Waterways of Holland & Belgium (Day 8)

Wednesday, May 9: Keukenhof Gardens & Amsterdam

I went for a run this morning and got to see some of the newer parts of Amsterdam along the same route that we traveled to De Kas last night. Morning yoga again in anticipation of a likely late-ish farewell dinner this evening. Our excursion to Keukenhof Gardens had an early start, as we boarded the coaches at 8am, so I grabbed some breakfast snacks to eat on the way. Our guide explained how the Gardens are only open to the public 7-8 weeks each year, during the time that the tulips are in bloom.

 

The majority of the flowers are grown in order to cultivate and harvest the bulbs, while those grown for cut flowers are tended inside greenhouses instead of in the landscaped gardens. Several pavilions are scattered throughout the gardens as well, each with a shop, restaurant, and flower show highlighting different varieties, such as lilies and orchids. I’ve never seen blue orchids before!!!

After a short tour with our guide through part of the gardens, we were on our own to explore for another 3 hours, so we meandered around and into several of the pavilions. Mom ordered some bulbs to be delivered later this year, and we finished up with a light snack at the pavilion nearest the main entrance, where we met up with our group at 11:45am. By that time, the parking lot was overflowing with buses and people, so we were all quite pleased that we’d gotten an early start.

We had the “quick lunch” in the lounge once we got back to the boat, and then I headed off around 2pm to visit the Jewish Historical Museum. Although the temperature wasn’t as high today, I still got rather warm walking through the city, as the clothes I packed really weren’t intended for 70s and 80s! I tried to keep in the shade as much as possible and cooled down with another iced Americano from the Starbucks in the Doubletree Hotel near where our boat was docked.

When I got back to the ship, I paid for my incidentals and got packed and organized and ready for the morning. We had a farewell reception at 6pm in the lounge followed by the farewell dinner in the restaurant. These gatherings provided an opportunity to meet and recognize all of the crew. They all work so hard and have very long days. And they don’t even get a break before the next tour begins the afternoon that our tour ends. Wow. Not a job that would suit me! Dinner flowed a bit more quickly this evening, so we were able to take our leave before 9:30pm and get to bed at a reasonable time in anticipation of the early morning wake-up and departure tomorrow.