Doing CELEBRATION the Dutch Way

Because this is the time for the tulip fields to be bursting with bloom, Astrid and I made the decision over a week ago that we would go looking this past Monday.  And since we were also waiting for the "invitation" to go pick up my "for life" staying permit at Immigration in Rijswijk, near the tulip fields, I said "It would be just like God" to have the invitation in time to hit both birds with the same stone.

Guess what!  My invitation came last week Wednesday, in plenty of time.

So we first drove the hour's drive to Rijswijk, a suburb of Den Haag (The Hague).

We walked into the Immigration building, picked up the number for my turn,

and, before sitting down to wait, were immediately directed to a booth where I picked up my card.

It took less than 5 minutes from beginning to end.

I am now officially a European Union Long-term Resident.

It means I can now live anywhere within the EU.

I need only to renew my permit every 5 years (like with a driver's license or passport).

PINCH ME.

PINCH ASTRID because this means she never has to worry about job security on my behalf again!

As we left to go back to our car, Mother Nature was celebrating with us!

From there it was to the tulip fields!

 As we drove along, Astrid had a great brain fart as she saw where we were,
16 km north of The Hague.

Let's first stop in Katwijk aan Zee by the North Sea for our koffie break!

And we did!

It would have been unforgivable to be that close and not SEE the sea.

Speaking of seeing, look at that darling church, built in 1461.
It's the St. Andrew's Dutch Reformed church, also called the Old Church or the White Church.

What is it about the sea!?!?!

And how can you resist this kind of art on the beach!?!?!

But...we were on a mission to see the tulips fields and did not linger in Katwijk.

It so happened that the first BIG field we saw was in Noordwijk, so that's where we stopped.
It's known for its bulb flower fields, just 11 km from the Keukenhof gardens.
(Remember when we were there back in April of 2010?!)

The colors were so bright my camera could hardly stand it.
Well, that's my story.  Actually, I had to mute them waaaaay down for Shutterchance....

...as you see here.  Maybe I was really too hyper that day and needed calming down?

So many varieties of roses tulips.  Did you know they have no smell?
I think the Netherlands would be asphyxiated by now if they did.

There was a section of newly formed blooms/buds...

...as well as a section of hyacinths at the far edge of the field.
Hyacinths bloom before tulips, but they're obviously still in season...and smell BIG TIME,
making up for all the tulips all around the world that don't.

(remains of the day)

Because it was a Monday, there really wasn't a crowd. 
Lucky for us, I think we all were quite manageable in our celebration.

  As we left to go home, my excitement was heightened by seeing a heron at the side of the road.
  Herons are extremely skittish and can stand still for a photo if they allow you to get close enough.
Usually they fly away immediately (out of the image!) whenever we get close enough.


Sorry for how jerky this is but...it's better than nothing, right?

We were in the car, which was not ideal.  Next time I hope to be standing outside.

And finally, of course, the weathervanes of the day.

That evening, once back home, Astrid treated me to a 3-course meal at a nearby restaurant.
How can you beat such a day of celebration!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Change gears now to closer to home, lest I forget my citadel walk from this past Sunday.

I borrowed Astrid's Garmin GPS watch to see if my walk would show what I expected.
It did!  You can almost see the ramparts.
The green drop is the Start and Finish point at our backdoor, walking counter-clockwise.
It was 4.38 km (2.72 mi.) in 1 hour, 4 minutes, stopping to take 15 pics and 6 short videos.
Not bad for a new knee! I'm ecstatic.

And to show what our citadel looks like right now, LOOK.
The yellow everywhere is rapeseed, believe it or not.

How can we NOT love where we live!


Even our windmills celebrate with us!

Droitwich Spa and Hanbury Hall, Worcestershire, England

Following on the heels of Bill and Ange's family (last post), here's a taste of Droitwich Spa where they live and a little jaunt we took to see nearby Hanbury Hall, part of the National Trust.

Droitwich Spa is in Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe, and is usually shortened to just Droitwich, especially for us Shutterchancers.  It's a city town of ca. 22K inhabitants.

What I love most about it is its half-timbered architecture.

Over the years, we've heard so much about Droitwich because of Bill.  Now we got to see it,

including the Acorns charity store where we found a used DVD movie I've wanted for years!
Bill's family has had a long history of charitable work there.

Bill and Ange knew we'd want to walk through their Vines Park along the canal...

 ...for more reasons than one...

...but mainly because of the narrowboats.  I am so in love with the English narrowboats!

Staring at what is stored on top of them is half the fun.

The narrowboat harbor at the end reminds me of a trailer park, only better.  HA!

It was a great walk for finding all kinds of weeds/flowers...something I've started paying attention to.

(Have you noticed?)

Back near city center we visited the Church of St. Andrew from 1571.

It's a Church of England parish church.

(notice the bottom-left window which is painted...not stained glass)

I love that these churches are open during the week!

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

From St. Andrew's we drove to nearby Hanbury Hall and Gardens, part of the National Trust.

Lucky for us, entrance was free that day!

Can you imagine living there?

We first started with a 30-minute guided tour inside that didn't allow photos until later after the tour.

(which I discovered after I captured a handful).

But once outside, we snapped away to our heart's content.

We have no shame!

Talk about gardens!  

As I so often say, "This is so English!"

Some flowers I recognized but most I didn't.

They even grow edibles for their tea room.

It was hard to leave such an idyllic place.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

But Ange had to leave for her Tuesday afternoon job...

...while Bill, Astrid and I ate lunch at this Hop Pole Pub.

Any pub that says "Hot beer, Lousy food, Bad service" has got to be good, right?

No wonder it was the Pub of the Year in 2011.

One last thing to see before leaving Droitwich was the Edward Winslow statue.

Did YOU know he sailed to America on The Mayflower in 1620??

And he's a Droitwich native.  No wonder we were destined to spend two days there!

Next up:  our visit with them to see the Worcester Cathedral, deserving its own post.