Tulip Trip to the Netherlands: Kinderdijk, Dordrecht, and Leiden (May 02, 2017)

Day 4 - Tuesday, May 2, 2017

A gray, misty day didn't keep us away from the Kinderdijk UNESCO World Heritage Windmills. After some confusing research, we took an early train to Dordrecht and walked to the first waterbus stop. We got all day hop-on hop-off pass (cash only) and went one stop to the main waterbus stop in Dordrecht. We caught the next waterbus to Ridderkirk and took a small boat ferry to Kinderdijk.
We got the hopper boat and museum package from the ticket booth so we could go inside and learn more about the windmills and windmill life.

The most fascinating part of Kinderdijk is how many are still functioning as homes, farms, and businesses.

It was beautiful in the mist. When the crowds got thicker, the rain fell harder, so we headed out. We made it at the perfect time to get the express waterbus straight from Kinderdijk to Dordrecht. Super lucky and fortuitous timing.

Once in Dordrecht (2-ish), we were starving. Shelby took us to a fascinating restaurant/theatre/stage called Khoutinsky with a super nice waitress who gave us tons of free postcards (ads but I don't care) and seemed highly intrigued and confused on how we had made it to her town. We split a feta, watermelon salsa, mint Khoutinsky fried burger with fries and a delicious piece of cake.

After an odd, but good, meal, we wandered around Dordrecht which is fascinatingly separated into old and new sections in spurts around the town.

We saw some really cool antique shops and building clusters, an artist doing mosaic in the window, and Leonidas chocolates! After exploring and buying Kristy's favorite pineapple white chocolate chocolates, we headed back to Leiden to explore more of our town.

While walking back to our apartment, we saw yet another haring booth. It is very common to see Dutch people consuming headless herring covered in onions by holding them by the tail, tipping back their mouths, and taking a huge bite. While in Italy Shelby was willing to consume horse, but this was a no-go for her. I was the more adventurous eater this trip.

Shelby was tasked with picking a restaurant for our last night. She chose a highly recommended restaurant where we got pancakes! Shelby just got the ham and used maple syrup. I got the banana and powdered sugar. It was super tasty. Shelby’s favorite meal of the trip.

We took a wandering path to get back to the apartment. We saw way more of the awesome poems on the buildings and passed lovely homes, churches, canals, and flowers. We saw and smelled wisteria climbing on walls and even got a person on a bike to take a photo of us with one particularly lovely wall.


We passed the Leiden college campus and could certainly see the appeal of studying in the city.
We made it back to the apartment and packed for our travels the next day.

Day 5 - Wednesday, May 3, 2017


Dennis graciously took us to the train station at 6:30am so we could get the train back to Amsteram Schipol. It was a very easy 15 minute ride.

Once at Schipol, check-in was easy and security efficient. The lounge was very nice with a full breakfast to satiate us before our flight. I had made little Thank You baggies for our flight crew for each flight. Lately I feel like airlines are being vilified, and I don’t think being an airline attendant would be a particularly easy job, so I like to thank them. Our seats were near the back of the plane, and we had time to chat with two of the flight crew as boarding was commencing. I gave them two baggies of goodies and a heartfelt thank you.


Entertainment was good on the flight and the flight to Minneapolis passed fairly quickly considering.
Toward the end of the flight, the flight attendant came over and said, “Earlier in this flight you did something that touched me and changed the course of my day. We have little tokens of appreciation the crew can bestow upon passengers. We’d like to give this to you.” He gave Shelby and I a bell from Chaing Mai, Thailand and worry dolls. It was such a splendid gesture.


Customs was very easy in MSP, and we were quickly back through security and on our way to the lounge in Minneapolis Saint Paul airport. This airport is going thru a very nice overhaul and renovation. The lounge is the best one we’ve been to in the USA. Friendly staff, lots of seating options, and great food choices.


Our time passed quickly, and then we were on our way back to DFW and home.


