It was an incredibly early day, waking up at 5:30 to meet 45 minutes later so we can all take a bus to RoyalFloraHolland and tour the tulip factory and auctions. The building was MASSIVE and there were so many flowers being moved around by people inside carts. Everything seemed so orderly and systematic, yet there was so much to take in. After a quick break in a neighboring town, we then headed to De Tulperij Tulip Farm, where I learned about the farm’s history, the significance of tulips in Dutch culture and its economy, and how the process of growing and selling goes.

It was an early day so we were on our own at roughly 2:00. As I wandered the city today, I began to take notice of how prominent tulips were in shops, even beyond just the souvenir shops. I also was able to draw connections between RoyalFloraHolland and De Tulperij and how they serve their respective roles in the supply chain. At RoyalFlora, they take in the flowers for auction from places like De Tulperij, who are responsible for growing and maintaining the quality of them. It was incredibly cool to understand just how significant this is, given that the factory was massive inside filled with tons of workers and flowers for auction.