Every spring many Europeans make the trip to Holland to see the beautiful tulips at Keukenhof. We had just moved to Belgium this time last year and didn’t make the drive. This year, we planned to go when Nana came to visit. We left Brussels Sat. morning and drove the 3 hours to a town called Leiden. Paul and I were lucky enough to leave the kids with my mom at the Holiday Inn (which had an indoor pool and kids’ play area) and we took the 30 minute train ride into Amsterdam. Our first stop was the Anne Frank museum and, after realizing trying to speed walk the Van Gogh in 15 minutes probably wasn’t a good decision (it was closing), we enjoyed walking around the town and admiring the canals. Dinner and drinks were at a patio restaurant on the canal, then a leisurely stroll through the Red Light District on our way back to the train station (had to see what all the fuss is about!... and no, we didn’t have any brownies for dessert!)
The next morning we drove 20 minutes to Keukenhof. Passing the tulip farms was really impressive, with symmetrical rows of brightly colored tulips running perpendicular to the main road. Unfortunately, we didn’t get pictures of those, but will next year. Even more unfortunate was the weather. It was raining when we woke up and it didn’t stop. Determined to see the flowers, we came armed with umbrellas and rain coats. The displays and colors were amazing, even on a rainy, grey day. With Lindsey asleep before we left the park, and Gretchen dreaming 10 minutes into the car, we started our drive home. Even in the rain, it was one of those experiences that we’ll repeat next year, with the addition of the Kinderdijk windmills.
