by David McGuffin | Jul 12, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding
I’ve been writing about my experiences planning and leading tours in Europe. This was brought on by a friend at church asking me how I liked my recent “vacation” there. Don’t get me wrong, traveling in Europe is a blast and I wouldn’t do it if I did not really enjoy myself. But, there is a lot of work in it too. In the previous episodes I’ve collected the group from the airport, gotten them on a bus, traveled to Paris, unloaded the bus in heavy traffic, and gotten them checked into the hotel. Now, several hours later, we head out on foot to see the sights.
I’m a firm believer in providing travel skill lessons at every location we visit. In Paris, this means learning how to read a map and how to get around on the metro. You’d be surprised at how many people have never taken any form of public transportation in the USA. So initial exposure to the subway is an intimidating experience for many.
OK, picture this… off I go walking down a crowded sidewalk with twenty-five people in tow. After a few blocks, they stretch out for almost an entire block. I’m often accused of walking too fast, but I really have tried to deliberately slowdown in recent years. Still, it is impossible to all stay together. The sights, sounds, and smells of Paris bombard us from every angle. Dead chickens with their heads still attached attract attention in the butcher shop. A window full of smelly cheeses draws those with sensitive noses. A guy on the street corner holds out a copy of the free daily metro newspaper… and everyone is afraid to take it from him. The hot breeze from a kabab shop hits us broadside as we walk by. Finally, we arrive at the metro entrance.
Hurriedly, I gather my group to one side and explain the Metro system showing them on their maps where we are now and where we are going to go. Then with a big sigh I say, “Let’s all try to stay together and get on the same car.” So down into the Metro we go.
There is always one person, you know the type, where if anything can go wrong it will go wrong with them. So we all get through the metro turnstile and I look back to find one of our group members who can’t get his ticket to work. Hurriedly I fight the incoming crowd, feeling like a salmon swimming upstream, trying to assist the guy with putting his ticket in right-side-up. Ahhh… all is ok, we’re in!
Down the stairs, then an escalator, and finally we arrive on the platform. The big yellow line clearly marks the don’t not cross boundaries… or at least I thought so. Groups are unique when it comes to standing and waiting for something. Where most people simply find a spot out of the way and wait, a group tends to bunch up in wads. I don’t know if this is because they feel there is safety in a wad, or maybe it is just because they want to talk to one another. Regardless of the reason they always stand in a wad, cross the yellow line, and jam the walkway. Check it out the next time you’re in a group and see!
When the train arrives my group gets anxious, so I shout out, ” Get on this train. Remember, three stops and get off!” I take one last look on the platform to make sure everyone’s in, the buzzer sounds alerting imminant departure, I step on, and off we go….
(to be continued)
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by David McGuffin | Jul 11, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding
Recently, I’ve been writing about my experiences planning and leading tours in Europe. This was brought on by a friend at church asking me how I liked my recent “vacation”. Don’t get me wrong, traveling in Europe is a blast and I would not do it if I did not really enjoy myself, but there is a lot of work to it too. In the previous episodes, I’ve collected the group from the airport, gotten them on a bus, traveled to Paris, and unloaded the bus in heavy traffic. Now we are piled into the hotel lobby waiting to get room keys.
As we walk through the lobby, the guests at the bar (invariably French businessmen or vacationing Europeans) look at the the sea of people and suitcases with amusement. I often wonder what they are thinking… Do they pity me? Do they wish they had visited a bar down the street? Or maybe it’s just that they want a pair of those bright white tennis shoes! At any rate, I make my way to the hotel reception desk, speak with a clerk, and with relative ease get our electronic key cards and hand them out. As I send my friends on their way to their rooms, I tell them, “We’ll meet here in the lobby at 5:00 p.m. and will be out the rest of the night”. Also, I remind them to “Be sure to bring a sweater, an umbrella, and wear your money belt”.
Thinking all is finished, I grab my bag and head to the stairs. Just then, I hear a comotion from around the corner and find my entire group crowded in the tiny elevator lobby waiting to get to their rooms. Remember the coffin-sized elevator at the airport? Well, this one is coffin-sized for a midget! It will take an hour to get all these people and their luggage upstairs. Consequently, I begin telling the younger ones to take the stairs. Meanwhile, a couple get on the elevator, the doors close, and off they go. We wait, and wait, and wait. Finally, the doors open and there stands the exact same people who left minutes ago! The lady is confused because she was told her room number 333 was on the third floor. They went three floors up, held the elevator door, looked around, and found only rooms with numbers in the two hundreds. “Can’t they count around here!” she exclaims. “Well uhmmm, I forgot to tell you that the first floor is really zero, and the second floor is really the first,” I say weakly. “So your room is really four floors up”. Off they go again, and so begins the elevator overuse. I walk away to the sound of the elevator overload alarm buzzing through the lobby.
