My Life As A Foreigner: Flower Parade

I was beyond excited when I read that we would be in Holland precisely at the time the Flower Parade would be going on. I painstakingly planned an entire day around this parade. For some reason, despite all of my pep talks and encouragement, Henry was no where near as pumped about this as I was. But, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, he came along for the ride with not one single complaint.

Unfortunately, my plan went awry from the get go. As I have mentioned before, when my plans are thrown off course, I lose any ability to function like a sane human being. Here is a little peek into my unstable emotional state on this day. I hope you will refrain from judgement, and continue reading my blog, regardless of the horrors of what you are about to read.

1) 0800: Excited anticipation while waiting for the parade.

2) 1140: Anger. We wasted too much time finding a parking spot in the city of Haarlem, and because I thought we would be late for the parade, we skipped visiting here altogether.

3) 1230: Pleasure, as we explored the masses of tulip fields surrounding the parade area.

4) 1300: Relaxation. We perched ourselves on the grass near the road, two hours before the parade was to start, and took a cat nap while we waited.

5) 1600: Anxiety. It was now 4 o'clock, and still no sign of the parade. It was late! Henry settled me down by buying me a raspberry, white chocolate covered ice cream bar. Good thinking Henry!

6) 1630: Anger. Not only was the parade now over an hour late, but the weather had taken a turn for the worst. It had clouded over, turned cold, and started to drizzle rain. My straight hair, which had not been washed for a few days at this point, was likely become frizzy.

7) 1710: Indecisiveness. I had also planned to visit the Keukenhof after the parade. The parade was now 3 hours late, and I wasn't sure if we should skip it and go see the Keukenhof instead, or wait it out in the cold rain.

8) 1715: Relief. The parade had finally started. Out came the boy scouts of Holland, begging for money in return for cookies. Followed by nothing.

9) 1725: Tears. My eyes welled with tears, as I warmed myself up in a crowded gas station, nearby, as I wondered if the boy scouts were all there was going to be to this stupid flower parade.

10) 1735: Relief, the parade had started again, in full force.

11) 1740: Joy. The musical themed floats, including my favorites: Grease, The Lion King, and the Sound of Music, were astonishingly beautiful, and completely made of flowers.

12) 1755: Disappointment. The parade that we had waited at least 5 freezing cold, rainy hours for , had lasted only 15 minutes.

13) 1800: Anxiety. I had no idea what time it was, but was hoping to explore the Keukenhof, which a local teenage boy told me was open until 8 o'clock. I knew it would not be fun in the cold and rain, but it was part of the plan, so I was hell bent on sticking to it.

14) 1820: Tears, again. After walking 20 minutes, with my jacket over my head to protect it from the rain, we learned the Keukenhof gardens closed at 6, not 8 o'clock, as the boy had promised. That will be the last time I listen to the word of an irresponsible, reckless, teenage boy!

15) 1830: Exhausted relief. Back in the van, Henry made me feel better by promising me we would get some dinner, relax for the evening, and get up early the next morning to visit the Keukenhoff, before we headed to Belgium.

Phew! Are you exhausted just from reading all those crazy emotions? Honestly, I was exhausted experiencing them! I think poor Henry was too. If not exhausted, he was at least probably ready to leave me on the side of the road in the rain, and go to Belgium by himself.

So that you do not think I am a borderline psychotic woman, who should not be allowed to travel anywhere in such a chaotic emotional state, I feel forced to share a bit of personal information with you. In my defense, I had raging PMS at the time. I am blaming my roller coaster emotions solely on that. It is an unfortunate, and uncontrollable curse. The ruination of my plan only played a minor part in my unreasonable state of mind.

All in all, although it was short, the Flower Parade was quite impressive when it finally arrived. And in the end, everything worked out for the best. We wasted a lot of precious time that fateful day in Holland, but it turned out to be perfect weather for the Keukenhof the next morning. and although there were loads of other tourists there, it was nowhere near as crowded as it had been the day I originally intended to go. For pictures of the stunning Keukenhof Gardens, click HERE.

This experience taught me to relax on my planning, and try to take things as they come. Life is much easier, and far more peaceful that way. I have also learned that I have the most supportive, ridiculously patient boyfriend in the entire world. I feel very lucky to have him, and was not one bit surprised when he proclaimed on our journey home, "I am never traveling with you when you have PMS again!" Poor guy.

I hope, after all that information, you will be able to enjoy my pictures from the 2011 Flower Parade, more than I enjoyed waiting for it in person.