50 Golden Years of Tulip Time 2010

While our friends made plans to head to Canberra for the Floriade, my dearest housemate and I made plans to visit a place we have never set foot on - Bowral. Situated halfway between Sydney and Canberra, Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands and is believed to be the birthplace of Mary Poppins:

You must be wondering what is there to do and see in a place like Bowral. Well, heaps but for this particular trip, we girls wanted to see the tulips. Yes, tulips. Why not head to Canberra, I hear you ask? Hm, there is no harm in visiting a different place, right? And besides, we head to Canberra every year. I am sure Canberra does not miss our presence. Haha...

We rented a small car from Avis, which we collected from their Croydon office. I like the guy who served us - very friendly and helpful. They gave us a brand new Toyota Corolla and if I had the money, wah, I would be getting myself one!

And when they say new, they mean new:

We had this bad feeling as we neared our destination. The skies were grey and threatening to pour and sure enough, the Heavens opened up as we drove into town, as if welcoming us. We drove around in circles, to admire the beautifully manicured gardens of almost every house there in hopes of the rain clearing. We even drove out of town into an area that gave an 'Emily Bronte/ Jane Austen' feel.

When the rain cleared slightly, we decided that we had waited enough and parked the car. We walked across to Corbett Gardens, where the annual Tulip Time Festival was held. After paying an $8 entrance fee (housemate paid less because she had her student card with her... ish ish ish), the first thought that crossed my mind was that the festival is no where near as big as the Floriade. However, they had very pretty blooms. What a pity the weather was not cooperating, as my pictures would have turned out much nicer if it was bright and sunny! Okay, I am going to stop yapping now and let the pictures speak for themselves so, enjoy!

Housemate was so observant! She pointed these out to me. Can you see the figure '50'?

And what do you know? Ryde City Concert Band came all the way to play here!

Housemate went crazy with the cherry blossom trees in bloom. I particularly liked the one with a cafe under its canopy:

Oh, have you seen the inside of a tulip?

Despite the rain, we still got to see what we wanted to see. All good, all good.