Guided Glue

I am not sure if the heading does justice to the content of the post but it’s what first came to mind and so it is titled Guided Glue, while it has nothing to do with actual glue, but this post is about the guides who take us around in places we visit and how they remain with us as a memory of that place.

I have travelled solo and with family to many places and that place was made special by the guides who took us around walking tours or city guided tours, the guides are mostly local and know the city inside out, they walk (fast) and talk confidently and are passionate about their city, usually they are history students or graduates and will often have funny tales to tell about local history and culture and food. They will help you with directions, what to eat, where to eat, where to shop, how to bargain and a whole lot more. They are literally a mine of information and in general very resourceful.

I have fond recollections of many of them, for example Chris who would come across as a crabbity middle aged Brit in Paris with a permanent frown. On my 2nd visit to Paris, I tried to frantically locate the walking tour meeting point and literally ran to catch up as they were starting. He gave me a piercing stare and demanded 10 Euros and off we were to the Latin Quarter walking tour in Paris. This was my first walking tour experience, so I was very impressionable so to speak, I was already in love with Paris and now this walking tour opened the city in a new way, and I looked at it with fresh eyes. Everything one sees here dates from 13th century onwards so a lot of Roman history, ancient churches, La Sorbonne and other schools, the Cluny Museum, Voltaire's house, Mitterrand’s house, and a lot of stories around what we saw. What I learnt in 2 hours; I have never learnt in a history class! By the end of the tour, I was quite a fan of Chris and decided to stalk him actively, so signed up for Montmartre and Templars walks as well. The Montmartre walk was specially entertaining and at the end of the walk Chris conducted a quiz and some lady won who was presented with a quacking duck toy and compliments from Chris, the lady in question blushed pink with all the attention while I felt mildly jealous! Not to be outdone, I tipped Chris a few coins and in return he deeply bowed and curtsied and had me giggling like a teenager in my middle age and he left with an exaggerated wave and vanished down the stairs of Montmartre - sigh! I then traced my way back the alleys and streets of Montmartre trying to recollect all the stories and feeling mildly bereft.

Then there was Cerise in the Le Marais walk and she was again a Brit but a historian and specialized in French history, I am sure all that is true as again she had deep knowledge about the area, we saw the Jewish quarter of the city, she painted a very vivid picture of Paris in the 17th and 18th century, how the city evolved, the house of the famous courtesan who "trained" Louis IV how to be a man, the story of Poubelle who also lived in Marais. Poubelle is a trash can in French, but it is named after Eugene Poubelle who invented the trash can, apparently 19th century Paris was a very dirty place, and the streets were unwalkable due to trash everywhere. I also learnt about the pawn shops hidden away in tiny lanes which are still functional. At the end of the tour, we spent some time outside the Jewish memorial where she evocatively talked about the holocaust and her eyes glistened with tears and her voice shook with emotion, we were also quite moved and parted in a sombre mood.

I must also mention Chloe who walked me and another Russian girl through another part of Le Marais, I came straight from the Shakespeare & Co bookshop with a bundle of books and got off at the metro station St Paul and she was standing there with a signboard for the walking tour - it was a low turnout due to rain. After paying and initial pleasantries, she noticed my books and wanted to see my purchases which were "A Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemmingway, "Jules et Jim" by Henri-Pierre Roche and a French cookbook. She was absolutely delighted with my choice and kissed the books (thankfully all this was pre COVID and she was wearing matte red lipstick!) "Incroyable", "C'est magnifique" she exclaimed and then we went on to discover the Falafel streets and Jewish history along with street art and art galleries and as usual a lot of stories which and the walk ended in Place de Vosges. She seemed a little disappointed with the earnings of the day and then said that she would spend the rest of the day writing an article for the United Nations and walked off with a swagger in her high heel boots, pencil leather pants and a biker jacket! The Russian girl and I chatted some more and after saying goodbye, I headed on to the Victor Hugo Museum nearby which was highly recommended by her, and I was not disappointed.

When we travelled as a family to Spain, I have great memories of Isabella who walked us around Alhambra near Grenada and she had deep knowledge about Islamic architecture and the way the palace was built, the level of intimacy in large groups (specially Indian tour packages) is lesser as there are all kinds of people and for some, it’s only a tick in the box and elaborate and detailed explanations are usually not given in such groups. Even so, it was fabulous, and I still have very fond memories of Alhambra.

We met many more guides in other cities when on guided package tours which just skimmed the surface and hence did not leave much impression.

There is a darker side to this and  thankfully this is really rare, however should you be unlucky enough, you may get a guide who manipulates you (especially if you are in a smaller group or a solo traveller) into believing that you are getting the best possible experience and you might feel a weird connection with the guide and you may end up revealing much more about yourself than you should. The guide will use all sorts of NLP techniques which leaves you ensnared and enamoured (depends on the degree of manipulation) and this could mess with your thoughts and make you act in some intended way. This manipulation could be done to get good reviews and referrals but who knows really. This aspect was deeply disturbing when I heard about it from a friend (who had to seek help to overcome this), so I would advise caution and the common advice holds good here - do not speak to strangers beyond context and be aware that you could be manipulated.

Travel is a beautiful way to learn about the various aspects of the places we visit, and guides are our mediums of discovery, while some are good and knowledgeable, almost all are performers. They are putting up a great show for our entertainment and once the show is over, forget the glue and walk on!