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Tulip Trip to the Netherlands: Amsterdam & Haarlem (May 01, 2017)

Day 3 - Monday, May 1, 2017

Due to a rainy forecast, almost everything being closed on Mondays, and a desire to buy tulip bulbs, we headed to Amsterdam Central.

We wandered to the Waterlooplein flea market but most stalls weren't open (we imagine due to rain). Shelby did manage to find a gift for her sister however.
We followed the flea market with a trip to Kitten Kabinet, a quirky little cat museum. They had the most random cat displays and art, and a few cats including an adorable one fascinated with a feather.
Then it was time for Bloemenmarkt to find tulips. The Bloemenmarkt is the only floating flower market in the world. It's AMAZING how inexpensive flowers are in the Netherlands. Gorgeous bouquets that would cost us $50+ were only €10!
Alas, sadly there were no tulips we could take home as you need a valid certificate for USA or Canada. You couldn’t even buy the bulbs in a can for USA/Canada consumption.
But we did visit a shop that sells only rubber duckies, and we went to The Happy Pig Pancake Shop for lunch based on a recommendation by Ellen Patton. Shelby got the bacon syrup. Kristy got banana and powdered sugar. And Shelby discovered a new favorite soda, Fritz Kola, here.
Afterward, we went to an artisan and preservative free amazing chocolate shop called Puccini Bomboni. The smells in this place! Shelby got a raspberry, caramel, and pecan. Kristy got hazelnut, caramel, and walnut. Might be the best chocolate I've ever eaten.
After the chocolate shop, it was a visit to the tulip museum and cheese museum. The tulip museum had beautiful ornaments.
It was again confirmed to us that tulip bulbs would come available in June, and we'd gotten thru our Amsterdam list, so we hopped on a train to Haarlem.

It had been a coldish and wet day, so when I found a soup restaurant with amazing reviews on Yelp for dinner, I jumped at it. Shelby got a big bowl of the Greek lemon, chicken, and spinach soup with bread while Kristy got a sampler of two small soups, the same Greek one Shelby had and a pumpkin veggie. The bread was hearty and the soup was delish. I highly wish I could recreate the Greek soup.

After a yummy dinner, the skies were clear and temperatures were lovely for a wandering stroll around Haarlem.
Haarlem is so green with so many trees along the canals. It seemed like every tree had a different variety as its neighbor. The town feels lived in but loved. Super clean. We didn't have nearly enough time to explore before heading back for the evening.

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Tulip Trip to the Netherlands: Keukenhof & Delft (April 30, 2017)

Day 2 - Sunday, April 30th, 2017

Knowing our intent for the entire trip was to see the tulips in their splendor, we were paying close attention to the weather forecast. Although we would have preferred not to go to the fields on a weekend, the weather looked best for this day so we headed to Keukenhof. I had done lots of research that had talked about where to buy a combi pass for transportation and entry into Keukenhof...sadly one location was closed on Sunday and the other was in the bookstore on the inside of the train station where you needed a ticket to enter. We should have purchased online, as we spent way too long wandering around. Finally we just went to where the buses for Keukenhof depart, and they were selling the combi pass there!

Keukenhof was magnificent. It is definitely more than just a master planned garden. It is a work of art. There are so many colors. I loved the dark dark almost black ones best. Their sheen made them appear wet.

Some tulips opened wide, some remained tightly shut, others had ragged edges. The variations were astounding. We could buy collections of tulip bulbs for a later shipment, but sadly could buy no bulbs…not the right season.
Shelby did buy a lily tree bulb. To bring back any bulbs to the USA, you need a certificate created within the last several weeks.

Shelby had a Dutch wurst (sausage) for lunch in Keukenhof. I had a sandwich I made from the grocery store. We ate around a Calliope playing Grease and Barbara Ann instrumentals while people watching. We both later had stroopwafels. It got warm and crazy crowded around one, so we opted to head back.
(There are a few places to catch the bus depending on which place you are returning to. All are clearly labeled, yet, for some reason, the Keukenhof bus had to keep telling people we were going to Leiden and not the airport.)

