head; I always have trouble with hats.)
Here is our tour guide standing in front of a giant display of chocolate-oriented bric-a-brac. There were a few novelty candy bars with “golden tickets” inside, a la Willy Wonka.
We saw big copper kettles for mixing the fondants and caramels! And giant sheets of rolled-out fondant with nuts and cherries, num.
This “droid” is a stirring machine that contains 500 lbs. of dark chocolate. Eleanor’s face is carrying the correct expression.
This lady is hand-dipping truffles. It’s best to use bare hands instead of gloves, to properly keep track of the chocolate’s temperature.
This is where they keep all the molded chocolate: including a four-foot-high chocolate bunny. (It’s in the background, made of white chocolate.)
We were able to try three different samples of candy during the tour. Jeff and I agree that the orange cream was the best.
After touring the factory, we were able to see the home that Mr. Bohem built for himself on the 2nd floor the the chalet. It’s . . . . different. I’ve never seen such over-the-top Tyrolean craziness in one place. Bohem escaped Nazi-occupied Austria by cross-country skiing into Switzerland, then making his way to America. I guess he really, really missed his home.
Oh, and he also built this chapel next door to the factory, dedicated to “all the fallen mountain climbers.” Why not?
Eleanor was so, so happy to visit this place. Everyone was happy to pick out chocolates from the shop. If the lesson is that chocolate = happy, I’m fine with that being a takeaway.
Before going home, we decided to pay a quick visit to Snoqualmie Falls. Which had far more tourists than I thought would be there on a Friday afternoon. Is it the Twin Peaks connection?
One full-grown adult lady spent time spitting over the edge of the falls and laughing. Classy.
Jeff is at the blessed age where he is objecting to photos taken with “Moooooooommmmmm!!!”
I love it.
Casa Camisas 