The stars aligned and it finally came to pass. It was just the right April weekend, the weather was perfect, the car was working, and we had absolutely nothing to do.
After six long years, I was finally able to see up close and personal the multi-colored tulip fields that Holland is famous for – and it was loads better than any postcard version. After a short drive from Amsterdam to the area around Lisse, it didn’t take long before we discovered one bloom-covered farmland after another. Couple that with the fact that there weren’t that many tulip-seeking tourists around – wonderfully missing were the usual hordes of tourist buses – and that access to the fields was entirely free of charge (!), the whole experience was about as ideal as it could get. It was absolutely worth the wait.

Since they’re only around a few weeks during April, and not readily accessible other than by private vehicle, it’s no wonder it took this long for me to see them in person. Even then, it seemed like we got there just in the nick of time as a harvester was already going around collecting some of the flowers. If I were more of an enterprising local, though, I would definitely put up a pop-up cafe somewhere in the middle of this short-lived wonder and gladly charge triple. Pretty sure I’m not the only one who’d enjoy a nice glass of wine surrounded by all this natural beauty.
Suffice it to say, here’s to another item scratched off life’s to-do list.