Thursday 4 March 2010

Tulips from Amsterdam

Last weekend my travels took me back to Amsterdam for a very quick visit to see the brand new production of Don Quixote at the Dutch National Ballet - it was very good, and very very funny, although my favourite version still remains that of the wonderful Bolshoi Ballet from Moscow.  No trip to Amsterdam would be complete without a trip to the street florist near my hotel!!  I plumped for some lovely pale pink and green roses (Kenyan though!) and some bright and cheerful yellow tulips with a tiny red splash of colour - as the tulips have opened up they look like tulips from one of the Dutch Grand Masters paintings!!



You must excuse the brown paper but the florist said I had to re-cut the stems then put the tulips in cold water as soon as I got them home, leaving the paper wrapped around them for an hour - this helps the tulips take up water and stops them flopping.
The Singel Flower Market - one of my favourite haunts!

Fabulous bulbs!
A grey day in Amsterdam looking at the back of the Singel floating flower market - you can see the backs of the shops floating on the right of the canal.


7 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pics of a fabulous city. I love Amsterdam and your post brought back some sweet memories..

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  2. What fabulous photos! I especially love the roses - soooo beautiful. How lucky you saw a ballet! I'm om a countdown to March 13th and SL! Thank you for sharing - for now, this is how I travel - via pixels!

    Maisie

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  3. Thank you MaiTai- my pleasure to share with you:-)

    Thank you Maisie Z - seeing ballet is my usual reason to travel it has taken me to quite a few places - gotta love pixels LOL! Enjoy Swan Lake - one of my favourites too.

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  4. I adore tulips! The ones in my garden have just started growing, and I bought some from the florist to keep in the vase. The florist told me to add some lemon drops in the water so the tulips stay rigid - so far she was right!

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  5. Thanks for the tip Mary!! I love the cheerful colours they come in - lifts the spirit especially after a long winter like this one!!

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  6. beautiful pics !! i love flowers, great too, to learn about lemon drops! so I can utilise any remaining lemons after ive finished making a vodka drink at night lol!

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