The QLT Tour Captains Reflect on 2010
Dan Diekhaus
I cherish the people I have the privilege of working with. Our city guides, drivers, hotel and restaurant owners and staff, have all become extended family to me. Any time I have the chance to drop by in between tour assignments, I am always met with a handshake, a friendly kiss or a warm smile. It's a great feeling to know that these folks are genuinely glad to see me, and that they are happy we are in their country.
Our associates in-country help make my work a dream come true, and enable me to know we are always welcome. They help make our tours run smoothly and provide the finest services possible. I have found this to be universal, traveling from city to city and country to country.
My touring family has grown so much over the past three years, and I am blessed to have been able to meet and befriend so many warm and caring people from all over the world.
Sandy Gregory
A QueensLander Tour is a trip of a lifetime. Many of our guests join us to celebrate milestones. There are family reunions, groups of friends, anniversaries and cancer survivors. Children, graduates, newlyweds and retirees. As their Tour Captain, I’m happy to be able to help create new memories for them. When I started this job, I was excited about the adventure, culture, cuisine and travel. What I didn’t expect, was what a privilege it would be to get to know so many wonderful people I now call my friends. I am honored to be able to share their milestones.
My favorite place is Florence. Florence is like an open–air museum. Over 50% of the worlds art is located in lovely city. As you wind around the streets, the architecture, art and culture of the Renaissance surrounds you. I lived in Florence when I was in college so it holds a special place for me. The favorite part of my tour is showing my guests the Florence I love. Sure, the Uffizi and Accadamia have prime spots on my itinerary, but what I most love are the all the churches, galleries, museums, shops and osterias tucked around the winding streets. I can’t really tell my guests where the cultural art or shopping district is in Florence, because it’s everywhere.
Caron Guillo
Every day in Tuscany is special, but one in particular couldn’t have been more beautiful. It was literally breathtaking—perfect blue skies, sunshine, ideal temperature—and the guests were absolutely swept away. To hear their voices crack with emotion as they exclaimed over San Gimignano, Castella della Paneretta, and Cortona brought me great joy. I love that they love QueensLander and all the personal touches built into this tour.
Janette Tepas
I get a real thrill when I’m able to share the experiences that are truly unique to Italy, especially when my guests see something for the first time. When we come into Venice, it opens our eyes and hearts to a whole new way of life. It’s impossible to understand until you’re actually on the boat winding through the canals for the very first time. All those paintings and photographs don’t do it justice … these streets really are all water, and there are no cars. It is never quite understood until we are there in person, pulling up to our hotel door.
It’s the same in Florence, when we emerge into the piazza, suddenly staring at the size and majesty of the ornate Duomo. It almost jumps out at us, as it comes up so suddenly at the corner of the piazza. And it goes on throughout our trip. Looking out at the Tuscan landscapes, we never really need to even aim a camera for an incredible view. In Rome, our "neighborhood" is at the Pantheon’s doorstep. As we walk inside the Coloseum, my guests of gasp in awe when the see the first example of such architecture, and continue to be amazed as they step through the very same stone blocks that Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. We get to explore the very place that the civilized world actually began. And then we continue on to the next place, almost as time travelers, because the list goes on and on!
Taking the guests to Piazza Michelangelo right before sunset and dinner is an amazing experience. You see the Arno River with all of Florence in the background. Watching the sunset and the changing colors of the rooftops is breathtaking. Then having dinner right behind the piazza you have this opportunity to watch Florence's night lights come alive and experience the beauty of all the sights with a mood lighting. Having a glass of prosecco and just enjoying the view is a time where you feel like you’re a local just taking in Florence.
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