Today Rene, Kay (our Australian visitor) and myself visited Keukenhof, the annual bulb festival here in Holland. To say it was magnificent would be an understatement, and my pictures probably don't do it justice, but what an amazing experience!
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| I loved the fluffy edges to the petals. |
(Edit - four days later) It's not often that a place lives up to all the hype, then more again. Keukenhof does that in spades, and if you have the benefit of a beautiful sunny afternoon, even more so. The temperature was pleasant, the crowds easily dispersed over the large site, and the feeling of a mass of people enjoying the experience along with yourself is just very nice indeed.
I'll be the first one to admit I know nothing about flowers, but the amazing range of tulip varieties alone is incredible to experience first hand. We have tulips in our apartment, and they are just so very, very inexpensive here to purchase. They also last a long time with the two vases in the living room just into their second week.
I met an attendant at the Kroller Muller Museum who said she had never been to Keukenhof and dismissed it as touristy and not for locals - she said she has plenty of tulips in her garden BUT she misses the point of the display which is to encourage people to advance the varieties they produce and also exhibit them in dramatic ways that simply bring pleasure into peoples lives. On the 400th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Turkey and The Netherlands, what better way to view the influence the Dutch have had on the Turkish tulip varieties.
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| Rene eating an ice cream - yes, it was warm and sunny this afternoon. |
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| Kay and Rene pose amongst some of the 7 million bulbs. |
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| Love the new leaf greenery as well as the vibrant colour. |
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| The windmill in the background just has a section of its sails showing. |
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