The House of Carrots- a colorful history

At the beginning of the 16th century gardening in Europe was still an underdeveloped skill, vegetable gardening especially. It is said that Catherine wife of King Henry VII of England could not procure a "sallad" until Henry sent to the Netherlands to have a gardener sent to England to raise the proper articles. But, it seems that the Netherlands was on top of this modern gardening trend.

In most countries carrots are orange, but that has not always been the case. In fact carrots in the past were never orange. Before orange carrots there were Western red and white carrots which today might be called parsnips, and Eastern purple carrots with the occasional wild carrots of different colors.

So what is the legend that surrounds the orange carrot? Folktales tell us that the orange carrot was bred in the Netherlands in the 16th century to honor William I of Orange (William the Silent). It was to tribute to William I during the Dutch fight for independence from Spain. What is definitely true is that Dutch gardeners developed orange carrots from selective breeding; as it had a better taste, was healthier {beta-carotene}, and it didn't ruin cookware all other types of carrots stopped being planted. It was adopted as the Royal vegetable in honor of the House of Orange.

The picture says " my hovercraft is full of eels" .

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de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

In 1967 THE James Bond (Sean Connery) decided to step away from the world of James Bond films. EOS studios thus had to find a replacement. It came down to 5 men. 2 Brits, an American, a Australian, and a Dutchman. John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, George Lazenby, and Hans de Vries. None of those names ring a bell? George Lazenby won the part for the 6th Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A movie that has been lauded both as the worst and one of the best Bond films in the franchise. If you haven't seen it, you should. It was the Bond film that 'Breaks the Fourth Wall', Bond gets married, wears a kilt, and goes skiing. But the reason for this post is instead of this; (Yes, THAT is James Bond) We could of had this. Improvement? Probably not. He looks a wee bit angry. Plus, no one watches OHMSS anyway. So, did de Vries have a movie career after Bond? Ha, no. The only notable movie rolls I can find for him were pre bond. And that was

General Recommendations for Amsterdam

Do not be sucked in by Argentinian or Italian restaurants, they are everywhere instead go to the outskirts of town for some excellent local food. Come in through central station-> if coming with luggage prepare yourself to wheel your bags over rough cobblestones to your hotel. Walk streets before biking them, otherwise you will get hopelessly lost. Rental bikes- find one close to hotel or a spot that you want to see as you walk back to the hotel, scout out prices, check your bike before you leave to see if you have a small map attached on the back, be careful about brightly colored bikes because they mark you as a tourist [which tells the Amsterdamers to take it easy on you when biking but also draws unsavory types], always lock your bike completely Try to get off Damrak (main tourist street)- it's really crowded with luggage wheeling tourists, full of souvenir shops, and lousy restaurants Canal boat tours are worth it especially if your feet are tired from walking

Voedsel

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