We caught a taxi to the railway station today, and bought tickets to Schiphol Airport, which is about 15 mins in the train.  At Schiphol Airport we were able to buy tickets Keukenhof Gardens, which is about 30 miles south west of Amsterdam.  After buying the tickets and heading for the bus, John says "This is a wonderful railway station, it's more like an airport" to which I replied "This is the airport", having said that Amsterdam Central is the most modern railway station we have been in.
A 30 mins bus ride to the gardens to WOW !!! Coffee by the fountain, listening to the Wurlitzer Organ, to start the day.  We thought we would probably only stay for about 1 hour - Wrong!!

There were 100,000 bulbs in the garden and the displays were by different growers.  There was conceivable colour and variety of tulip imaginable, as well as many other flowers.

At one spot you could see the commercial field of tulips growing

and of course there was a Windmill and a fountain

There was also a hothouse that didn't just concentrate on tulips.  It had magnificent displays of hydrangeas and lilies, among others displays,  which has inspired us !!

So after 4 1/2 hrs we headed back to Amsterdam.  Tonight was the Memorial Service, and was held in Dam Square, right in front of our window !!Great spot to watch it from !!! However, a letter had been left advising that all curtains had to be closed between the hours of 7.00 and 9.00 pm or there would be serious consequences !! Security,  I suppose.  So we booked a table in the cafe, (which shares a kitchen with the 3 star Michelin Restaurant, so the food was fabulous) and were able to view some of the proceedings from the back of the Memorial and join in the 2 minutes silence.

We have loved our time here in Amsterdam, and would recommend it.  We hope to be able to come back again soon !!!