Thirty minutes later I’ve dropped my bags in my room, checked all the floors where my group’s rooms are located, and it appears everyone is in! I grab my journal and head down to the lobby bar for a much needed drink. Just as I get my pen out and open my journal, one of the ladies appears from the midget-sized elevator, marches over to the reception desk, and speaks to the clerk. I can’t hear what’s going on, but I know she’s not happy with something. Reluctantly I get up and go over to offer my assistance, only to find that she has gotten her answer and doesn’t like it. It seems that the shower is too small, the air conditioning does not work, and the bed is too low to the floor. The clerk ducks her head and rolls her eyes as I tell my client that this hotel has no air conditioning, the showers are small all over Europe, and the beds are typically low to the ground so people can fall into them, not climb into them. She replies, “I know you said it would be different, but I didn’t expect this!” Then, I guided her towards the bar and ordered her a nice cool glass of Chablis. As we sipped I began talking about what I love about Paris, the Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, neighborhood markets, and the solitude of the Place des Voges. The wine and my descriptions seemed to change her tone. As she left for her “small’ room, she said she wouldn’t mind “falling into her bed” after a good French dinner!
(more to come)
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by David McGuffin | Jul 9, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding
Recently, I’ve been writing about my experiences planning and leading tours. This was brought on by a friend at church asking me how I liked my recent “vacation” in Europe. Don’t get me wrong, traveling in Europe is a blast and I wouldn’t do it if I did not really enjoy myself, but there is a lot of work to it too.
I’ve gathered the group from all the bathrooms and ATMs in the airport and have them on the bus. Finally, we are heading into central Paris. It’s early afternoon by now and the folks are excited to see the countryside, road signs in French, and the little cars. Things go well. I get on the microphone and begin telling the group about Paris’ history and how we are going to explore the city in the next few days. I talk about the hotel in Paris and try to prepare them for something quite different than what we have in the USA.
We hit the ring road around Paris and have timed it just right. There are no traffic jams! In just a few minutes we leave the highway and are in the heart of Paris surrounded by crowded streets, no lanes, horns blowing, and pedestrians everywhere. From behind the bus windows, the folks are struck in awe of the little shops selling fruits and vegetables, the chic clothing boutiques, and the facades of the 17th century buildings lining the streets. It’s just so… Parisian!
Soon we come to our hotel, our home-away-from-home for the next three days. Of course there is nowhere for a big bus to park so the driver just stops, turns on his emergency flashers, gets out, and opens the cargo doors. I remind everyone to take all their stuff and not to leave it on the bus because you’ll never see this bus again, and then I say it two or three more times just for emphasis. We have to dodge traffic while getting everyone’s luggage off the bus. The Parisian drivers hardly seem to care that we are there. Imagine a big bus blocking the road, twenty butts sticking out of the cargo hold trying to find their luggage, and the others standing around waiting for theirs to appear. You’d think the typical defensive drivers of Paris would at least slow down. But no, their solution is to increase speed, blow their horns, and rush to the next traffic light 30 meters up ahead. Whew, what an adventure!
Once everyone has their luggage and we are on the relatively safe refuge of the sidewalk, the bus pulls away. Now to get into the hotel, get everyone checked-in, and into their rooms. Sounds easy, right?
(to be continued)
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by David McGuffin | Jul 7, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding
In the last post I talked about planning a tour. This was spurred by a comment at my church last Sunday when someone asked (after I was in Europe for three weeks), “How was your vacation?” I laughed and it got me thinking that most people don’t have a clue what I do when I’m in Europe. Let me tell you it ain’t a vacation all the time, but it ain’t a bad gig either!
So my tour is planned, I’ve got people signed-up and paid to go, and they are all flying off from different destinations in the US to meet me in, let’s say Paris. My job here is to get to Paris before them, beat the jet-lag, and collect them all in one location at the airport so we can get to our hotel. Sounds easy, but have you ever had a flight delay or cancellation? Imagine a group of 25 people all trying to get to the same place in Europe from multiple destinations in the USA. Something is bound to go wrong.
Let’s say it’s now about 1:00 p.m. and everyone has arrived, and I’ve even secured a shuttle bus to take the group from the airport to our hotel in central Paris. So we all try to get to the bus, and then there is this guy who just now remembers he needs to get money from the ATM. I smile, point out the ATM, and then wait with the whole group while he goes to the machine. Here we are, 25 people with luggage in tow, blocking the elevator, and waiting on this guy to get cash from the ATM. Finally, I go over to him and try to help him out without looking at his secret PIN#. The screen is all in French because he did not choose the “English” option at the beginning and now we both are caught up in some unending jargon about fees, service charges, and exchange rates…all in French! I tell him it’s ok, just push the “Yes” button and his euro currency will be delivered from the little slot below, just like at home. But no, that won’t work! He cancels the transaction, swears a bit, and then we rejoin the group…without cash.
Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulles airport is an icon. It was featured in a James Bond film when the villain chased Bond through a maze of “space-aged” lexan tunnels. Now, after about 40 years of decay, they finally started to spruce up the joint. Unfortunately it’s still under construction and many of the exits are closed. So, we look for an elevator to take us down three levels to the bus.
