Our main activity for today was tulip sighting at the famous Keukenhof garden which is located miles away from Amsterdam city centre. This tulip garden is located at Lisse. Early in the morning, we took the bus to Schiphol Airport (bus no. 197). The journey took about 30 minutes. From the airport, we took another bus to Keukenhof which was also took 30 minutes. We bought Keukenhof tickets through online and it costs €21 for entrance and bus from airport. The bus from city centre to airport cost €13.80 (for 2 person, return). So the total cost from the city centre to Keukenhof is €27.90 per person.
Keukenhof only opens in spring from April to May so this was the best time to visit it. We reached Keukenhof at 9 am and there was already a long queue at the main entrance. Many tourists came in groups because I could see a lot of buses parked there. So, as soon as we got off the bus, we lined up. Once inside the garden, we all walked separately in small groups. So I walked with Bella most of the time. Plenty of tulips were planted here. I really mean A LOT! They came in pink, purple, red, white, off-white, yellow and they got their own unique names. Not only focussed on tulips, the garden also includes several species of flowers as well.
Besides flowers, there is an animal area where they were left to roam freely in a fenced small field. There were rabbits, pigs and goats. More than one species of rabbit were kept here. Towards the back of the garden, there is one big windmill where we could enter freely without fee. From above, we could see tulip field where the workers planted a lot of tulips before they were transferred into the gardens.
We moved to the next area where we entered an orchid
glasshouse. This place was full of different species of orchids and
several fashion dresses were exhibited here. We dropped by a souvenir
shop here to buy some fridge magnets. Fridge magnets were sold at a normal price range between €2.50-3.00 each.
Then, we entered the tulip house. Inside this building, more tulips were exhibited here. More colours and species could be observed. There is also a cafe here just in case you need to take a coffee break. Walking in this huge garden is surely very tiring. In fact, I already felt extremely sleepy when I'm inside this building. My eyes couldn't bear anymore. (-.-)
At noon, we all gathered back at the entrance to take our bus back to the city. We had our lunch at Crystal Restaurant where the price is very bling bling. It's quite expensive but I think it's worthy since the food portion is quite large. I ordered lamb ribs where it was served with chips and veggies.
Right after finishing our meal, Wanji & co headed to Ajax Stadium while I tagged along with Anis, Cipak and Bella to Dam Square. They said there is a lot of cheap souvenir shops here and I found out that it's quite true. Madame Tussaud also could be found here. If your got extra money and time, feels free to enter this wax museum. I bought one t-shirt and a lot of fridge magnets here. €5 for a t-shirt and magnets could be sold at €5 for 3 pieces. Quite a bargain. =)
After satisfying our souvenir hunting needs, we went back to out hotel. We had to pack our stuffs because tomorrow we were going to leave Amsterdam for Brussels which is located in Belgium.
