5-The first look at Paris

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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1-Touring Europe is not as easy as you’d think…

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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