While we planned this trip around seeing some friends in Belgium,
we timed this trip to see Holland’s storied tulips, in bloom for just six short
weeks a year. With a favorable weather
forecast, we take the bus to Kukkenhof, one of the largest flower gardens in
the world. With about 80 acres in full
bloom, it’s difficult to judge the number of times we literally said
“Oooohhhh!” or “Pretty!” or “Wow!” We
wander the crisscrossing paths, understanding how hummingbirds are attracted from
one intense color to the next with no regard for order. We pollinate the gardens for several hours,
taking far too many pictures and helpless not to take more. I make no apologies for the number of those
pictures included here. To quote Ralph
Waldo Emerson, and the only line from the only poem I remember from high school
(sorry Mr. Delany, wherever you are), “beauty is its own excuse for being”.
We get back for a late lunch on Leidseplein, a square ringed with an
international array of outdoor cafes such as Dan Murphy’s and the Chicago
Social Club. We choose Le Pub based partly on the front corner location but mostly
on the availability of an Aperol spritz.
A delicious sandwich of Parma ham, pesto, fresh mozzarella and big basil
leaves was an unexpected surprise.
Afternoon drinks accomplished, we head to the room for regrouping before
the next leg of our adventure.
De Wallen is Amsterdam’s famous red-light district, with scantily clad
women of all sizes, shapes and ethnicities displaying their wares from inside
tiny glass brothel booths. It’s also
home to countless bars, weed fueled coffee shops, loud music of every genre and
restaurants of all sizes, shapes and ethnicities displaying their wares from inside
tiny glass windows. In the middle of all
that is Dabka, a well-reviewed Lebanese restaurant with small dining spaces upstairs,
downstairs and out front. The baba ganoush appetizer is served with a
freshly baked loaf of bread the size of a throw pillow, which when pierced, reveals
its steamy hollow center. The hot, thin
crust is perfect for scooping the garlicky roasted eggplant dish. Falafel and a mixed grill platter rounds out
our middle eastern dinner, letting us sample a good portion of the authentic,
well executed menu. A nightcap at the Old
Sailor, a fun but well used pirate themed party bar playing tired mellow
classic rock streamed through an Xbox in the heart of it all. It’s like a fraternity party that’s been going
on since 1972, but just not as clean. Mandy
tells me how much the bar is doing to be ecologically friendly, foregoing wasteful
paper napkins in the ladies’ room for a single dish towel. We wander back through the district. It’s more side show then sexy, the women
pouting and posing against the glass, but we have fun watching the whole scene,
a scene that’s been going on since the middle ages.
(click on the picture to view full screen)
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