Last week I went to visit my friend Sandra from New York who now lives in Amsterdam. I always wanted to see the tulips blooming and I made a plan with Sandra to visit for a few days.
The best place to see spring flowers and tulips is Keukenhof (Kitchen Garden), the largest flower garden in world with over 79 acres. Located about 30 minutes from Amsterdam in the Dutch countryside, Keukenhof is in the small town of Lisse. We drove there on Wednesday morning and it was sunny and warm with a bit of a hazy sky.
I calculated that this would be the best week to go because Holland had a mild winter like Paris this year and I figured the flowers would be blooming when I went. My timing was right and we hit the jackpot. The endless sprawling emerald lawns had rows upon rows of tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths in perfect symmetrical formation. I loved the color drama of the bold deep purple hyacinths against their pale pink sisters. The color arrangements of the tulips were spectacular and there were varieties I had never seen before. A special greenhouse had an exotic orchid show.
Towards the back of the gardens there were massive open fields with thousands of flowers as far as the eye can see. I wanted to lie down in between the flowers and soak in the intense color.
Jan David Zocher, the architect of Vondelpark in Amsterdam, designed Keukenhof in 1830, which was then owned by Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt and was made a public garden in 1949 by the mayor of Lisse. Over 7,000,000 bulbs are planted annually.
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour
