Visiting the Netherlands in tulip season has always been one of the top items on my bucket list, and it sure did not disappoint! For some reason, we were a little less enthusiastic about Amsterdam. It felt like a place we should see, but we didn't expect to love it. We were definitely proven wrong! We stayed in the Jordaan neighborhood, which was perfect for us. There were quiet canals lined with beautiful old canal houses, and the neighborhood had lots of great places to eat. We were within walking distance from the Anne Frank house and it was chilling to learn that the church in our neighborhood, the one with the bells we listened to several times per day, was the same church Anne could see from her window in the hiding place, the one she references in her diary. History feels so live when you walk where people walked, and experience the sights and sounds and tastes they experienced. We tried the rijsttafel, which was our first experience with Indonesian food, and it was magnificent. We had the best apple pie of our lives at Winkel 43 (please don't consider going to Amsterdam without trying this - we went twice in our quick 3 day trip). We were completely humbled by the Anne Frank house and charmed by the laid back Dutch way of life. We enjoyed incredible art at the Van Gogh museum and Rijksmuseum. Our foray into the countryside to see the tulips at Keukenhof was the stuff of dreams. I am a big flower lover, so I expected to love it, but this place honestly brought me to tears, the beauty was overwhelming. After exploring every inch of these vast and astoundingly beautiful gardens, we rented bikes and explored the countryside the Dutch way as we traveled back roads to check our the tulip fields. This was one of the best days of my travels yet, and I will never forget how I felt there. It doesn't hurt that we had unseasonably beautiful, sunny weather. Amsterdam is definitely on our "to return to" list, and we would love to see more of the Netherlands, as the country definitely had a great vibe. My photos of this area are below, and I apologize in advance for the flower overload, but it is too good not to share.