Worlds Greatest Flower Show Spring 2023

HOLLAND IS HOST THE WORLDS LARGEST TULIP FESTIVAL EACH SPRING CALLED THE KEUKENHOF

2023 UPDATE: The Keukenhof is currently scheduled for 2023 starting March 23rd and running through May 14th, 2023 with tickets already on sale. Tickets for the Keukenhof are requiring online purchases. This year requires selecting a specific date and planned time of arrival.

CLICK FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Spring in Holland means flowers and the world’s largest garden and showplace is the Keukenhof Gardens featuring over 7 million spring flowering bulbs on display. There are also acres of commercial tulip fields surrounding the gardens stretching as far as you can see.

The gardens are located in Lisse only a short distance southwest of Amsterdam. The festival runs from mid March thru mid May and is serviced by special buses from Amsterdam airport with a combined ticket that includes return fare. If you are staying in Amsterdam it’s easy to get there. Take a bus or tram to the Amsterdam Central Station and catch an express train directly to the airport. Once there it isn’t hard to figure out – just look for the crowds and the marked Keukenhof buses.

The Keukenhof is actually a trade fair where over one hundred Dutch growers display their flowers. The name actually means “kitchen garden” and the place is fondly referred to as the Garden of Europe. The annual event features restaurants and coffee shops along with gift shops. If you enjoy visiting gardens, do not miss this as it is like a theme park dedicated exclusively to flowers. The best thing is to anticipate a lot of people, go early in the day and be patient.

At the Keukenhof and the flower markets in Amsterdam, many people question if they can buy tulip bulbs and bring them back through U.S. Customs. The answer is yes and no. Some vendors sell bulbs specifically with U.S. and Canada certificates that allow them through customs. These are a small selection and many of the same items are readily available back in North America and often at a better price. Unfortunately a majority of the Dutch bulbs will not have the certificate and are not allowed to be brought back to North America legally.

If you are cruising across the Atlantic on a spring repositioning cruise headed for northern Europe, there is a good chance you will end up in Amsterdam around tulip festival time. Besides the Keukenhof, Amsterdam also has a city wide tulip festival around the same time that features dozens of gardens and grounds to visit, so be sure and add these to your plans as well.

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Random Images • Maeklong Railway Market Thailand

Photography is my obsession and when traveling the world often images just present themselves. Most are random impressions with little context but some seem to suggest at a self contained story. Still others leave me wanting to find out more about what I stumbled upon. Here’s a glimpse of just why we travel…

The Maeklong market is a typical Asian market that sells everything from fruit and vegetables to fresh caught fish (stingrays and eels are very popular). The unique feature of this Thai open air market is that it operates right on the tracks of an active train line. The market is set up just outside the Maeklong train station and as the trains approach they slow down to a crawl to give the sellers time to move their wares off the track, pull back the awnings and withdraw the carts. As soon as the train passes it back to business as usual.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against beautiful backdrops that are endlessly changing.

Join Us – We understand that the last thing you may want is more emails cluttering up your inbox, but we promise we’ll work hard to make this worth your while. Give us a try and if we don’t live up to our promise all you need do is click the unsubscribe link in our emails.

Todays Featured Poster • Lisbon

Lisbon is located in western Portugal on the Tagus River. It is the westernmost capital city in continental Europe and is the country’s chief port, its largest city, and its political, and tourist center. Everything about Lisbon is to love. The lifestyle is laid back, the people friendly, the city is steeped in history and almost everything is remarkably inexpensive. To spend time in Lisbon is like going back in time to a better age.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these decorating accessories that are perfect for framing.

Random Images • Vietnam’s Basket Boats

Photography is my obsession and when traveling the world often images just present themselves. Most are random impressions with little context but some seem to suggest at a self contained story. Still others leave me wanting to find out more about what I stumbled upon. Here’s a glimpse of just why we travel…

Traveling south from Saigon (Nobody calls it Ho Chi Minh City) to the Mekong River we made a stop and these two fishermen were setting their nets. We’d seen these woven basket boats before but this was a great opportunity. These basket boats, called coracles are handwoven boats used in the central coast. The boats are woven from bamboo and covered in tar to waterproof them. Normally it takes several days to make one of these characteristic basket boats.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against beautiful backdrops that are endlessly changing.