Imagine 25 people with luggage trying to crowd into an elevator just a little larger than a coffin. Soooo…forty-five minutes later we arrive at the bus just three short floors below. Sixty percent of the people heeded my lessons about packing light. The other forty percent arrive red-faced and sweating with their one VERY large bag and one very large carry-on. The bus driver and I groan as we load ’em in the cargo hold.
Everyone is on the bus, the luggage is loaded, and we all can take a deep sigh….
(to be continued)
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by David McGuffin | Jul 5, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding
I returned home yesterday from a three week stay in Europe where I visited Italy, France, and Switzerland. While at church this morning several people asked me, “How was your vacation?” I laughed and replied, “We had a great time!” While at the same time I was really thinking, “They don’t have a clue what I do when I’m gone.”
Yes, I understand traveling to Europe is something that only a few of us take advantage of in our lifetime. For many it never crosses their mind, or maybe only pops up when they see the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, or the Colesseum in a movie. But for those of you who have traveled with me or have gone to Europe on your own know the magnetic draw to return again, and again. I love traveling to Europe, but there is a lot of difference in going on a tour and leading a tour. So in this post I thought I’d tell you a little about the work that goes into organizing a tour before anyone ever gets on the plane.
Well, let’s see it all begins at least a year in advance when I begin dreaming up tour itineraries and destinations. In some cases this is easy, especially with “proven” itineraries such as Paris to Rome or Venice, Florence, and Rome. However, every year I do try to come up with some new city pairing or itinerary. Once an itinerary is established the chore of nailing down hotels begins. Now-a-days it is not so bad because I’ve got an established reputation with many hoteliers and if they’ve got room they’ll give it to me. As you can imagine this takes some weeks to get responses from eight or nine hotels to all mesh with my planned itinerary. With a little tweaking the tour itinerary is set.
Now that I’ve got a tour planned I’ve got to get people to sign up and go on it! So then begins the tasks of tour promotions at trade shows, on the Internet, and by word of mouth. If all goes well I’ll have enough folks signed up for the tour by the time mid-February rolls around. By this time the vendors and hoteliers in Europe are asking for a deposit so I’ve got to decide how to pay. You know the euro-to-dollar rate stinks right now. For one or two travelers it’s not a real big deal if the exchange rate goes up by two percent, but when working with a group of twenty-five people that’s a big difference. So I’ve got to be a bit of a gambler when pricing the tour twelve months in advance. Luckily I projected correctly five out of the seven years I’ve been in business!
It’s now mid-March and let’s say I’ve got the tour planned and even have it filled with people who want to travel to Europe with me. So now all I’ve got to do is collect the final payments, get on an airplane and meet them in Europe. Well that’s a story for the next post!
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by David McGuffin | May 16, 2008 | Adventures in Tour Guiding, Culture & Customs
It’s not often that I get fooled, but this morning I was completely caught off guard by a gypsy mother and her child.
It all began as five of us were sitting at our hotel having breakfast. We’d just awoken from a comfortable night’s sleep and warm shower, and had a big breakfast to boot. While finishing our coffee, my friends Brenda and Diane were looking out the window and noticed a gypsy woman with her small child across the street. She, like most “beggar” women I’ve encountered, was covered head to toe in dirty clothes, sat in a miserably uncomfortable position in front of the post office, and had her child not in her arms but in a pram. The pram was a bit out of character, but everything else looked normal. Well, Brenda and Dianne were sitting at the breakfast table feeling really sorry for this mother and her kid. At one point, the kid must have been making a fuss and the young mother started slapping him to make him be quiet and lay down in the pram. Soon Walter and Perry (the husbands of Brenda and Diane) and myself were drawn into the spectacle of the scene unfolding on the street below.
Now I had seen this image countless times as the beggar mother looked pitiful and held out a cup for spare euro change. She shook it and moaned something in some indiscernible language which I know translates into “Give some money. I’m hungry, you sucker.” It’s all a sham, an act, and they are really out to steal from us in the end. I tried to convince the others that this is how we get suckered into giving the gypsy-sorts money. Walter decided to challenge me and give her a couple of oranges from the breakfast table. I told him the gypsy mother would give him a look of disgust and throw them back at him.
Soon we were watching from the window above as Walter crossed the street, went to the young mother, and took out two oranges. As he handed them to her, even from our position some 200 feet away, we could see a big smile across her face and immediately the young child poped up from his pram and was reaching longingly for the orange. The young girl had it pealed in a minute and gave it to the kid who devoured it. In the meantime, the mom peeled the other orange for herself and began eating. Walter did not see this happen because he was walking away fully expecting to be hit it the back of his head with a flying orange as I had predicted.
Needless to say I was totally wrong in my prediction! Watching through the window two stories above the street, we saw Walter walk back to the young woman, place some change in her cup, give her a word of encouragement, and then give her a few more euro. Up above I sat at the table in shame recalling my thought that the young woman was a con artist. At that moment, everyone began going back to the breakfast buffet for seconds and loading up their bags and purses with food for the poor mother and her child. After it was all done, I think she got fifteen or so euro and plenty to eat for the rest of the day.
I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow morning.
-David
