Part 5: Fields of Green... and Red, Blue, Orange, White, and Purple.

You can’t visit Holland without experiencing the flowers. A former professor of mine mentioned that Holland is the floral gateway to the world. They grow them, ship them, and show them off better than anyone. If you are lucky enough to fly into Holland during the daylight hours of April or May, you will likely see a tulip quilt dotting the landscape. The pictures directly below are postcards; we didn't have the luxury of flying into Holland during the flower season, but they are a great example of what it looks like from the sky.

Since our good friend Phil (from England) visited us this weekend, we decided to make a day of flowers. We first stopped at the market to get a picnic lunch and made OFF to the KuekenhOF. The Kuekenhof is the most widely acclaimed floral exhibition in Holland(http://www.keukenhof.nl/).

I know we are biased, but doesn't Jacob look cute in the bottom-left picture. In my opinion, that is the picture of innocense.

The garden did mix a bit of artistic freedom with the natural beauty of the flowers. The tree above (bottom picture) is budding with white blooms, but they have added some color by attaching bath sponges to the branches. A little odd, but kind of cool too.

This is the closest we got to the "fields of color". While they aren't quite as picturesque as the postcards, they are still amazing. And guess what, the tulips haven't even really started blooming yet. Everyone says that this place will even better in 2-3 weeks. We may have to make another trip when my Mom and Aunt Sherry come visit.

Toward the back of the garden complex is a greenhouse / building called Beatrix's House (presumably dedicated to Queen Beatrix of Holland). Inside there was an incredible assortment of orchids on display. We don't know if it was a temporary or permanent exhibition, but it was incredible. We love orchids; We can't grow them (or keep them alive), but they are amazing...

That ended our time at the Keukenhof.

Phil knew of a spot on the sea near Noordwijk Aan Zee. So we headed there to end the day… It was a nice place, but quite honestly, it didn't seem to belong in Holland; miles and miles of sand dunes. It seemed odd that we could move from such lush beauty to a desert within just ~10 miles. Nonetheless, a beach is a great way to end a day.

Part 4: Cheers Mate!

Day 1: Getting to London
As luck would have it, our good friend Phil lives in London. So it was only natural for our next trip to be Great Britain to take advantage of the free lodging.

We decided to dive into this trip just as we did with Amsterdam: 100% reliance on public transportation. On the outside, it seems like a real drag --- waiting on trains, busses, and people can be frustrating. But, in this case and in most cases, it actually worked really well.

Since I planned to work in Rotterdam both Monday and Friday to conserve vacation, we decided to catch a flight to London after work Friday and from London before work on Monday. So, Amanda and Jacob met me in Rotterdam, we all hitched a ride on the bus to the airport, and off we went.

Upon arrival at London-Stansted, we took the Stansted Express to Liverpool station and met Phil at the Burger King. The four of us then jumped through 2 sub connections and made it to Phil’s apartment in West London around 10pm…

As the long day ended we hit the sack with great anticipation for the next day’s adventure. After all, we were off to see the queen, or at least some sights.

Day 2: Seeing the sights
Morning came a bit earlier than expected (thanks to Jacob) so we headed out to Westminster Abby. On a Saturday as nice as ours (65F and Sunny) we knew the popular places would be especially busy, so we tried to hit them early.

I fondly remember Westminster Abbey from my 10-day high school Euro vacation in 1992. It was the highlight of that trip and this trip as well. For me the most remarkable aspect of this sight are the graves; it is surreal to be standing right next to (or on top of) the remains of Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, Geoffrey Chaucer, Edward I (the Longshanks from Braveheart), etc. If only those walls could talk. The picture in the top middle is the front of Westminster Abbey, the picture on the bottom left is the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye (London’s big ferris wheel).
We left the Abbey and walked toward Trafalgar Square. If you remember your history, the Battle of Trafalgar was the turning point in the Napoleonic wars: a great naval victory for the British over Napoleon. Lord Nelson, the leader of the British Navy (27 ships), defeated Napoleon’s 33 ships without losing a single ship. While Lord Nelson lost his life, his achievement is memorialized with a statue of him on top of a large pillar.

