Twenty-Two: Keukenhof!

In the days leading up to our visit to the world's largest flower garden (about 40 km southwest of Amsterdam in Lisse), Kim and I had one conversation over and over. Kim, "Kouwkinoff!" Jess "Kookenkoph." Kim, "Kouwkinoff!" Jess "Kookinauf" Kim,"Koukinhoof!" Jess, "Kookenhoof!" When we told people about our impending visit, we had to repeat the name several times in several ways before they understood. "Oooooh, Keukenof!" they would say. "Yeah, Kookinov. That's what I said."

We went with Amanda, another ex-pat from E & Y. It was Saturday afternoon on one of about two peak bloom weekends so it was packed. We sat in traffic for an hour. There were tour buses full of seniors. When we finally got through the gates our conversation went a little like this:

Kim, "Holy crap!" Amanda "Woooww." Jess, "There are way too many people here... Ooooooo, look at that orange!" Amanda, "Look at that pink!" Kim,"Look at that red!" Jess "Oh my god which way should we go?" Kim, "This is ridiculous!" Amanda, "Amazing!" Jess, "Incredible. Why is everyone old?"

After about two hours of ogling and exclaiming, snapping photos, eating ice cream, petting baby animals and getting lost in a hedge maze, our conversation went like this:

Kim, "That red is pretty." Amanda, "Yeah." Jess,"That orange is just so...bright." Amanda "Yeah." Kim, "Those are pretty..." Amanda "Mmmm". Jess, "Those are pretty." Amanda, "Uh huh." Kim, "I'm starting to feel a little... I mean there's just so much. It's... I, I feel..." Jess, "Burnt out?" Kim,"Yes! That's it, I'm burnt out!" Jess, "Yeah, my eyes hurt." Amanda, "I don't think I can look at any more tulips." Kim, "No. No more tulips." Jess, "My eyes hurt..."

We agreed that although you're always bound to run into crowds, it's definitely worth a visit. Buying your tickets on line and going very early on a weekday helps a little. We're taking Laura and Jack the day after they arrive. It will be the craziest day of the year in the Netherlands - Queen's Day (Koninginnedag). It will be traditional costume day at Keukenhof. I couldn't invent a better nightmare scenario for Big L and Captain Jack, but the flowers are fading fast and there's not a moment to lose!

Twenty-One: Croatia? Croatia!

We went to Croatia over Easter weekend. Dubrovnik. We didn't know much about it, only that it would be warm and sunny and the water would be clear and blue.

We were not mistaken. The weather was perfect, the crowds were small(ish), our hotel room overlooked the ocean. The hillsides teemed with irises, the trellises with wisteria. We took the bus to Old Town (like 450 AD old). We walked along the top of the city walls. We ate lots of fresh seafood (squid, lobster, shrimp, fish) risotto and pasta. We took a boat to the Elaphite islands (reminiscent of the San Juans) where we hiked through ancient fishing villages to secluded beaches.

There were very few guests at our hotel so we saw the same handful of them every day. There was a British family with a precocious young daughter who was constantly chattering in her posh and proper accent. Kim had to refrain from shouting "Expelleramious!" every time they walked by (they were also on our boat to the Elaphite islands).

We rented a car and drove to Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia). Seems they're not doing so great, but are petitioning to join the EU so maybe things will improve.

The coast of Montenegro is all dramatic mountains plunging into clear blue seas and small islands scattered offshore. We drove up into the mountains looking for a canyon that reputedly rivals the Grand Canyon, but we never found it. Instead we found a weird mountain top village that felt like Appalachia only scarier because no one spoke English. We purchased some strange baked goods and coffee and hightailed it back to the coast where we stumbled on Sveti Stefan, a 15th century island fishing village-turned-crazy-exclusive luxury resort (see photo). On our way back to Dubrovnik we stopped in Kotor, a small fortified city similar to Dubrovnik only shabbier. We had a slight run-in with a young officer of the law who wanted to tow our car for no good reason, but Kim talked our way clear (all I could contribute was sarcasm, which luckily the language barrier deflected).

All told it was a pretty perfect vacation. The weather, the meager crowds, the activities. Going at an off-peak time was key. Learning to say "good morning" (dobro jutro), "good afternoon" (dobar dan), "please" (molim) and "thank you" (hvala) were helpful and inspired better service (seems not to be a strong suit). We liked it so much that we've decided to add Plitvice National Park - in northern Croatia - to our growing-instead of-shrinking list of destinations.