It’s All About the Story
Hello stampers and happy Saturday to you. It’s all about the story for me. I have always loved reading books and words simply delight me. Today’s blog is about how stories let me to plan this little getaway.
It’s All About the Story
The Netherlands really is a small country. It fits more than two times into Lake Ontario. Crazy, right? Don’t let it fool you for a minute. There is so much to see and do here. I have been here many times and believe me when I tell you that I have barely scratched the surface of discovering this beautiful little gem of a country.
I had never been to Friesland which is one of the northern provinces and also the most unique. Last summer we tried but because of COVID19, everyone was vacationing in their own country and there was nothing nice available. This visit, I tried again. The search began with tulip fields.
A Fun Blog
When I typed in “best tulip fields in Holland” one of the search results was this lovely blog called Wanderlust. I discovered that there were three main areas to find lots of tulip fields. One was near Lisse, where I went the very day that I arrived. The second one was near where my father comes from and the third was near Schagerbrug. What made the third one so appealing is that there is a windmill in the background of your photos. When I saw that this was sort of on the way to Friesland, my mind was made up and I was so excited. What I didn’t pay close attention to is that the blog post was written in 2019 and there is such a thing as crop rotation. That means that the fields are not always planted with the same crop!!
The miller traditionally lived in the windmill and you would be surprised at how spacious and cozy it is. These windmills are quite large! Due to COVID19 it was not possible to go inside.
The Glorious Tulips
Holland is of course renowned for its tulips which made many people here quite rich in the 1600s. Suffice it to say that tulips were so popular that people would sell their horse or carriage for a single tulip bulb!! You can read about the history here.
Can you believe that I had never been to the Netherlands in the spring? It was on the agenda last year but then COVID prevented all travel. That is why I was over the moon excited to be able to see the tulip fields this year. Here are a bunch of photos that try to capture the beauty that I saw.
An Idyllic Inn
It was on this same blog that I came across Omke Jan which is an idyllic “herberg” or inn in Woudsend, Friesland. I was intrigued at the story of Omke Jan and the inspiration behind this restaurant and inn. Omke Jan sounds like just the kind of guy that I would have loved to meet. I did meet his relative who owns this unique gem and his love for people and life just sparked from his eyes. A kindred spirit indeed.
If you look closely at this photo you will see the modern “omke Jan” sitting on the edge of his terrasje enjoying watching his customers anonymously.
I could post a ton more photos of this idyllic place but you can check out the Wanderlust post for yourself. If you ever get to travel to the Netherlands I highly recommend this place, be sure to book early to avoid disappointment!
This was out typical Dutch breakfast. My favourite part was the freshly squeezed orange juice and of course room service at no extra cost because of COVID19!! We were exceptionally lucky to be here at this time of year and during COVID19. It felt like we had the place to ourselves! The bonus? We got upgraded to a bigger, better room. Our room is the one that is featured in the Wanderlust blog post.
Prime Time Card
I feel that as a Stampin’Up! demonstrator rather than a travel blogger, I should include at least one card in my post! I was inspired to make this gate fold card because I thought that the die cut trees would look great on a belly band. What do you think?
The paper is Beauty of the Earth but the trees come from the Inspired Thoughts bundle. This bundle coordinates quite well with the trees from Beauty of the Earth. You can see another blog post with this suite here.
Thank You!
Thanks for joining me today. Hope you enjoyed your journey through the tulip fields and to Friesland. It’s all about the story. I love these stories, I hope you did too. Have a super day!!
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