March 15--If there is a heaven, it will look and smell like Keukenhof.
The 79-acre Dutch garden, about 20 miles southwest of Amsterdam in Lisse, is a spring extravaganza of more than 7 million bulbs, including 800 varieties of tulips. No matter how many times you visit -- and about 800,000 people from five score countries walk its tranquil paths each year -- it will look different because the bulbs are replanted each year.
From March 24 through May 16 this year, gentle pinks, look-at-me-reds, brilliant yellows and royal purples create a kaleidoscope of such intense color that it is almost impossible to take a bad photograph.
Here's one mistake you could make, though, given the visual buffet: You might be so intent on capturing photographic memories that you forget to put down the smartphone or camera and sit for several minutes and let your senses take over. Drink it in, revel in it and imprint it on your mind, just in case the pearly gates slam shut just as you arrive.
Info: Tickets cost about $18 for adults and $9 for children 4 to 11. www.keukenhof.nl/en/
