I'll start with with the bad news first...I'm sorry to report that the only place I've seen those cool wooden shoes are in the gift shops or as gigantic shoes used to decorate Amsterdam (see below).
I've meticulously observed the shoes of my coworkers, hoping for the one day they break out the clogs...but nothing. Windmills are still around, but slowly going out of fashion and mostly non-functional now. Plus in our travels to nearby countries (Belgium, Germany, even Spain) we've seen just as many windmills as in the Netherlands. It may seem like these traditions associated with Holland are simply exaggerations or even false, except for one silver lining...the TULIPS!!
I've meticulously observed the shoes of my coworkers, hoping for the one day they break out the clogs...but nothing. Windmills are still around, but slowly going out of fashion and mostly non-functional now. Plus in our travels to nearby countries (Belgium, Germany, even Spain) we've seen just as many windmills as in the Netherlands. It may seem like these traditions associated with Holland are simply exaggerations or even false, except for one silver lining...the TULIPS!!During Kathy and Mike's visit, Kathy and I left Mike and Chris in Amsterdam (not sure if that was a good idea, haha!) and traveled to the nearby Keukenhof. The only way I can describe this place is as a theme park for flowers, specifically tulips. It was just as busy as a theme park too, with ten of thousands of people visiting. Set in 80 acres of wooden park, the 7,000,000 (yes that's 6 zeros!) planted bulbs make for a fantastic visual experience. Not only does the park look incredible, but smells delightful with the scent of hyacinth filling the air. The bulbs are planted in amazing arrangements, combining colors and styles in a beautiful way. Also just outside the park was field after field, as far as the eye could see, of colorful tulips grown in rows by color. My words really can't do it justice, so I'll just post pictures.
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In other news, Chris and I visited our local Friday market yesterday. The market sells fabric, clothing, fruits, veggies, meats, and other miscellaneous items. Chris and I planned to buy some fruit and walked by a stand just as a man was dancing around his fruit stand, cramming bags full for fruit and selling them for 5 euros (an amazing deal!). We were intrigued and couldn't help but buy a bag. The plastic bag was overloaded and of course ripped, making for quite an interesting bike ride home. We're gonna be eating fruit salad everyday for a while, yum!
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In other news, Chris and I visited our local Friday market yesterday. The market sells fabric, clothing, fruits, veggies, meats, and other miscellaneous items. Chris and I planned to buy some fruit and walked by a stand just as a man was dancing around his fruit stand, cramming bags full for fruit and selling them for 5 euros (an amazing deal!). We were intrigued and couldn't help but buy a bag. The plastic bag was overloaded and of course ripped, making for quite an interesting bike ride home. We're gonna be eating fruit salad everyday for a while, yum!
2 comments:
K, so the tulips are cooler than I thought. But those SHOES! Clog heaven! I don't care if it's touristy, I would buy one in every color and dance around the staff room, tap dancing all day.
I wish my frutero would dance around and pack bags full of fruit. I think he would do better business that way...
I love the flower pics...my mom would think she'd died and gone to heaven. I can only imagine what it must have smelled like!
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