Local Florist Visits the Netherlands
(19 Reviews)
100% Recommended
Ilja Chapman
Key Largo, FL
Travel Planner for tailor-made trips
Dear Travel Friend,
Are you looking for personalized assistance planning your next vacation?
Do you want to feel confident you have booked a carefree travel experience with all details taken care of? Then you should contact me.
Dear Travel Friend,
Are you looking for personalized assistance planning your next vacation?
Do you want to feel confident you have booked a carefree travel experience with all details taken care of? Then you should contact me.
Over the last 30 years I have travelled all seven continents including Antarctica. I explored the world while working aboard some of the "Dam" Ships of Holland America Line. My husband and I worked as scuba instructors on the Wind Star ships in Europe and the Caribbean. I have lived in Ecuador, London, St Lucia, Spain, and Grand Cayman and speak four languages fluent.
In 2013, we moved to Key Largo and I made my own travel dream come true – by starting my own travel planning business.
I enjoy working closely with my clients, helping them find the destination and itinerary they want that is within their budget. Combining my worldwide experience and travel expertise with your travel dreams, we can build the perfect itinerary together.
The relationship with my clients goes well beyond travel planning. I like to understand your hobbies, whether you are a morning person or a night owl, what you enjoy doing in your free time – even your preferences for food and drinks. Only with that information in mind can I give you the travel planning advice you want – and deserve.
When you are working with me on your next travel dream, I will do all the research and give you the information you need to make an educated decision. I will ensure you are confident and prepared for your next adventure. You may rest easy – and enjoy more -- during your trip, as all travel components are carefully selected. And I am available to you at any time throughout your travels.
Once you are back home, I wait eagerly to hear all about your experience and love it if you would share some photos with me. It is my privilege to be able to travel through the eyes of my clients.
If this sounds like your travel dream come true, get in touch – and let us start planning your next travel adventure.
Bon Voyage!
Ilja
P.S. I still travel a lot myself. Ask me about the annual tour of Holland during Tulip time!
Can Be Reached At
1-305-998-8348
Agency Owner Ilja with her client Dawn Berg
Local Florist Visits the Netherlands for Behind the Scenes Look into the Flower Trad.
Every week, local floral entrepreneur Dawn Berg receives a shipment of boxes from her distributor containing the blossoms she will use to create the artistic bouquets and flower arrangements she sells at her shop, Cherry Blossom Floral Design in Littleton.
This spring she was thrilled to take a private tour in the Netherlands where most of her blooms are sourced, visiting auction houses where millions of flowers and plants are bought and sold every day, a distribution warehouse, the magnificent flower fields at Keukenhof and colorful flower markets. “It was inspiring,” she says of her trip. “I learned a lot about the import and export business. I saw how the flowers were grown and learned how the orders come in and how they make their way to their final destination.”
The tour was arranged by Ilja Chapman, owner of Voyage Blue Travel, who was born and raised in the Netherlands. Ilja has a personal connection to the Dutch floral trade as her dad worked at one of the auction houses, as she did herself for a short time. She remembers that while she was growing up her father often took the family on spring tours of the Keukenhof gardens, famous for their tulip displays. She still delights in visiting the tulip fields each spring and has amassed a collection of over 700 tulip photos! “Keukenhof is amazing,” she says, “plus it was interesting for me to see how the auction house processes had changed and progressed since I worked there many years ago.”
One of the highlights of the week-long tour was visiting the Royal FloraHolland Aalsmeer auction house, the largest floral exchange in the world. At Aalsmeer, growers sell their blooms to companies who then ship them to distributors who supply flowers to customers all over the world, like Dawn at Cherry Blossom Floral Design. Flowers from more than 50 countries are bought and sold here on a daily basis before making their way to a person’s home via florists like Dawn, supermarkets and other retail outlets.Ilja was able to arrange a behind the scenes tour for Dawn at another auction house, Hilverda De Boer, which specializes in exporting flowers and plants to wholesalers and florist chains. “In the auction room flower customers watch the prices to get the best deals from growers around the world,” says Dawn. “They buy the flowers which are stored in huge cold cases before being shipped to distributors. We also saw flowers being boxed up and going along conveyor belts.”
During the visit to the Netherlands, the women spent two days in Amsterdam where they strolled through the floating flower markets which take up two or three city blocks and are an integral part of the country’s floral trade. “It was an incredible sight,” says Dawn.“My visit to the Netherlands has left me feeling that I have a better understanding of the process that begins with the grower and ends with the flowers I’ve ordered being delivered to my shop,” Dawn says. “I also feel I have a better connection with my counterparts in the Netherlands. If I have a spectacular event coming up where I need specific flowers or plants it’s nice to have that resource to call on.”
This trip was so unique and tailor made to the specific interests of the client.