Sylvia's Journal

So far it has been smooth sailing. The only mishap is a broken nail from picking up my suitcase the wrong way. No lines in Dubai for checking in, a half full plane with empty seats beside us – a good night sleep, no turbulence and a smooth landing ahead of schedule.

We took the bus from Schiphol to the Aalsmeer flower auction, the biggest in the world. Steve had no idea what happens behind the scenes to get flowers from Kenya, Colombia or Israel to our neighborhood florist. Now he knows.

The auction buildings cover acres of space with 1000s of trolleys and hundreds of buyers racing against a clock so everything is bought, bagged and shipped to wherever the buyers are in the shortest amount of time possible. It’s a mindboggling logistics wonder.

Sietske picks us up at the auction and takes us home where Steve is treated to a spectacular breakfast of good Dutch bread, two kinds of cheese, fresh eggs , and thick creamy yogurt. We park Steve in the room where the orphaned ducklings are parked for the night (too cold without a mother duck) so he can rest from the long walk through the auction and a sleepless night in the plane. I take care of other stuff and drinks one cup of coffee after another , produced by Sietske’s fancy espresso machine.

Everything is in full bloom here. The lilacs and wisteria already finished and early summer flowers are out. I can’t wait to see our budding lilacs and that last asparagus.