Continuing our 2023 Keukenhof visit...
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| Sculpture, too |
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| Cutting Flemish frites the old-fashioned way |
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| Now in one of the several large pavilions, looking at various plants |
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| Love these faux riverine settings |
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| Now in orchid land |
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| Your choice...€19.99 |
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| Winged victory |
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| Loyal subject 365 days a year |
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| Dead Austin Mini pushing up daffodils |
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| Bug hotel |
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| View across the canal |
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| Everything in bloom...wonderful place! |
This year's Keukenhof, the annual spring-time showcasing of tulips and other flowers, was just as spectacular as we'd remembered it...so without further ado...
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| The "I Amersterdam" sign used to be on Museumsplein in the city, but there were too many tourists crawling all over it for photos, and too many injuries, so it's now at Schiphol, the airport, where it gets rather less attention; oh, to get to Keukenhof, we took the special bus from Schiphol |
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| En route |
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| Us, there |
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| Sans us |
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| It's not just tulips, although 99% of it is; here, the azaleas are going really strong in the background; yes, we acknowledge that azaleas are really just very small rhododendrons |
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| It is King's Day--the king's birthday, a major holiday in the Netherlands--and we're going to see a lot of orange (House of Orange, get it?) |
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| I did this in 2016...J'ai ete la-bas; j'ai fait ca |
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| Among the king's loyal subjects |
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| The extensive rhodos also are coming on; perfect time to be here |
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| Another of the king's loyal subjects; but look left of her shoes and you'll see a pink erratic: every year they uproot all of Keukenhof's 87 gazillion bulbs and then plant the next year's models...but this one survived |
Thus edified by all the little genre paintings and tronies, we had lunch at the museum cafe and then headed back to see a number of old friends, starting with the special collections and the engraved and stippled glass that is so remarkable. Then it was off to see the paintings, the biggies, the Hall of Honor, etc., as we have done and blogged about many times before. Accordingly, I will leave identifying the various paintings below as a homework assignment. Hint: Google Lens.
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| Vicki had a nice soup and I had a trout rillette, but the only thing that got pictured was my mint tea; I'm not much of a tea drinker, especially of non-tea teas, but if there's a better mint tea than the one the Rijksmuseum cafe serves, I'd like to know about it |
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| In a glass enclosure by itself, undergoing photographic and other analysis prior to restoration |
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| When we first came to Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum in 1979, Rembrandt was the thing; except for Night Watch, he doesn't get that much prominence nowadays |
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| Love this guy |
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| Could be a Caravaggio |
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| Sic transit, Gloria |
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| Still my favorite among the large formats |
