Tiptoeing Through The Tulips

Time is flying by fast!  In a little more than 8 weeks, we will be back in the states.  Really, the saying is true time flies when you are having fun.  We just got back from Stuttgart last night, and we will be leaving again this weekend for Legoland and Neuschwanstein Castle.  Two weekends ago, we went to Holland, and I would like to say we tiptoed through the tulips, but the Keukenhof was so packed with tourist from all over the world, that really it was like walking through at snail's pace.  I don't know if it was so busy because it was sunny and it was a Saturday, or if it is that crowded all season long.  Granted the season only last for 5 weeks, so really if you want to see the tulips you can't dilly-dally about it.  I do have one thing that is nice to say about the tickets is that they are good for any day, so if you happen to wake up and it is rainy you can use them on another day.  I would like to say we all enjoyed the tulips, but my 11-year-old son was not so thrilled and said to me, "Mom the reason why there are so many old people here is that they wait till their children grow up to see stuff like this."  Little Stinker!  Two words of advice are that if you want to take the boat ride it is extra in addition to your admission ticket and go straight away to the line as they will give you a return time.  We did not know this and when we showed up, we were not able to get a ticket.  Also, bring plenty of cash so that you can eat from one of the many food trucks on the laws.  Sadly, I hadn't brought enough cash and we were limited to eating inside the cafe where they take credit cards.  One last thing, I made the mistake of thinking the gardens was something we would be able to see in two hours, and it really is an all-day event; especially, when there are crowds.

Where did we stay:  Since this is a very popular time of year to travel to Holland and given the size of our family it was hard for us to find accommodations within our budget.  We didn't mind staying out a little farther though given we were coming from Germany.  By staying near Eindhoven, it meant I only had to drive 4 hours the first day and only 90 minutes the next morning.  While this may not be ideal for everyone it worked for us.  We stayed on a farm that leasing some land and cottages to travelers.  The kids loved it!