Keukenhof and off!

We had booked to go to Keukenof on the last day of our Netherlands trip and it was amazing! We had the best weather of our week away, the tulips were stunning, everywhere (just about) was accessible, and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. The photos speak for themselves.

We had arrived at 11am, stayed until 4.30pm and didn’t see everything. A lot of the tulip fields around Keukenof had already been harvested, but one remained in all its glory. As well as the incredible gardens, there were some pavilions with displays of various plants including orchids, alstroemerias and large flower arrangements. The clog shop displayed its wares hanging from the ceiling, and a barrel organ entertained those sitting around the dandelion clock fountain.

We finished off our day with a walk and a meal by the sea at Zandvoort, before driving back to the hostel to pack ready for our return journey. As we had to block the road to load the Great Big Gap Year Wagon (Summer’s name for our car), I put some of the bigger equipment in before going to bed when there were less people about. I was able to park on a nearby street overnight and when we finished loading the car in the morning someone else had conveniently blocked the road, so I didn’t need to have worried!

Our final morning in Alkmaar I have already described in another blog ‘Say Cheese’. After a picnic by the canal, we set off taking a route back to Dunkirk which involved driving over the dams between the islands south of Rotterdam. Racheal found this great fun, we could only imagine it was the sound the tyres made on the different road surface. Stopping off briefly for refreshments on the last island, we arrived at our budget hotel at nearly 6pm. The rooms were basic, but manageable for one night, and a buffet style continental breakfast sustained us through the tunnel and on towards home.