My 65th Celebration

Since I made such a big deal of it and took 379 pictures (pared down to 229)...and have spent a week working on them...indulge me while I re-celebrate my big day from Sunday the 13th.

First of all, we drove south of Gorinchem on Saturday, 171 km (106 mi.), to visit one of the top cities of Holland: Maastricht. That's another post (and another 231 pictures still waiting to be processed). But that night Astrid treated us to a delightful Bed & Breakfast outside of the city Arcen where we planned to spend the day on Sunday.

If you're ever in the area of the Arcen castle and gardens, we definitely recommend Het Logement in Lottum as your B&B. Everything about it was delightful. It's a tiny village but it has the prerequisite high-steepled church and the windmill. Oh, yes, and the sheep! And because it's known as a Rose Village, the entrance and exit greets you with a trellis of roses (when in bloom).

After a delightful breakfast at our B&B, we left for the Arcen castle and gardens just 2 km away. That was the plan for my birthday...to see the next most famous gardens in the Netherlands after the Keukenhof, which we had visited in April.

As castles go, it's not the most idyllic or romantic you'll ever see, but it is indeed a castle nonetheless...and THAT'S romantic enough for me on any birthday.

We had arrived half an hour after the gate opened and were surprised that we were amongst only a handful of tourists already there. Arcen isn't as commercial as Keukenhof and not as well-known (have you ever heard of it??) but it's every bit as spectacular and BIG. We could have spent the entire day there and not seen every nook and cranny.

How do you pare down a couple hundred photos to a few collages? Not the easiest thing in the world but at least you get a taste. As the day went on, more and more visitors started arriving, but even then it wasn't hard to get most pictures without any people in them.


Whereas Keukenhof is most known for its tulips, Arcen is known for its roses...except that it has been so cold here in Holland this spring (yesterday we actually had to turn on our heat at home) the roses are not all in full bloom. Still, there was plenty to see and nothing to disappoint.

As we moseyed along from one section of the garden to another, we came upon a central green house/pavillion called the Rosarium where this delightful florist was putting on a Floral Theatre:

As you'd guess, he was a Queen par excellence and thoroughly enjoyed playing the part.

Next thing we knew, he had changed outfits and came into the audience to pick ME to go on stage with him. Instinctively I knew it should not be me (even though it was my birthday), since my Dutch is quite lacking, and was able to think fast enough on my feet to offer Astrid up as the sacrifice. Lucky for me, she was a real trooper (and probably didn't need to know a word of Dutch)!


And just like that, Astrid, who has an incredible Green Thumb anyway, created with Mr. Florist a floral masterpiece...and I got to get up close and document it all.
Queen for a Day. And Astrid didn't look bad either. :)

Now, are you ready? Here's the frosting on the birthday cake: a Rose Opera in the garden dedicated to Ginnie on her 65th birthday! Seriously.

It so happened that when we entered the gardens first thing in the morning, before many others were there, we got in on the rehearsal of these two ladies who would be performing at 6 different times throughout the day. The first concert was at 11 a.m., the one dedicated to me. How can you top that! It's not that the rest of the day went downhill from there but Man! They totally made my day.

Remember when I made a big thing about SENIOR DISCOUNTS starting at 65? That day I saved €2.50 off my entrance fee because of my new age! And a week later, this past Saturday, I saved another €2.30 on the Fast Ferry to Rotterdam (another post). So SEE. It pays to turn 65. Someone at my Shutterchance blog said I should start a tally to see how much I will save in a year. Because I've started the tally, I'll be sure to mention the total savings a year from now. Trust me. :)

In the meantime, happy summer solstice! We've been in the 50s for a couple weeks now, unusual even for Holland. But I'm not complaining. I love cooling off after all the celebrating.