Tiptoeing through the tulips ...

So, in the spirit of experiencing Holland in the best way possible, as I have been spending quite a few weekends relaxing at home in Den Haag, on Saturday we went to Keukenhof, a giant flower exhibition about 45 minutes away. Words really don't describe fully the amazing flowers - lots of tulips, but hundreds of other types of flowers, of all colours and shapes and sizes - so lovely!! So find below some of the many photos I took - it's basically a giant garden, with different beds of flowers scattered around - crowded with people, but well worth the effort!!









Nearby to the actual exhibition are many tulip fields - we were going to hire bikes and bike around (trepidation on my part, considering I cannot actually ride a bike, and have successfully avoided being a cyclist in 2 bike-obsessed countries over the past 10 months!!!!), however all the bikes had been hired, so we settled for wandering in one field nearby, which was quite spectacular in itself, as you can see below!!


I'm a flower faery!!

My flower compatriots - Antonia, Megan and Emily, Megan's US friend

Very Dutch - tulips and windmill!!

Bella Roma!

So, my Easter weekend was lovely, warm, full of gelati, and also quite holy - because we went to Rome!!

A long travel to get there (Ryanair cheap flights always seem less appealing after you actually travel from home to train station, train to next city, bus to airport, fly, then bus to city - 9 hours later ...), but so worth it!!

I have been to Rome before, but travelled with 5 other friends - Camilla and Megan from Melbourne, Megan from California, Mike from Montreal (my flatmate) and Bente from Norway - both Megans had also been there before, while everything was new for the others!! We stayed at a great hostel that Megan had been to before, where they gave us little packs of snacks on arrival, and even some wine because they remembered Megan!!

After a lovely Italian meal, we saw some of the sights at night - Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Victor Emmanuel's monstrosity - everything is lit up and lovely!!

Me and the Colosseum

We strike a pose - myself, Megan, Bente, Megan, Camilla

Victor Emmanuel by night

Trevi Fountain by night


Friday dawned sunny and warm - we were so excited not to have to wear our coats!! Europe has done terrible thigns to my thermostat, that I now consider 19 degrees a warm day!! While the others went on a Colosseum tour, Megan and I walked along the lovely river Tiber, lunched at Piazza Navona, did a spot of shopping, then met the others for a relaxing dinner at an authentic Roman restaurant (ie no tourist menus with 5 different languages!!) We then went to a funky wine bar before bed.

Colosseum by day

The lovely Tiber

It's a hard life!

The Pantheon

Saturday was also warm and lovely - both Megans and I wandered around the Vatican while the others went into the Vatican museum, and we lunched and sunned ourselves - ah, it's a hard life!! We then went to the Spanish steps, and after some dinner, we ventured to Trastevere, a funky area of Rome with lots of bars and restaurants. Later that night, after much urging from our Norweigan counterpart, we sampled Rome's nightlife, at an area called Testacchio, where we partied with many Roman men, and realised that Italian men can be a little too friendly sometimes - such obvious groping is not what I am used to!


Green is the theme - Mike, Camilla, Megan, Megan

Fountain at St Peter's - quite close to the front of the square, and where we stood the next day to see Il Papa!

The lovely river Tiber

Ponte St Angelo (bridge of angels - so pretty!)

Laura and Spanish Steps

Sunday morning, I dragged myself out of bed after only 4 hours sleep, and joined Megan and Mike for the Easter Mass at St Peter's, presided over by the Pope, which then leads into his Urbi et Orbi speech, which is his little sermon to the world. He then wishes Happy Easter in about 40 languages - the square was packed with thousands of people, and it was amazing, like the Catholic Olympics, with everyone waving flags, cheering when they heard their language - a great experience!!


The Crowd at the Catholic Olympics ...

Il Papa rocking the crowd!!

We then wandered around, more pizza and gelati, then relaxed in a lovely park - definitely the theme for the weekend, a relaxed tour of Rome!! We then had an enjoyable Easter banquet for dinner, and a relatively early night, before embarking on our journey home on Monday. All in all, a great Easter weekend!!

Holland has finally recognised spring, with 27 degree weather this weekend - so my life resembes a resort, as the beach here sets up bars and sun lounges, with table service - it's a hard life, lying around being served!!

Buda and Pest

Yes, it appears they are separate cities, Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube River - who would have guessed!! But I thoroughly enjoyed my experiences in both cities!!

I travelled with two Aussie girls, Antonia and Camilla, and we partied with a variety of international students who study in Holland, where Antonia was last semester.

After an annoying baby/parents combo on the plane to Budapest (crying baby, annoying parents), we made it, later than we expected, so headed to bed to be fresh for the next day. Friday dawned rainy and cold, so after a fortifying Hungarian breakfast (including paprika omelette, the spice of choice in Hungary!), we went to the Museum of Terror, which used to be the headquarters of the Hungarian Nazis and Communist bad guys - a great museum, well laid out and good provision of information!! We then decided to go to the ballet, as one does when one can get tickets for $10, so 'Gone with the Wind' the ballet was an enjoyable way to spend the evening, especially as the Opera House is a gorgeous building!!

The lovely opera house

Myself, Antonia and Camilla at the Opera

We then met up with the Nymegan crew, went across to Buda (our hostel was in Pest) to a nightclub at the top of a shopping centre, and danced the night away!!

Saturday also dawned rainy and chilly, so we headed to the Baths, which are awesome - lots of different sized and temperatured baths, from 18 degrees to 38 degrees, and a variety of saunas, including a cinnamon flavoured one!!

Poppies en route to the baths


After a post-bath rest, we went out for a hearty Hungarian meal, which included lots of meat and cabbage!! We then met up with the internationals at a funky garage-type bar, and realised the folly of trying to keep 25 people happy, as we changed locations frequently!!

The funky club in Pest


Sunday was sunny and warm (well, around 12 degrees!!). We walked across to Buda castle, which has amazingly beautiful walls, statues and churches surrounding it, although the castle appears now to be used for offices and an art gallery.

The view across the Danube from Pest to Buda - myself and Antonia

View from the top!

Castle Gates

Castle walls

More castle walls

I really loved the castle walls - so pretty!!

We had a chilled out night of coffee, cake and drinks in Buda.

We also successfully negotiated with taxi drivers - Hungary is still on the Forint, with around 150 to the Aussie dollar, and taxi drivers frequently don't put the meter on, but just estimate how much it will cost - we worked out the best option was to call one with a price, and then bargain down to that price on the return journey, as otherwise most taxi drivers took advantage of tourists by tripling the price!!

Monday was our last day, so we had a relaxing brunch, wandered around the markets and then headed back to the Hague! All in all, a relaxing, cultural and partying weekend - definitely worth a visit!!