The Land of Tulips

This was a great time to take 3 days off that, added to the various public holidays, gave me 10 days of absolute freedom! On 25 April Olga arrived in Italy again and, after spending a couple of days in my little village, on Sunday 27 she and I set off by car towards the land of tulips. From Italy, via the internet, I had booked a hotel near Cologne for the night of the 27th and a 'Bed & Breakfast' for 3 nights in Amsterdam, since in the days at the end of April the whole of Holland and especially its capital celebrates the much-renowned Queen's Day and it's very hard to find a bed to sleep in. The outward journey, crossing the whole of Switzerland and the whole of Germany, was perhaps a bit longer than expected since we made various stops along the way.

Arriving in Amsterdam around 12.00 on Monday 28, we settled into the B&B ASTRID, practically an apartment on the outskirts run by a painter. From there it was anyway very convenient to reach the city centre, since this accommodation was 10 minutes from the Amsterdam Arena with its metro stop of the same name. After devoting 2 days to visiting the city, on the evening of the 29th but above all on 30 April we immersed ourselves in the wonderful Koninginnedag (the Queen's Day), where an immense orange tide spreads like an oil stain through the streets, lanes and alleys (some even in the canals...). What a party! Impossible to find a spot without being submerged in cheerfulness, sprays of beer and sometimes a whiff of smoke (I'll leave that to your imagination). So, between one beer and another and countless concerts in the streets, the party goes on until late at night.

On the morning of the first of May, up early after saying goodbye to our painter friend, we headed towards the west of Holland... the wonderful land of tulips! Indescribable in words! The photos speak for themselves. Having left the immense tulip fields we headed towards Belgium, where in Leuven my dear friend Seppe was waiting for me. He hosted us in his new flat, located a stone's throw from the centre, from where it was very convenient to reach Brussels by train and show Olga the Belgian capital. There were also 2 days of good beer tasting... after all Belgium is very famous for its good 'hop juice'. During the journey home to Italy we made various stops both on German and Swiss soil, spending a night at the Hotel Lothringer Hof in the 'renowned' Saarlouis..