Join Us – We understand that the last thing you may want is more emails cluttering up your inbox, but we promise we’ll work hard to make this worth your while. Give us a try and if we don’t live up to our promise all you need do is click the unsubscribe link in our emails.

Todays Featured Poster • Zion National Park

Located in Southwest Utah, Zion National Park is considered by many to have some of the most spectacular hiking trails in the lower 48. Hikes include some rated as strenuous requiring serious skills to scenic, paved trails for wheelchair bound visitors. It’s also home to the incredible “Narrows” with its water running through a narrow canyon with walls a thousand feet tall and the river sometimes just twenty to thirty feet wide.You can visit The Narrows by hiking along the easy paved, wheelchair accessible Riverside Walk for one mile from the Temple of Sinawava.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these decorating accessories that are perfect for framing.

Stanley, The Falkland Islands, A Port Of Call

Stanley the Capital of the Falkland Islands

If you’re making a port call in The Falklands chances are you’re going to get to see penguins. The islands are described as “one of the world’s great penguin capitals”. In fact, it’s believed that an estimated one million penguins arrive there every summer to breed.

Growing in popularity with cruise ships the Falklands are located over a thousand miles east of Argentina. The capital is Stanley which happens to be home to a majority of the three-thousand residents of the islands. The big attraction is the wild life with some of the worlds biggest concentrations of penguins along with seals and sea lions coming here to breed and raise their young in the Southern Hemispheres Summer. It is becoming a frequent stop for cruise ships on Antarctica itineraries.

Where Your Ship Docks

Stanley is located on a large natural double harbor. Unfortunately the docking facilities cannot accommodate most cruise ships so for almost everyone it is a tender port. The larger ships will most likely anchor in the outer harbor while the smaller ones can anchor closer to the towns boat landing.

There are no facilities right at the landing but there are restrooms at the visitors center only a block away.

Transportation

Stanley is a very small town and there is little in the way of public transportation offered. Most visitors usually book tours out to see the wildlife. There are also local tours offered to visit battlefield sites and see the town and out to penguin beaches.

Since there are really very few tourists visiting, when you see penguins you can get really close to them. Be respectful of their space and keep a distance of at least 6 feet when visiting them.

Money

Oddly the Falklands have their own version of the British Pound which probably cannot be exchanged outside of the Falkland Islands. The British government even warns visiting Brits to change it back before coming home. There are also no currency exchanges or ATMs in town. Fortunately many of the businesses in town will take Pounds, Euros, and US Dollars and we arranged with our guide ahead of the visit to pay with US Dollars.

Attractions

As noted, the big attraction is the wildlife and taking a tour is highly recommended. You will also hear a lot about “the war” from the locals and there are a number of sites to visit. In town is a really nice Falklands National Museum and Christ Church Cathedral with a arch out front made of whale bones.

The Falklands War

Over forty years ago a war broke out centered on the Falklands. It has left a lasting impact on these islands and the locals will generally have much to say on the subject. Principally the war resulted in the severing of all links with the Falklands nearest neighbor, Argentina. No direct flights, Argentinians are allowed into the Falklands and trade has broken down completely. It also has left large areas on the islands mined and the dangerous removal process continues today (mine fields are clearly marked).

The Falklands War (In Argentine Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas) was a 10-week war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over the British dependent territories in the South Atlantic.

The conflict began on 2 April, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died in the hostilities.

A Note of Caution – The Falklands were the focus of a war between Great Britain and Argentina in 1984. When the Argentine military seized the islands they installed over 30,000 land mines along stretches of the coast to stop the British from landing (it was useless). There is still an ongoing project to remove the mines and any marked areas are extremely dangerous and should be respected.