Close your eyes and imagine a sea of tulips. Tulips as far as you can see. Pink, red, purple, orange, yellow, white ones. Fringed ones, pointy ones, fluffy ones, skinny ones.
Better than you imagined, right? Last year, the Viper Pilot was deployed when I went to the Keukenhof (tulip festival) in the Netherlands with friends. I was really anxious to take him back this year to see it. I never imagined that I’d not only go with him but with Owen AND my mom. Well, I knew about the baby (I think I was just a few weeks pregnant at the time) but I didn’t figure I’d bring my mom.
Aaand now I’m rambling.
It was an easy drive (which made for a great nap for the baby) and we spent the first evening hanging around the hotel. Our hotel had an incredible dinner buffet and we stuffed our faces. It was Italian themed and it was the most authentic Italian food I’ve had outside of Italy.
Yeah. This was just my second course of three…four?
For those interested, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Lieden. They have a great indoor playground, excellent pool, and fantastic food! And they allow pets.
It was that evening that Owen discovered he could roll from his back to his tummy. Sigh. Slow down, little peanut.
The next morning, after another amazing meal, we rolled ourselves up the street to the Keukenhof to check out the flowers.
The fella fell asleep at breakfast.
I was there exactly a year ago but very few of the tulips had bloomed. Thanks to the early spring we’ve had, most of them were at their peak this year. We lucked out and got a warm, sunshiney day, too! A rarity in Europe.
There were tulips in every size, shape, and color everywhere you looked. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. They bring such joy.
Scroll down, I’ll meet you on the other side of these pictures in a happier mood. 🙂
If you were having a “meh” Tuesday, it’s just a little bit better now, isn’t it? Sure it is.
The minute we stepped through the main entrance, it was a subtle chorus of “oooh” and “ahhh” and “wow.” Everyone was enjoying the beauty, taking pictures, and crouching down next to the ones in their favorite color for a portrait. I didn’t expect Owen to love the flowers as much as he did. But it makes sense, all those colors are appealing when you’re a tiny peanut in a great big world. They’re appealing to anyone.
He was looking at the flowers in almost every picture we tried to take of him with the flowers. We could not get him to look at the camera. I love it.
Speaking of pigs, we found a stand serving up the most mouth-watering ham sandwiches for lunch. (Was that transition not good…? Eh, maybe I shouldn’t have done that…sorry.)
They were warm and juicy and complimented nicely by a spicy mustard. I devoured mine in just a few bites and debated standing in the long line for a second. Sometimes I miss being pregnant because I could justify the copious amount of food I consume…I loved being pregnant but I wouldn’t trade this little life for anything in the world – wait no, in the universe…well, I wouldn’t trade him for anything.
The Keukenhof garden is really large, 80 acres and 7 million tulip bulbs, and we covered most of it. We never got tired of admiring the gorgeous gardens and tulip displays. No two flower beds were alike. My mom even found one to blend in to.
By the way, her adorable shirt (which I almost stole from her) was in her Stitch Fix!
This guy.
He carried Owen’s diaper bag/my camera bag and was very patient with me and my camera. It’s not easy taking pictures while wearing a baby, so I was quite clumsy. I can’t even tell you how many times I switched lenses. He was so helpful! Since I couldn’t carry the camera and the baby, he ended up with the camera when I wasn’t using it. He probably took as many pictures as I did that day.
PROST!