Tulip time

-

 “And we get to live here” 

Tulip Time is celebrated for 2 weeks every year in Holland, MI which is about 40 minutes from Grand Rapids! It’s a BIG deal! Millions of tulips are planted every year-  in parks and businesses and yards AND curbside for blocks and blocks! It’s beautiful! 

















I live close by and never go! So dumb! 
 It was a wonderfully warm and sunny day and we needed a break, so two friends and I finally went a few days ago.

We started off with brunch at Holland’s only Dutch restaurant, De Boer”s,  and I enjoyed a sampler- pea or mustard soup, sausage roll., croquette, bread , good Dutch cheese and krackelen.  A great cup of coffee is served there as well! It brought back memories of my childhood!

Then we headed off to see the tulips.  Window on the Waterfront was our first stop and it did not disappoint! So many tulips, so many colors, not too terribly crowded and parking was close by. 
We then headed down Tulip Lane - curbside tulips for miles! Awesome!
Back in the downtown area we found parking ( worth mentioning because Holland is not huge and there were lots of tourists) and headed to the armory to enjoy the garden show displays. We did some shopping, ate some gelato and drove to Veldheers farm to see more tulips! They claim to plant 5 million every year! 



We were impressed! Not only did the fields of colors amaze us but also the multitude of varieties. I had never seen tulips that look like peonies! 


Beautiful! 

By then, it was 4:00 and two of the three of us have “old” bodies so we headed home! I’ll go again!

Don’t think that Tulip Time is limited to tulips... there are parades with lots of bands, street washing, kloppen dances and lessons, food, carnival rides and concerts!  Something for everyone!

I understand why the mayor loves to say 
“And we get to live here”!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Challenges!

-
Image
Challenges! My youngest daughter loves challenges. Every once in awhile she publishes a challenge on her blog http://sewdutchsisters.blogspot.com/  that usually involves digging into ones endless stash in the craft room. She encourages others to join but I think what it does is really gets her motivated. She currently has 10 challenges ( 1 per week) listed on her blog.  Well, it helped me get into the spirit of things as well. I had a pattern for a robe in my stash. I have always wanted a robe that was not too bulky like the old terry-towel ones of years gone by but not too thin that  it would only be good for summer weather. Every year before and after Christmas I go robe shopping and have never been able to find one that I liked enough to spend money on not to mention the fact that lately the only ones available are made from velour or other synthetic fibers...which ALWAYS give static electric shocks.  So I went to the fabric store....
Read more

Blogging from the phone...who knew?

-
Image
I just learned that it is possible to post to my blog from my phone. My son who needed help today to set up his blog told me. Perhaps this will make me a more faithful blogger, who knows.  For now I'll just practice.  Can I post a picture? New Year's Eve main dish: stuffed shells. They were delicious! We had a party as per usual. Every year I try to challenge our friends in some or another culinary way. Last year each couple was given a country, asked to do a bit if research and prepare an appetizer or dessert from that country.  We enjoyed some wonderful food that we would have never tried on our own.  This year we did a modified version of the TV  show Chopped! The instructions were simple: pick three ingredients from the list of nine and concoct an appetizer, side,salad or dessert on an Italian theme. We had some lovely appetizers and a side/salad. One couple brought a main dish that while  it included the three ingredients it was as far...
Read more

Wednesday Lunch again!

-
Image
We found a new restaurant to try called The Stray... a music and arts café. It used to be a century-old auto repair shop but you'd never know it!. It's a relaxing venue offering great coffee options, fresh food and local beers. The lunch time that we were there, there were many different ages represented  but none our age- definitely a younger crowd. There were beautiful plants all around and lots of local art displayed on all sides. The menu is varied but not overwhelming! We had some very good food!     Dreamy Italian- salami, honey-ham, bacon, cream cheese  banana peppers, dill pickle, tomato and lots of VERY fresh greens wrapped in a Spinach tortilla.  (I'm going to try this at home)  Farmer's wife- chicken, bacon avocado spread, goat cheese sprinkles, herbs and apple slices on wheat-berry bread. (R was not too sure about the bread). A grapefruit forward beer was just ok! Rooibos tea-- delicious! I'd like to go back on a weekend to disc...
Read more