Of Belgium chocolates and other things
One of the skills of being a travel guide to small groups is to get to know what your clients like to do and this is not always easy. Yesterday I fell into the trap and took what I was told a face value and did not look at the evidence before me.
I had a group of six people from the USA. Three couples, two were slight but the other were a little larger and this was nearly my downfall.
They were staying at the Tower hotel which is next to the Tower of London and is an excellent Hotel for the visitor as adjacent to the Tower of London are many other attractions and my clients had enjoyed a day in that area and asked me to suggest a different venue. They had all visited London before and I suggested a trip to Brugge in Belgium.
Belgium is one of those places which does not spring to mind for a visit but it has a charm of its own. Although predominantly flat it has many beautiful villages an is criss crossed with a cannel network making a very pleasant place to visit.
We looked at Brugge on the internet and my clients asked me to arrange a visit and this I was happy to do as I love the town with its distinctive architecture.
I arrived in the stretched Limo at 08.30 and drove to Dover where we boarded the Seacat to Calais and here was my first mistake. I had forgotten that there is no lift from the car deck to the lounge and had great difficulty in getting the larger couple up the two flights of stairs and to make matters worse nearly all the seats were taken and they could not sit down as a party but things got worse when we arrived in Brugge. The town centre is pedestrianised and although my clients had said they liked walking the actuality was that they did not like walking to far. Fortunately I have visited many times and I know the town very well so I drove to a part of the town which is on the taxi route. Brugge has a fleet of horse drawn open toped taxi's and I was able to hire one for the day and my problem was solved.
my clients were able to gorge themselves on waffles which are a specialty in the local restaurants, purchase Belgium chocolates for which the area is renowned and lace which is still spun in the traditional way. They also took a trip on the canals and several museums and we then returned to London. Fortunately I was able to up grade to First class on the Seacat and although we had great difficulty with the stairs my clients were very satisfied with their visit.
I had made a mistake which could have ruined the day but it ended well I have learned a valuable lesson though
I had a group of six people from the USA. Three couples, two were slight but the other were a little larger and this was nearly my downfall.
They were staying at the Tower hotel which is next to the Tower of London and is an excellent Hotel for the visitor as adjacent to the Tower of London are many other attractions and my clients had enjoyed a day in that area and asked me to suggest a different venue. They had all visited London before and I suggested a trip to Brugge in Belgium.
Belgium is one of those places which does not spring to mind for a visit but it has a charm of its own. Although predominantly flat it has many beautiful villages an is criss crossed with a cannel network making a very pleasant place to visit.
We looked at Brugge on the internet and my clients asked me to arrange a visit and this I was happy to do as I love the town with its distinctive architecture.
I arrived in the stretched Limo at 08.30 and drove to Dover where we boarded the Seacat to Calais and here was my first mistake. I had forgotten that there is no lift from the car deck to the lounge and had great difficulty in getting the larger couple up the two flights of stairs and to make matters worse nearly all the seats were taken and they could not sit down as a party but things got worse when we arrived in Brugge. The town centre is pedestrianised and although my clients had said they liked walking the actuality was that they did not like walking to far. Fortunately I have visited many times and I know the town very well so I drove to a part of the town which is on the taxi route. Brugge has a fleet of horse drawn open toped taxi's and I was able to hire one for the day and my problem was solved.
my clients were able to gorge themselves on waffles which are a specialty in the local restaurants, purchase Belgium chocolates for which the area is renowned and lace which is still spun in the traditional way. They also took a trip on the canals and several museums and we then returned to London. Fortunately I was able to up grade to First class on the Seacat and although we had great difficulty with the stairs my clients were very satisfied with their visit.
I had made a mistake which could have ruined the day but it ended well I have learned a valuable lesson though
posted by Haydn Strong at 7:26 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home