|
|
TESTIMONIALS
My clients
feedback My colleagues opinion My own
experience “My
experiences make me realize that guiding in Barcelona is the job for me!” And now more in my blog! What my clients say about meIf you are one of my clients, I’ll be delighted to post your feedback if you send it to me!
The Gleit Family Album (Click)
At the Wine Cellar with the Boren’s and Lori from I wish you were here
tours. |
☺
2008. Collège Jean Cavailles, Marseille, France. This is what the teacher of a 48
French students group wrote about me in their voucher (I scanned it before
sending it to the travel agency):
-
Excellent presentation of the guided tours
-
Clear explanations, easy to understand by all the students
-
Calm and serene attitude
despite the many groups around
Ane PAGES
☺ 2007. At the end of September, Krissy
Click on photo album for
the pics! à
And I found by chance another Tripadvisor.com
that mentions me!
☺ 2007. Ben Gillikin., California USA,
posted his experience with me at Tripadvisor.com
using his nickname BayAreaTraveller00.
☺ 2007. It was the first time that we had
been to Barcelona. We're seasoned travelers, and we know how much a good,
knowledgeable guide can add to a vacation. Equally we've come across too many
guides for whom the process has become routine. Marta worked with us to build
bespoke tours, doing the things that we wanted to do, in the time and in the
fashion that we felt comfortable with.
If you want to really understand a city, to
take a step away from being just another tourist find a good guide; in
Barcelona Marta is that choice.
Paul &
Denise Mayne, USA.
This
is me and Denise at the Park Güell. Click on the picture to see the whole
Mayne’s album of their trip!
☺ 2007. Hi Marta, just to thank you again for
an enjoyable and informative day on Saturday. We all felt thoroughly briefed on
Gaudí, especially after eating at the 4 Gats and Casa Calvet which was very
pleasant too.
I will
definitely recommend you to anyone I know who is coming to Barcelona for a holiday.
You were such a great guide, finding us a nice bar when we were tired and
flexing the day around our interests. And of course you were a very amusing
source of information and great company. Your tips for places to visit later
during the trip were great and we had a lovely time exploring the foodie shops
around the Born on your recommendation.
Heather Male, UK.
☺ 2007. Faith W., California USA, posted her experience with me at Tripadvisor.com
using her nickname rocksCalifornia.
☺ 2007. It has been
a wonderful trip, starting with Barcelona. And we all agree, the highlight of
Barcelona was gettting to meet you.
Michael Horvath, USA. Clic here
to see his family photo gallery on their European trip and more about their
Barcelona tours.
☺
2007. Encore une fois, heureusement que tu étais là !*
Typhaine Peignet, teacher at the Lycée St.
Exúpéry of Nantes (France).
* “Again, thanks God you where
there!”. Indeed, it was a quite accidented week: 40
teens, the bus broke and we needed to find alternative public transportation,
another day one of the girls broke a knee and had to be taken to the hospital…
But I was there to solve the problems,
and in the end everything worked out! The teachers kept saying they didn’t know
what would they have done without me.
☺ 2007. This is a post you can find on Tripadvisor.com:
“I have booked a tour with Marta of http://foreverbarcelona.com/. She has
scheduled us for a full day tour of Barcelona and a tour of Montserrat/wine
country. She's been really great to deal with and was very accommodating. “.
Swcosguy, Colorado, USA
☺ 2007. Hi Marta!!! Thanks so much for the
Romesco Sauce recipe and thanks again for a wonderful day in Barcelona…what a
fun and interesting day….you made it so special for us! You did a
fantastic job for us and I really do appreciate all the special touches that you
provided…you were a first class guide!!!
John
White, North Carolina, USA
☺
2007. Marta has a wealth of knowledge about Barcelona and its artistic
history. She accommodated our particular interests, spoke excellent English and
made the whole experience a lot of fun.
I highly recommend her.
Sam, California, USA
☺ 2006. The happy faces of the adorable Gund-Morrow
kids say everything about how much they enjoyed the tour. Their mum, Catherine,
says they kept talking about Gaudí for several days after day left Barcelona.
