Iowa Girl on the Go

Spring is always so very welcome in central Iowa, no matter how cold and snowy the winter has been (or not). This year’s winter was mild, but we had plenty of chilly, damp, dreary days in March and April to make up for it, so it’s been a real treat in the past couple of weeks to see the sun…and the green trees…and the flowers.

I met my two sisters earlier this week in Pella, one of Iowa’s most enchanting small towns. They live in the Kansas City area, and they first considered coming for Tulip Time (held Thursday through Saturday, May 4-6) but instead decided to visit on Tuesday. They wanted to see the tulips and buy goodies at the Dutch bakeries without the lines of people and parking headaches of the actual event. Can’t say that I blame them — Tulip Time is a lot of fun and well worth the crowds, but after you’ve done it a couple of times you really don’t need to go again.

So we met at Jaarsma’s Bakery on the square and came away with large blue-and-white bags of pastries (just seeing those bags makes my mouth water). We ate lunch at Smokey Row, took pictures of tulips, browsed the downtown shops, bought cheese at Ulrich Meat Market, walked through the gardens outside the Scholte House Museum, and drank coffee at Brew, a newer coffee house in downtown Pella. I think it’s been a couple of years since I visited Pella, so some of the shops have changed, but overall it’s the same pleasant experience I remember from previous spring visits. I mean, you really can’t go wrong with tulips and Dutch letters.

Here are a few more photos: