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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