Flora Floriade

"There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric" 

Laurie Colwin

We spent the day traveling from Amsterdam down to Venlo and enjoyed some fine dining at the exceptional hotel Grandma had booked.  In an eccentric bid to eat the local food, I chose the Tesselse vissoep, luckily for me it turned out to be a very tasty fish soup.  After a small shopping spree in downtown Venlo we had an early night to be ready for our big day at Floriade.  

Early the next day, we were welcomed into the entrance of the festival by a huge pair of gardening boots.  The Yanks call them rain boots, the Aussies - gum boots and the Brits of course call them wellies to confuse everyone.  The Duke of Wellington himself designed the original leather boot in the 1800's.  The design was then rubberized when Hiram Hutchinson met Charles Goodyear and applied a vulcanization process to create the first pair of wellies. 

Those boots were made for.....

Wellie wanging - a sport that originates from Upperthong in Yorkshire England.  The aim of the game is to launch the boot off the end of the foot or arm in compliance to rules laid out by the Wellie Wanging Association.  Every year there is a World Wellie Wanging Competition which of course takes place in Upperthong.  Luckily for us no one was about to throw these clompers around.

“When you smiled you had my undivided attention. 

When you laughed you had my urge to laugh with you. 

When you cried you had my urge to hold you. 

When you said you loved me, you had my heart forever.” 

Unknown.

Moving through the first exhibition centre we enjoyed some time at the interactive healthy heart section.  Eventually we were funneled out into the main square and made our way over to the cable cars.  We had a plan to first go to the far side of the exhibition and take the day to work our way back to the beginning.  However, other folk had the same idea and the line was already long when we joined it.  

“I Didn't Ask to Be a Senior Citizen (I Was Drafted)” 

Doug Jensen

As we formed an orderly queue (as all good Brits do) I noticed that there was a large group of pensioners heading our way.  The leader was a portly lady with greying hair.  She headed up the charge of septagenarians as they approached the turnstiles.  The silver set stampeded right past us and up to the front of the line and started to rush the empty cable cars with cries of "Gruppe".  With mouth agape I managed a small squeak of indignation but remembered that many were armed with stout walking sticks which could easily be converted into a Kendo martial arts weapon.  I seethed silently as I watched their sagging jowls form into smirks as they swung out from the concrete station off into the air and to no doubt get first crack at the freshest pastries in the cafe at the other end.  The injustice of their domineering dotage simmered in my narrowed eyes and the full price ticket seared the palm of my hand.

  

“When you seek it, you cannot find it.”

 Zen Proverb 

Perhaps all the traveling in a high density population was starting to wear on my nerves maybe I need to find a Zen garden and chill out for a while.

“The man who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself”

 Friedrich Nietzsche

Maybe I would be better off just breathing some dragon fire?  Unfortunately, we needed a couple of euros to put into the slot to pay for the gas and we were all out of change.

"The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses."

Hanna Rion 

This garden had a feeling of Icelandic de ja vu.  In an attempt to evoke the sensation of touch and sound there was an ejection of hissing steam periodically.  Luckily it was cold water vapor and it came in quite handy to cool off the kids after they ran down the winding path.

"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."

Anon.

I was really starting to enjoy the theme of each section.  Coming from the jacuzzi and pool exhibit straight over to the koi pond brought to mind the fish soup from yesterday and it was decided we should stop for lunch.

"From clogs to clogs in three generations."

Lancashire Proverb

I was really starting to enjoy myself wandering the gardens in the warm sunshine although my feet were starting to ache but my arches were way better off than if I'd been in wooden clogs.  In the Netherlands when kids grow out of their clogs there is a tradition to nail them on the outside of the house and use them as flower pots.  

“It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.”

 Agatha Christie

As the kids began to whine down after our long day I pondered the idea of turning the kids into flower pots instead.

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

 Franklin D. Roosevelt

It had been a fun and informative day with, but the crowds, the heat and all the walking left us exhausted.  Applying elementary logic, they used the last of their reserves to swing around in the spider's web.  Floriade will accommodate over 2 million visitors by the time it closes its doors in October.  I was glad I had been one of them.