And the winner of the ugliest flower parade float is...

With so many colors, textures, and types of flowers to choose from, a float dedicated to fashion could have been amazing.  Instead, the monstrosity (see pic below) was included in the 2010 Holland flower parade.  There are so many things wrong with this float inlcuding: a lop-sided chest, pastel colors which would have made a 1950's prom queen cringe, ruffles that are too excessive for even the 1980's, and a skirt with holes big enough to put Lindsay Lohen to shame (and to flash everyone else in the meantime).  The dresses on the girls sitting at the back aren't helping either.

Recommendation: Project Runway should create floats centered around fashion for the parade next year.  Then the parade should drive through the streets of Paris during Paris Fashion Week.  This wouldn't be a far stretch from some of the challenges which the designers already are asked to do.  And the results would be gorgeous to see and smell wonderful!  

Destination: Flower Parade, Holland

The highlight of the Holland trip was the flower parade.  On the last Saturday in April, all the flower growers from the region of Am Lisse, Holland create floats made of thousands of flowers.  The attention to detail is absolutely amazing.  Each float has a different theme.  And they all smell wonderful. 

There are between 15-20 floats each year.  They travel 40km throughout the day.  We caught the parade at the end of the day (hence the reason some of the flowers are drooping in the pics below).  Below are some of my favorite floats.  To make pics bigger, click on them.


Holland float - with windmills, cows, and dancing Dutchmen in clogs (both flower covered dutchman and actual dutchman dancing).

Train float - with engine & caboose.  The detailing on the side of the train is really pretty, as are the tulip box on the caboose.

 

Viking float - the detailing on the shields on the boat is amazing.  The use of veggies, sea shells and flowers together is nice.

 

Under the Sea float - this is my favorite.  The lobster is awesome!  It would be cool if there were blue and pink lobsters. 

Hiking in Holland float - the sheep are cool.  It would have been fun for them to add animanl noises (many floats had singers or dancers).

Dancing Dolls float - the red lily along the sides are pretty.

Finish Line of Bike Race float - this is really cool in that they made flowers out of flowers.  The sizing of the flowers and people is a lot like Alice & Wonderland... with spandex.

Destination: Keukenhof Gardens, Holland

I love tulips. They are my 2nd favorite flower (stargazer lily's are my fav).  So I was quite happy when a friend agreed to accompany me on 30-hour roadtrip to Kuekenhof Gardens, Holland in late April to see the tulips in bloom.   This was the perfect way to spend my bday weekend!

There were fields of flowers everywhere in the area around Keukenhof (called Am Lisse, Holland).  As we were stuck in a massive traffic jam going to Keukenhof, we had plenty of time to take pictures of the fields. 

 

As it was late April (near the end of tulip season), many of the fields were half-picked.  Migrant workers, many from Eastern Europe, are hired on a seasonal basis to pick the flowers.

The are 36-acre Gardens have 3 sections: 1) a lawn area with gorgeous flowerbeds, 2) a greenhouse for exotic flowers, and 3) rows of planted flowers which will later be picked and sold.  In the lawn area, the gardeners have done an amazing job landscaping.  In between patches of well-maincured grass are beautifully designed flower beds.  There is also a windmill, a play ground for kids, and some animals. 

The gardeners have done a phenomenal job deciding which flowers to plant together.  They all compliment each other nicely.  It is easy to see why this has the #1 photographed flowers in the world (according to the Keukenhof Gardens website).

The 2nd section, the greenhouse, has many exotic flowers that come in interesting shapes & colors... like the flowers below which remind me of pineapples, spiders, starfish, and fireworks.

A good way to see the 3rd section of Keukenhof (the flower fields) is via a 1-hour boat ride on the canal.  If you have more time, I recommend renting a bike, making a picnic, and spending the day biking around the Am Lisse area.

A decent portion of the day was spent looking for good pic locations and posing for pics (this also included trampling flowers to get these pics, as my friend noted).  I needed a new facebook photo (I rarely update mine, and an update was needed).  Keukenhof seemed like a perfect place to take this pic.  The photo below was the runner-up to the facebook photo...

Tips for visiting Keukenhof:
1. Go mid to late April.  Flowers are at their full bloom then. 

2. Avoid being there on weekends.  The last 2 weekends in April have special events going on - 1) the Russian flower market (where 70% of the world's tulips are sold) and 2) the flower parade (lots of floats made entirely of flowers).  These events draw thousands of tourists which really get in the way of picture taking.

3. Spend 1 day biking around the flower fields in Am Lisse (important: bring a picnic lunch, as there are no food stands).

4. Buy flowers while out biking.  Keukenhof sells-out quickly of flowers.  So it's better to purchase the flowers from another location.  If you're looking for a business opportunity, arrange with the 6EUR for 50 tulips suppliers in Amsterdam to sell their flowers at Keukenhof on the weekends in April and take a cut of the profit.