Apparently, today Trafalgar square is a popular spot for protests. Within the 2-3 hours we were there, we saw a protest by Tibet against China and a protest for women's rights. Trafalgar square is conveniently located near Tony Blair’s residence at 10 Downing Street.

How can you visit London without indulging in the famed “Fish and Chips”? You can’t…. Phil knew a nice little diner (off the beaten track) that served up a great pile of fried cod fish and potatoes… Good stuff!

Because of our abbreviated stay in London and our desire to stuff as much as possible into two days, we really didn’t get a lot of time to enjoy the National Gallery. We did spend about 1.5 hours there; the first ½ hour we buzzed through the “hot-spots” and saw a few Monet water lilies, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and Da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks. The last hour was spent with a tour guide. She picked 4 paintings to discuss in extensive detail; Jacob and I lasted through one and Amanda and Phil made it through three. It was a bit more art than I was ready for. I think I will stick to the audio / fly-by tour next time.

Okay, so after 6 hours of cobblestone stomping sightseeing, we were wiped-out and needed to sit and relax for a bit. Phil recommended a stop for English Tea at St. James Park. It was wonderful. I think this is an example of the “real” value associated with living in Europe. While it is nice to see the “tourist-hotspots”, it is sometimes even better to sit in a small park and just people watch. There happened to be a lot of flowers blooming, so we snapped a few really good family pictures.


To cap off the day, we enjoyed one of London’s unique “night walks”. Because the city has so many different historical neighborhoods, many multi-themed night walking tours are hosted. Our tour was called “the Ghosts of London”, so our guide meshed fictional London ghost stories with historical facts to create lovely factional stories.

That essentially ended the day…

Day 3: Closing it down
We slept well the night before and decided to slow down the pace a bit for Sunday. Instead of the “see-everything-you-can-as-quickly-as-possible”, we focused on Lunch, Dinner, and the Tower of London.

Phil took us to a really interesting place for lunch near the Globe Theatre (made famous by Shakespeare). We again indulged in an authentic British meal: Toad in a Hole, Bangers and Mash, and Steak and Ale Pie. The carb and fat packed meal was completely fulfilling…

After our meal we sluggishly plodded toward the Tower of London. Along the way, we crossed the Thames river via the Tower Bridge (commonly mistaken as the London Bridge, but the London Bridge was sold to a business tycoon in Arizona) and passed by London’s new City Hall and Gerkin building.

Tower Bridge is absolutely beautiful, but is only ~100 years old. Most Londoners are irritated that the London Bridge (~1000 years old – remember the song – London bridge is falling down…) was sold and the Tower Bridge was preserved.
London’s current mayor (Lord Mayor of London John Stuttard) is apparently a raving liberal. He has endorsed multiple “modernization” projects that have “polluted” the skyline. I abstain from judging the decision; you can judge for yourself.
I think the Tower of London can be described in three sections: (1) the architecture, (2) the Beefeaters, and (3) executions.

The architecture is self-evident - fierce fortifications and simplistic beauty.


The Beefeaters are Guardians of the Tower. They have been housed inside the Tower of London’s walls for 522 years and are considered to be an elite unit (ok, elite may be overdoing it a bit now, but at one time). They are now the primary tour guides for the tower. Most are loud, kind, and opinionated, but all are loyal to their country.
We made friends with one Beefeater who couldn’t stop talking about how much he loved America (but, had never been) and how much he hated the current Mayor…
The executions are legendary and everyone has heard the term (hung, drawn, and quartered). I didn’t really understand what that meant until the Beefeaters explained it. Apparently, they would take a prisoner and hang him until he “almost” suffocated and then cut him down. Then they would open his belly, remove all unnecessary parts and burn them next to him (so he could watch). Finally they would decapitate him and quarter him… Quite a way to go… This method, by the way, is a much better way to go than how Edward II went. I will leave that to you as a Google search assignment.

That ended our whirlwind tour of London. That evening we dined at a nice Chinese restaurant and got ready for our early 4am wake-up call.

It was a great weekend! We got to see – (1) Westminster Abbey, (2) Houses of Parliament, (3) Big Ben, (4) Trafalgar Square, (5) National Gallery, (6) London Walk, (7) St. Paul’s Cathedral, (8) Buckingham Palace, (9) Fish and Chips, (10) Tower Bridge, and (11) Tower of London.