Over Easter weekend Ivan, Annalise, and I, along with Ivan’s cousin Raymond, took a short trip to Holland to fulfill one of Ivan’s dreams–to see the tulips in bloom.
First, we flew into Paris and spent one Friday evening there.
We did a quick walk through a small section of the Louvre–that vast art museum that used to be one of the palaces of Louis XIV. King Louis established France as a world power whose sophistication was emulated by the English, but his decadence and love of glory have made him representative of the self-serving aristocracy whom the French peasants turned against in bloody revolt eighty years later.
We also visited the Eiffel Tower. Sadly, since so much of our evening was spent getting lost and figuring out how to go places in a big city in a foreign language, we did NOT have time to climb the tower. We took a quick peek and pictures only.
From Paris, we took the train to the Netherlands, where we saw tulips.
And daffodils.
And canals and hyacinths.
We also toured a few windmills.
And tried Dutch snacks, courtesy of my friend Inger, who showed us around the Hague, the Netherland’s capital city. Trust me, the caramel-filled Dutch waffles you see us eating below were much, much better than the little foil-wrapped Dutch waffles they feed you on United flights. Another winner was Dutch pancakes–savory or sweet, for breakfast, lunch, or supper. Inger sent me a recipe, so if you come to my house, I’ll treat you sometime.
I found it interesting that Europeans have no germophobic American compunctions against unwrapped foods–although they do have eco-friendly European compunctions against overuse of plastic. The Hague’s outdoor market held piles of unwrapped breads and pastries.
Before we flew out Tuesday morning, we visited Floral Holland in Amsterdam, the world-famous flower auction where upwards of 30 million flowers and plants are sold a day.
Annalise did impressively well on the trip at catching her naps where she could take them. By Monday and Tuesday, loss of sleep had made her rather grumpy, but on the whole, she did well.
We returned exhausted. But now Ivan has seen a little more of Europe, and I can say I’ve been there.
This looks like so much fun! I would LOVE to see the tulips & other flowers in Holland! What a privilege that you could do this.
Wonderful! Glad you had the opportunity!
It was my honour to welcome you’ll in this small country I call home. It was lovely to see you again and meet your family!
You were so hospitable, Inger! It was lovely to be there.
What a lovely vacation!! I love tulips and would absolutely love to see them in bloom in Holland.
Beautiful pictures. I never had the opportunity to visit Europe. Thank you for sharing them. My ancestors were the contemporary Amish who stayed behind when the 1st wave of Amish immigrated to the Colonies that became the USA. Most people think 100% came to the USA as a group before 1776. The persecution of European Anabaptists had ended by the 1850’s and there was no need to hid and worship in houses afraid and in secret. They were forbidden to marry outside of the church or evangelize the Protestants and Catholics. Contemporary followers of Jacob Ammon not Mennonite until 1870 or so in the USA. Simple meeting houses were built in SW Germany and the 2nd wave of Amish immigration stated to Central Illinois in 1850 and they continued as simple but contemporary Amish. There were probably similar stayed behind communities in Alsace and Netherlands. They never lived in PA or Kansas or Canada. Europe to America.
Thanks for the lovely photos. April is a great time to visit Holland. It’s the only time I’ve been there for that matter, back in ’89. How nice you go to go, though it was such a short trip you probably had jet lag the whole time you were there. Now you have the pictures and the memories to bask in. Linda Rose
Ja, The Netherlands is a beautiful country.