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| Banksy of England 10 pound note |
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| Banksy Mickey Mouse swalled by a snake |
My friends actually suggested that we visit a museum today, the
Modern Contemporary Museum Amsterdam (MoCo). It should really be called "An Unauthorized Banksy Exhibit", as almost all of the pieces are by the artist
Banksy; and, as noted on the
Banksy website, he was not consulted on displaying his work. Banksy is well known for his street art. However, my favorite piece at the exhibit was a
fake 10 pound note from the thousands that he minted, from "Banksy of England", with an image of Princess Diana. Banksy brought some to a festival; and, people were actually spending them as legal tender. There's also a great sculpture of a snake having swallowed Mickey Mouse.
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| Jean -Michel Basquiat |
In addition to Banksy, there was one very nice
Jean-Michel Basquiat painting at the museum, a room built out to look like a
Roy Lichtenstein painting of
Vincent Van Gogh's painting of his room, and a "balloon" sculpture by
Jeff Koons. Otherwise, the museum had one minimal work each of
Damien Hirst and
Salvador Dali as well as a bottom floor dedicated new artist
Daniel Arsham. The exit takes you outside to a few sculptures, including a rocking horse that encourages you to take a ride. Since the museum has only been open since 2016, it is safe to say that they are still building their collection.
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| different tulip varieties |
In the afternoon, we rented a car and drove out to
Keukenhof to see all the tulips. In fact there also hyacinths, daffodils, amaryllis, and tiger lilies on display. Keukenhof is only open for approximately two months every year, during which time it receives 700,000 visitors. Quite a feat for a park that charges 6 Euros for parking and 18 Euros per person as entry fee. However, the real reason that it is open for such a short time is that the tulips are only blooming during those two months.
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| unique tulips |
We saw so many different varieties of tulips, which led me to ask 'what makes a tulip a tulip?'. Unfortunately, the lady at the information desk had no answer for me. However, the tulips in the Netherlands today are from a tulip that came from Turkey back in the late 1500s. We very much enjoyed viewing all the varieties of tulips and even climbing up on a windmill to look over a field of flowers below. Did you know that it takes 25 years to make a new variety of tulips? Or, that those beautiful multi-colored tulips in old paintings are actually diseased tulips? Definitely a fun visit.
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| Tulips that look like roses |
More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jjdT4kjXjic9UNFG6
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