Favorite Day

Today was my favorite day. Not my favorite day of our trip, but my favorite day of my LIFE. We spent the day at a flower park that calls itself "the most beautiful spring garden in the world," and I don't doubt the veracity of that claim. The Keukenhof website states that the park, which is only open six weeks out of the year, has more than 7 million bulbs in bloom. It was the most breathtakingly beautiful place I have ever been, and it smelled like heaven. It was almost surreal and maybe even a little overwhelming, and I'll be honest, I may have cried a little from pure joy. I blew through two camera batteries and then moved on to using the camera in my phone. I took well over 300 pictures, and yet somehow managed to not even scratch the surface of capturing the magnificence. I had no idea there were so many varieties of tulips (800, in the park) or that some of them could be as tall as my waist or have blooms larger than my hand. And then, there were the special exhibit buildings, which housed orchids and lilies in quantities I can't even fathom. I truly do not have the words to describe it. This has been the part of the trip I have been looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint.

wooden shoes

the tulips showing a little Aggie love

a beautiful welcome to the orchid exhibit

orchid love

pink and perfect

color explosion

These almost look like fire.

my favorite place, with my favorite people

floor to ceiling lilies

my happy place

a hydrangea bigger than Ruth's head

getting into the Dutch spirit

fields of tulips

rows and rows of red

The kids had so much fun taking pictures in the park and
were excited to find this selfie garden.

a tribute to Van Gogh

hand-sized tulips

such a peaceful place

sensory overload

the view never gets old

color, color everywhere

garden path

the most beautiful spring garden in the world, for sure

fun for the whole family

my signature color

I would never, ever tire of this!