Tulip Season…..

The day began early at 7 am with our delicious breakfast spread. WE love our hotel, including Mrs Fancy (Tracy). We have truly settled in and learned they also have made to order scrambled eggs with cheese, my absolute favorite and Tracy referred to the spread, as The Breakfast of champions. 

Today was our tulips day, OMG- beyond incredible is an understatement! It was a cold brisk day and we were bundled, both in our beanie snow hats to stay warm. After the 1 hour bus ride out of the city on a packed bus through typical freeway traffic we arrived. Tulip season is only a 6 week window opportunity in Amsterdam where millions of tulips are shipped from worldwide. I was seated next to a sweet young French girl who was very kind and soft spoken, Tracy was a few rows behind me. We both napped, as sleep is not really happening on this packed adventure. 

When inside the park, Kuekenhof, I purchased warm cozy gloves and she got a blanket-life scarf. We wandered the grounds for 3 hours taking photos galore. This is a florists dream day, its own mini flower city. The place is huge and ridiculously gorgeous. Like, out of a landscape prestigious design studio!

The vibrant colors, so many shades from a painters palette of pinks, purples, reds, orange, yellows, and white. They had interesting patterns, shapes, sizes, and textures. The beauty of the bright green grass surrounding the flowers was perfection. Actually the employees were freshly cutting the grass before our eyes. We took in the day with our 5 senses. The fragrant smells, the sounds of birds singing, and the tranquil sounds from the water features. We walked every section of this place, including the playground for children and cafeteria pavilions. Many dogs wandered around…. we imagined what it would be like living nearby and to stroll the tulip fields w/your baby in a stroller with your family dog. 🥰

On the way out, we snuck some Dutch fries from a food truck before boarding the bus back to Amsterdam. We were so happy to have arrived early when they opened, as it became very crowded by the time we departed. Tip: Be sure to start with the 8am tour option.

We opted to try the Hummus D & A for lunch upon return to Amsterdam, after the 3 min ferry from the drop off we jumped in a Bolt to lunch. Imagine that ferry ride in the cold air- brrrr- thank heavens for our new souvenirs. Hummus w/chicken at an Israeli restaurant with fresh mint tea in the Joordaan neighborhood. We enjoyed a relaxing lunch while defrosting. We wandered the neighborhood after, Mrs Fancy spent time in her fancy stores making her purchases after yesterday’s viewing. A lovely shiny pair of Parisian black patten leather heels will join her collection, along with a new red beautiful coffee table book. I enjoyed watching the day pass by with excellent people watching on the street.

Terri Sue, we finally made our way to a true Amsterdam “Coffee” shop. After chatting with a friendly girl at the counter I made 2 different types of purchases at The famous Bulldog Coffee shop. We got a nice spot outside in comfy chairs along the canal in front of the shop and I enjoyed this pastime experience. Not for Tracy. But we sure laughed and had a great time looking through her new red shiny book.

Next up was the Red Light District walking tour. Our guide was incredible, as was her trainee. Both students from other countries in Europe. This tour was actually very educational, and I highly recommend it. Cheap tour too! The history of The Condomerie store was fascinating, especially after viewing their products in the window. Nina shared so much knowledge about safe sex, birth control, and many different statistics. So enlightening. We were a group of 15, and one couple asked way too many questions. The red light windows, truly blew me away, call me naive, but I was stunned to learn the details of this completely normalized profession in this city. We saw the ladies in the windows, and the red/ blue area with gender fluid sex-workers. Apparently the going rate is at a min. $50 for 15 minutes. Most people don’t require a full 15 min session, but the price is negotiated before she opens her window all the way. There are a lot of safety features in place to help protect these woman in the 250 windows around the red light district, also known as the XXX section. I was a bit mind blown, and learned quickly that as a woman stark g was not appreciated. lol

We also learned that 40-70% of the workers are not really there voluntarily and may have been sex-trafficked there. It was an eye-opening fascinating tour, truly brought the area meaning to let the streets come to life through an educational tour. Hence my true love of traveling. 

After, we were done withthis adventure, we bolted to an Indonesian restaurant. We now ventured to the south side for dinner. We have genuinely explored every section of the city. Dinner was good and we were ready for  another long day to end. Back at the hotel, we learned tomorrow’s Segway tour has been cancelled due to machinery failure. 

I researched many ideas, we decided to sleep in and see where the day takes us. A free day and some sleep sounds dreamy. 

Off to bed, until tomorrow….. (fyi- this post is one day behind) 😉

PS. Thanks for the comments everyone…. And for Julie(Tracy’s mom) extra thx, and Jackie- no cell usage purchased on purpose-disconnecting is a treat, and yes e-bike tour tomorrow in countryside, Mrs. Fancy not a bike lover, but willing. 🚴🏻

PPS….for those requested hotel pics……⬇️

Love Laurie sue AKA Dora 💕💫🧚🏻‍♀️