Keukenhof Tulip Gardens

Last Saturday the family and I finally make it to the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens! I discovered this place about two weeks too late last year after we moved here....you see This place is only open about eight weeks out of the year. Timing is everything if you go too early you may not see much blooming, but if you go too late then many things will have already bloomed and be cleaned up.

We went April 25th, this last week of April/first week of May seems to be a good time to go as every single type of flower on display was blooming. From talking to other people, this last week of April/first week of May time frame seems to be fairly consistent from year to year.

Each year the garden coordinators usually focus on a country to feature, but this year they chose Vincent Van Gogh as their feature display. This is the 125th anniversary of his death so they decided to pay tribute to him.

The Keukenhof was one of those things where I was afraid to actually go. I had heard so many wonderful things and saw so many wonderful photos that I wholeheartedly expected to be let down. But, you know what? The gardens certainly delivered. We all left feeling more enriched and happy we went. The greenhouses were full of amazing diplays from Van Gogh's art works brought to life to beautiful wedding displays. Despite the number of people at the park for the Corso (a yearly parade) it was still a wonderful time.

A bit about our trip...

We went after breakfast. We did get stuck in 90 minutes worth of traffic as we left the house about 10:30, arrived at the airport where we picked up the shuttle around 11. We wound up arriving at the Keukenhof at a little after 1pm. If I were to do this again I would leave the house by 8am. Once we were off the shuttle we found a side entrance where we walked right in...make sure you find the alternative entrance, the main entrance is a madhouse. We knew we wanted to make the most of our time there but wanted to leave no later than 3:30 as there was a sign that had tour busses scheduled to leave at 5pm, since we were in traffic on the way there we knew we did not want to hit traffic on the way back. So, we began our stroll conscious of the time...it really was plenty of time.

So...here is what we saw...

These were probably my favorite flower/display: Synaeda King and Giuseppe Verdi

I loved these hot pink ones!

The first green house we entered was the Oranje Nassau it was a tribute to Vincent Van Gogh. There were several reprints of his artwork displayed along with flowers that were similar in fashion to ones he painted. 

There were even a few exhibits that were sort of interactive but they were so busy I didn't bother with them, nor did I need to...admiring his artwork in this capacity was enough for me.

The big display was one of his famous self-portraits redone in tulips. I feel as though we were so lucky to see this. The entire thing was blooming and even as early as the week before we went there were some that were still just green. I love everything to do with Vincent Van Gogh, so to see this in full bloom was a real treat for me. Hubby even stood in the long line to get on the grand stand and see it with me even though I told him he didn't have to...that is love folks. 

Some of the flower fields. A sea of red.

Loving the XXX in flowers.

I love how they recycled some of these cribs into a piece of artwork. Also, see where all those people are, that is near the windmill where you can climb up and an area where you can book a cruise through some of the flower fields..we didn't do that...nothing was worth fighting those lines.

This was a really fun bridge to play on. 

Colour!

 This was the only other green house we fought to get into...the weeding displays! They were really pretty. But it was super packed, we did a quick tour around then had to get out.

We loved the displays with these little pineapple looking flowers, they just looked so happy and almost tropical.

Hyacinth...this smelled amazing. Just wow.

This was a magical experience and I would highly recommend actually planning a trip around this even to visit The Netherlands. 

It is a spectacular experience. Here are my tips for making the most of your experience:

• Purchase your tickets in advance
• Leave early to get there when the Gardens open
• Enter through one of the alternative entrances, just ask anyone in a yellow vest
• Eat before you go, restaurants get really packed and seemed over priced in my opinion
• Bring a water bottle...lines for drinks and food were extremely long
• Don't forget your camera
• Expect to deal with large amounts of crowds, so be patient

This is something that is fun for the whole family since everything is paved so you can bring a pram/stroller, there is playground equipment for the littles, and the teeanger thanked us several times for giving her the opportunity to go. Not once did she complain and she was very in to seeing the displays and all the flowers in bloom. 

As a final note, if you are a fearer of bees because you swell horribly (almost to allergic reaction proportions like me) or are allergic I am happy to report we didn't see a single bee. I am not sure how that was possible and worries me slightly, but I really was glad because it meant I didn't need to worry.

So, I highly recommend you plan a trip to see this at some point, well worth it!

P.S. Make sure you check out the Reasons to Travel link up over at Reasons to Dress!

My Top Photo Apps for iPhone/iPad...best part: FREE!

For a very long time I've been in search of the perfect apps for editing photos. I love to take pictures and love to try and turn them in to works of art whenever possible. For this you must have awesome apps...below are my favourites! I rarely go a week without using each of these apps.

1. PicLab HD

This is one of my faves because of all the filters...they are truly amazing! I love the sketch, toon, and emboss filters are my favorite! There are also some really cool light fx, like bokeh, that can enhance some pictures as well. The last thing I love about this app are the frames. The only bummer is the frames don't translate well onto Instagram so I rarely use them. Hopefully they can fix this in the future!

2. Photo Timer +

When I was running my Beachbody business this app was essential. I would need to take photos during my workout and this was the best free one I found. It allows you to take multiple photos (up to 10) and allows you to take them anywhere from 3 seconds apart to 3 minutes apart! Seriously, I think the best photo timer app out there. 

I often will take a series of pictures then make a collage with one of the two following apps....

3. InstaFrame

Lots of different frames: they have different shaped frames for single photos, even some different shapes for multiple photos, and of course lots for creating collages. Once you create your collage you can add filters and text. I use this one constantly. All collages I have shared from here to Instagram transfer over perfectly with no issues.

4. InstaFrame+

This is a super fun app because you can make photo and/or video collages! When putting together a video collage it will allow you to play the videos together or at different times and speed them up or slow them down! Super cool, I think. They also have several cute frames available, background colors, and of course you can add text. This one translates really well with all features to Instagram.

Here are some pictures I have edited with the apps: