From the flower-filled fields of Keukenhof to the hallowed beaches of Normandy, travel advisor Wendy Bangma returned from a sweeping European river cruise with stories that no amount of online research could have prepared her for.
At a Glance
A back-to-back river cruise through the Netherlands and France delivers transformative experiences: Keukenhof's spring tulip gardens offer visual splendor, while a Normandy day trip to D-Day beaches provides profound historical reflection. Paris surprises with walkability and accessible public transit, making the combined itinerary ideal for culture and history enthusiasts willing to navigate cobblestone streets.
There are trips that check boxes, and there are trips that change you. For Wendy Bangma, a seasoned travel advisor with a passion for first-hand experience, a recent back-to-back river cruise through the heart of Europe turned out to be unmistakably the latter. What began as an Amsterdam-to-Amsterdam journey aboard Riviera River Cruises, complete with a pre-cruise extension through The Hague and Rotterdam, evolved into an emotionally rich, sensory-packed adventure that would ultimately take her from the Dutch tulip fields all the way to the cobblestoned streets of Paris.
Two Rivers, Two Worlds
Bangma's itinerary was ambitious by any measure. The first leg of her journey traced the iconic waterways of the Netherlands, with a pre-cruise stop that introduced her to the architectural grandeur of Rotterdam and the political elegance of The Hague. When the river cruise itself got underway, it delivered exactly the kind of immersive, slow-travel experience that makes river cruising so compelling for discerning travellers. But it was what came next that truly elevated the trip. After disembarking in Amsterdam, Bangma and her travel companions boarded a train to Paris, where a second Riviera River Cruise awaited, this time along the Seine, with a day trip to Normandy that would become the defining moment of the entire journey.
"It was the most fabulous trip," Bangma says, and the warmth in her voice leaves little doubt that she means every word.
A Garden That Stopped Time
On the Amsterdam leg of the trip, one experience rose above all others: a visit to the Keukenhof gardens. One of the most celebrated floral showcases in the world, Keukenhof opens for only a few weeks each spring, when millions of tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths erupt across its manicured grounds in a tapestry of colour so vivid it almost defies description. For Bangma, it was a moment of pure, unhurried joy.
She describes the gardens as "absolutely stunning with all the colours," a simple phrase that nonetheless captures the almost overwhelming visual feast that Keukenhof delivers to those lucky enough to time their visit right. It is the kind of beauty that, as Bangma would later reflect, she could never have fully conveyed to a client without having stood in the middle of it herself.
Normandy: A Day That Could Not Be Prepared For
If Keukenhof offered uplift, Normandy offered something altogether more profound. The Seine river cruise's day excursion to the D-Day beaches is, for many travellers, the emotional centrepiece of any northern France itinerary. For Bangma, it was an experience that caught her entirely off guard in the best possible way.
"The day at Normandy was just so emotional and so moving," she reflects, "and made you really reflect on the life that we're able to have because of the sacrifices these many, many, many thousand young men made for us." It is a sentiment that no brochure, no travel blog, and no virtual tour can replicate. Standing on those beaches, with the wind off the English Channel and the rows of white crosses stretching to the horizon, the history stops being abstract. Bangma arrived as a travel professional and left as a witness, and that distinction matters enormously when she now sits across from a client who is considering the same journey.
Paris: Defying Its Own Reputation
Paris, of course, needs no introduction. But Bangma found herself introduced to a version of the city she had not entirely anticipated. Like many travellers, she had absorbed certain assumptions about the French capital, particularly around safety and the notoriously complex underground transit network. What she found instead was a city that was walkable, welcoming, and surprisingly easy to navigate.
"I was most surprised with the walkability of Paris and the ease of using their transit system," she says. The Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and even a quiet, reflective moment driving through the tunnel where Princess Diana lost her life, all of it unfolded with a sense of ease and accessibility that Bangma had not expected. "I felt totally safe the whole time," she adds, a reassurance that will no doubt carry real weight when she passes it on to clients who share her initial hesitations.
Her insider tip for Paris is characteristically practical and grounded in lived experience: skip the ride-share apps and embrace the public transit system. A chance encounter with a helpful local who emerged from a ticket booth to guide her group through the machine and the turnstile only reinforced the point. "Everyone was just so friendly and it was so easy to use," Bangma recalls. For travellers willing to slow down and move through the city on its own terms, the rewards, she insists, are considerable.
Who This Trip Is For, and Who Should Plan Carefully
As a travel advisor, Bangma is also candid about the trip's limitations. She recommends it wholeheartedly to anyone with an appetite for history, arts, culture, or exceptional food. But she is equally forthcoming about the physical demands of cobblestone-heavy cities. Travellers with limited mobility, she cautions, should go in with clear expectations, as wheelchairs and walkers face genuine challenges on the uneven streets of Amsterdam and Paris alike. It is the kind of honest, nuanced advice that only comes from someone who has actually walked those streets.
The Confidence That Only Comes From Going
Perhaps the most significant takeaway from Bangma's European adventure is not any single landmark or meal or garden vista, but the professional confidence she brought home with her. She returned with her own photographs, her own stories, and a Monet cookbook purchased at the artist's legendary garden in Giverny, a quiet, personal souvenir of a day that deepened her understanding of the painter's life and legacy.
"Having been there on my own gives me the confidence to speak about the product and make recommendations not just from things I've seen online, but from personal experience," she says. It is a distinction that her clients will feel, even if they cannot quite name it, in the specificity of her suggestions, the honesty of her caveats, and the genuine enthusiasm that only first-hand knowledge can produce.
What Comes Next
Bangma is not resting for long. In just five weeks, she will be Iceland-bound, beginning with five nights on the island before joining a Virgin Voyages adults-only cruise that will carry her through the Prince Christian Sound in Greenland, with stops in Greenland, St. John's Newfoundland, Halifax Nova Scotia, and ultimately New York City. "I'm really, really excited for that," she says, and given what she brought back from Europe, the clients who follow her journey will be too.
