Cherry Festival

I’m not a regular festival goer anymore. In the USA I loved going to music festivals with friends. All summer long we had so many wonderful artists playing in the Rockies. We spent many hours dancing, singing along, camping out, wonderful memories. But now it’s been a long time since I went, so when my sister told me there was a cherry festival planned last weekend I wanted to go.

Favorite fruit

See, cherries are my favorite fruit. I can eat them every day. Once I got so sick because I ate way too many. And the only negative side to a cherry is that it’s a natural laxative. Tip: Never eat too many cherries. Really. A handful is plenty. Anyway, yesterday I took a bike ride up to the orchard. It was 90 degrees out and the road was long. The trip was so beautiful though. Loads of wildflowers along the canals, little ducklings and young birds sang to me. It took me about an hour.

Cherries, cherries, more cherries

When I got to the orchard there was plenty of opportunity to rest. We sat underneath the cherry trees, had a cherry ice-cream and a cherry soda. Literally everything you can think of making with cherries was available. Baked goods, savory pies, drinks with and without alcohol. Hidden in between the trees there was a ‘landstore’, were you can buy organic products, like veggies and fruits and lots of gifts.

Gifts

Of course I couldn’t help but buy some gifts as well. Cute, pretty, country gifts. I’m happy I found that store, ’cause I will be a frequent visitor. I remember being in Paonia last September visiting my friend. She took me to an orchard that had a store like this one. I could easily spend hours there. I absolutely love it that I found something similar here close by. OK, it’s an hour bike ride but hey, what a nice trip on a sunny afternoon.

Chance

Now on the off-chance you get to visit the Netherlands one day and you want to know where to go, it’s in the little town of Cothen. In the province of Utrecht. You can ride your bike anywhere from and to Cothen. It’s orchard country and along the way you’ll see a few windmills as well. Wijk bij Duurstede, a very old city, is about 5 miles from there. And talking about windmills, this town has an old one that you can visit. Plus it has a nice patio and restaurant underneath the mill, right on the water.