Before leaving, we asked someone at the exit if they'd go to Haarlem or Delft with the rest of the day. They said Delft was like Leiden but older, so they'd pick Haarlem for the nightlife and shopping. Due to this rec, we chose to go to Delft on the train after arriving back to Leiden. Their description of Haarlem, we'd find, was fairly inaccurate.

We loved Delft...from the cute streets and adorable buildings to the antique shops with tiles from the 1600s and homemade ice skates. Shelby bought a tile from 1740 once used in a building in Delft.

We loved the tile/Delft blue pottery/china shops, seeing the Girl in the Pearl Earring references, and hanging in the great town square.

We spent a lot of time trying samples in a cheese shop with a delightful young lady working inside. She introduced us to her favorite 2 year old sheep cheese with a date balsamic cheese dip which Shelby wound up buying. Apparently it is traditional to use dip or mustard on your cheese in Holland.
She also recommended some smoke goat cheese that Shelby and I both bought.

Then a funny store sign caught our eye, and we went inside the Two to Three tea shop/bakery for an incredible red velvet with cookies 'n cream cupcake with salted caramel icing and a chocolate cheesecake cupcake that we split. The shopkeeper was delightfully nice here too.

We had pancakes for dinner. Kristy had feta, leek, walnut, and honey (didn't like the leeks) and Shelby got ham, kass en ei (ham, cheese, and egg).

We wandered around a bit more before heading back to Leiden and working on the following day's plans.


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Tulip Trip to the Netherlands: Leiden (April 28, 2017)

Back in November of 2016, I was notified that I'd earned my way to the Beachbody Success Club Trip in Punta Cana.  It was largely paid for.  I was elated.  Shelby was going to join me.  Sadly, when we went to book, only the most expensive rooms were left, and we couldn't justify the increase in price.  We promised each other we'd figure out another trip.  So when Shelby told Kristy that there was a flight sale to the Netherlands, we both proclaimed we'd love to see the tulips, and plans were born.

Day 0 - Friday, April 28, 2017
DFW to ATL to AMS
While I absolutely love having the Priority Pass that gives you lounge access, the DFW lounge has to be one of the weakest we’ve been to. Regardless, free beverages even if the staff is slow to restock and a touch rude.

When we found out the flight to Atlanta was going to be delayed, I went to ask the desk if there was anything we could do to help expedite ourselves or the chances the next plane would be held. We only had a 40 minute connection, and I was nervous. Turns out I was speaking to the pilot. He was incredibly kind. He told us about the layout of Atlanta's airport and told us he'd speed. He really did put the pedal to the metal. We wound up somehow landing on time and getting to our gate during the boarding process. He even mentioned me on the intercom!

Doggie rest area in ATL

Day 1 - Saturday, April 29, 2017
We arrived in Schipol around 1pm.

AMS is a really nice airport.

We found the train station (so easy), and, while it wouldn’t take our credit cards (heads up…Visa is not well accepted in the Netherlands) and we had to use my Schwab debit card, we did luck out and each got a free sample of First Choice cola (original American taste) from the company who had a booth in the train station.

Shelby samples First Choice cola with Original American taste

We’d already received train information from our AirBnB host in Leiden, and we took the train to Leiden Central where Dennis, our nice AirBnB host, was waiting to take us to the apartment.

Our AirBnB was large and had character.

We loved the dishes in our AirBnB.

I thought these tulips were fake at first.  So pretty.

After getting our bearings, we spent the rest of the day exploring the markets in Leiden.

We enjoyed eating hot stroopwafels, buying fruit, bread, and apple pie, and seeing a little of Leiden and the awesome poetry they have in the sides of buildings throughout​ the city.

The flowers are so inexpensive

Dinner was chicken from the market for Shelby and grocery store chicken from quick shopping at Dirk's grocery for Kristy.

We called it an early night. 12 hours of sleep later, we were ready to go.

