Queens Day...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is true, I really shouldn't have to say anything about Queen's Day other than the pictures below. It is a huge party in a wonderful city unlike anything I have ever seen before. Everyone is happy and festive and singing and dancing and honoring.....what??? Well, to be honest, I don't really know... other than to say given the title, it must be the Queen.... Check out the world below... tons of people, orange, beer, tons of people, orange, beer, tons of people, orange, and beer... what a blast :-)

Queen's Day. 11 am Saturday, all is calm, all is clear... T-minus 60 minutes until the fun begins.... 

Queen's day is not just all about partying...The second most common sight is people on the street selling their stuff in flea market style. Children also sing, dance and play instruments for tips throughout Vondel park. We walked the park and came upon this girl who had a great rocking horse chair for sale. She was so cute! 

I love this look. She is the cutest! 

Brooke, Todd, kegs and red bull...it is time for the party to start... keep in mind, these are 8 kegs of the 100 that were located at this one outdoor bar!!! 

Brooke and Todd - Happy Queen's Day... actually the party is supposed to be April 30 which is Sunday, but everyone chooses to celebrate on Saturday! 

I love this picture of Holland - the canal houses, the boat, the orange... It was great to be on the water to enjoy Queens Day! 

I like this picture with the lighthouse and the Dutch flags and the boats starting to come in... 

Todd and Mark and our boat. Here we go! 

Mark and the Heineken... well, we are in Holland! 

Joe and the Holland Robe. This was classic! 

Party time! 

So, who ended up with Josh's crown?? The girls were trying to get that all night!! 

Mark and his hair.... I did the color for him! 

Brooke and Lisa 

Enter at your own risk..... this is the crowd zone...... 

We have to get from here to that little hole up there in the bridge.... how do we do that? 

One you get into the line, you are stuck there, there is no turning around..... 

From side to side, 3 - 6 boats fit going across. At this point of the canal, there is a tiny bridge where one boat can go through at at time... at least the canals are one way streets so everyone is going the same way!! 

You want to go where? 

And this is the street... 

Todd and Frans, the boat driver, survey the crowd. How do you drive a boat in crowds like this? It is simple, you just hold on to the boats around you and allow yourself to be pulled and pushed through the bridges and canals. 

Mark, sporting his new orange hair, and a massive crowd of people. We are not on land, we in the middle of the canal! You can walk boat to boat to boat!!! 

Todd surveys the crowd behind us and realizes the chaos which had orginally been described to him is in fact reality... 

JJ and Diane - JJ made this all happen, she is to thank! 

Brooke and this crazy hat... what happened to my boa???