A once in a lifetime opportunity....our trip to Europe: May 1st & 2nd, Days 1 & 2, The Netherlands

On May 1st we took off on an adventure of a lifetime.  We had the opportunity to tour Europe for 3 weeks.  We flew out of Salt Lake International Airport on the morning of May 1st.  After a 3 hr flight, we landed in Chicago, Illinois.  

 We had a 4 hour layover there but finally boarded our plane and headed for Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  It was an 8 1/2 hour flight and because of the time change, we didn't arrive in Amsterdam until the next morning.  We had lost a night.  We were very tired!!

We were met at the airport by our tour guide, Sara and introduced to our bus driver, Angelo and the bus that would be our home away from home for the next three weeks.  

We traveled to Lelystad, The Netherlands and got settled in our rooms at the Apollo Hotel. We were able to relax and go to a little market close by and get a snack.  It was an interesting experience figuring out what to get and how much it cost and how to actually pay for it.  We got cheese slices and a roll!  Safe enough right!!  We had a yummy dinner that night at the hotel.

Our first excursion was to visit the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, The Netherlands.  They are beautiful flower gardens with water features, a windmill, etc throughout.  

We went up to the walkway around this windmill and were able to look down on the gardens. 

 It was all so BEAUTIFUL!!

That's Mike and Laura ODonnell down below taking pictures of us up on the side of the windmill!

We enjoyed our first day in the Netherlands.