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Australian Adventure (July 21, 2013)

40 Days Down Under (Day 38)

Sunday, July 21, 2013
We started our 38th day in Albany and headed to Torndirrup National Park.  Torndirrup has many gorgeous spots, and a road that seems to invite driving off a cliff.

Our first stops were Salmon Holes, Isthmus Bay, and Stony Hill.

Wild Black Parrots

Our last stops in Torndirrup were Natural Bridge and The Gap.

We found a scuba car in the parking lot.  We saw a lot of these pipings on vehicles.

Natural Bridge

The Gap - the color of the water was enchanting

We left Albany for a scenic drive to Denmark.  Our main purpose of going to Denmark was for a stop at the award winning Denmark Bakery.  I got a chicken & leek pie and yummy gourmet carrot cake.  (Don't think I'd ever had a leek before, but the pie was tasty.  It was hearty and earthy.)  Kris got a jungle thai chicken pie, a chili con carne pie, and a sausage roll.

Denmark, Western Australia

After a scrumptious lunch, we headed to William Bay National Park to view Green's Pool.  When the temperatures are warmer, it seems like Green's Pool would be a good place to swim.  The waters were incredibly calm.

However, our main attraction of the day waited for us in Walpole.  The Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk is a huge attraction located between Denmark and Walpole.  The Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk really has two components - the treetop walk and the Ancient Empire Boardwalk.

The main draw is the treetop walk - an incredible 600 meter (656 yard) walk on metal swinging platforms that rise to 131 feet above the forest floor and places you right in the heart of the Karri and Tingle tree canopies.

While this afforded an incredible view, it completely freaked me out that while we were making our way up through the flourishing forest we could feel the walkway moving beneath us.

(The people who designed the walkway wanted visitors to feel like they were truly part of the forest and moving naturally along with the gently swinging branches, so the steel spans that make up the walkway were specifically designed to sway slightly with movement.)  Of course, the more people on the walkway at once - the more sway.  The larger the people on the walkway - the more sway.  And, even though the rules specifically stated how many people could be on certain sections of the walkway at one time, people don't read and the rule breaking completely messed with my mind.

The second part of the park, the Ancient Empire Boardwalk, is named after the grove of archaic Tingle trees that help make up the 'Valley of the Giants'.  There is a timber boardwalk that ambles its way both around and through some of the largest trees and thickest vegetation located in the southwestern section of Western Australia.  Some of the tingle trees measure up to 49 feet in perimeter at their base, and some of the ancient trees have naturally hollowed out trunks, which allowed us to walk right through the middle of them.

So very tall

They call this one the old woman.

Peeking through

Just the hole in the base of the tree is over 6 feet tall!

I thought this growth looked like a face.

Knot on the side of one of the trees.  The guy whose home we visited in White Cliffs uses these knots to make furniture.

I call this one The Lorax.

Wild mushrooms I spotted underneath the boardwalk.  We called them "Over Easy".

Fallen beauty

We hadn't gotten in enough climbing, so our next stop was to the Diamond Tree Lookout.  At the top of Diamond Tree, a 170 foot tall Karri tree, is the only wooden treetop tower in the world.  It is still used as an integral part of the fire management and spotting program in Western Australia.  Visitors are allowed to climb the metal spoke system in the tree to go to the platform at the top.  Kris and I never intended to climb to the top, but we had to see the system for ourselves and test out the sturdiness of the spokes.  It was far sturdier than I expected.

While there, we met up with two locals.  They climb the tree as a right-of-passage.  The young man had already climbed it four times successfully.  The young lady was in flip flops - not exactly friendly footwear for the task.  The locals like to come down to Diamond Tree just to watch tourists try to climb the tree.  It's entertaining.

We stayed overnight at the Manjimup Central Caravan Park & Deli.  While the town was tiny and unassuming, the park was impeccably clean with many shower stalls.  You get to pick your own spot too.

We found the toilet nozzle in the laundry room a tad confusing.

While at the park, I finished Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.