☺
March, 2005. Won’t you come with us for the rest of our trip? It’s only
ten more days!
The tourleader of a Canadian
group of elders, speaking on behalf of the group.
☺ As our
tour guide in June 2004, Marta was such a wonderful source of knowledge
regarding the history, culture, art, music, ambiance, etc. of Barcelona and the
surrounding areas. She has such a passion for making everything vibrant and
fun. Marta immediately tuned into our family's interests. While we experienced
all of the typical tourist attractions, we also wanted to tap into the vast
Judaic history of Barcelona. She brought us to the oldest Synagogue in Europe,
as well as to a recently discovered Mikvah (ritual bath) in the back of a store
that was starting to renovate their space. Marta also spent hours researching
the Internet to uncover other places that we visited, off the beaten path, that
were reflective of the rich Jewish heritage of this area. Everyday, Marta
mesmerized our 11 year old son, 8 year old daughter and my wife and me with
stories, myths, folklore, etc. What a joy she was to be with and how special
Marta made our touring.
Lori, Bob, Coby and Shira Rodman
Potomac, Maryland U.S.A. Bobrodman@aol.com
☺ We
visited Barcelona twice and had two fabulous experiences touring with
Marta. She's articulate, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Her grasp of history, architecture/art
and an ability to tailor the tour to the client's needs all make
Marta a great find in a spectacular city...
The
Brunners from Chicago
☺ We
have talked about you several times and how our tour experience with you was
one of the best investments and pleasant experiences during our trip to
Europe. Not only did we come away with
more knowledge of your beautiful city of Barcelona, but your guidance and
personal warmth made it so very special for all four of us. We would highly recommend that anyone we
know book with you personally, to see the highlights of the city from such a
professional tour guide. It certainly
staved off the confusion usually felt by tourists when they enter a city they
are visiting for the first time, wondering,
"Where do I start?" We
could never have seen all the sights on our own that you incorporated in a few
short hours, nor have been able to crunch in with a big crowd of tourists to
hear everything a guide of a large group has to say. - Not to mention having been
able to field all of our questions!
Also, your command of the
English language is wonderful. Thank
you for a terrific tour!
Cindy and Alan
☺ My
husband and I are frequent business visitors to Spain. While he has spent
time in Barcelona, I had not, so we arrived in October of 2003 for a
few days of just being "tourists." My first real day in Barcelona was
spent with Marta, our guide and Pierre, our driver. What a
wonderful day that was. Marta is a Barcelona native and we really saw the
city! We saw it as tourists but also through her eyes and with her
knowledge and understanding. Our primary stops included the Sagrada
Familia, the La Pedrera, the Park Guell, a search for Botero's fabulous
cat sculpture (we found it!) and an entire collage of color, sculptures,
buildings, plazas and sights in between. We let our driver go and Marta, my
husband and I ended with a wonderful lunch at the Casa Calvet, another Gaudí
building that now serves as a delightful restaurant. Our adventure was
complete when our planned taxi ride back to the Ritz Carleton Hotel
Arts was abandoned due to the closure of streets for a bicycle race. Marta
took us on the metro and gave us yet another look at Barcelona. Our
incredible view from our hotel window of Barcelona was almost as perfect an
overview of the city as our day with Marta. She made it easy to fall in
love with this beautiful city.
Carolyn and George Sodini
Long Branch, New Jersey USA
☺ What
a terrific city seen through the eyes of a terrific guide. We just loved Barcelona! The architecture alone was something to
remember. We experienced your beautiful
city by doing some of the following: touring Gaudí's cathedral, apartment, park,
experiencing the local tapas restaurants, going shopping on Las Ramblas. Every moment was sheer enjoyment. Our excursions to Montserrat, Cordoniu (30k of cava tunnels), Figueres and
Girona were also fascinating and memorable.
What can we say, but that we look
forward to returning one day and enjoying again the friendliness and warmth of
a very special city.
Gail and Leon Kozierok
What my colleagues say
about me
It is
always important to be in good terms with people you work with… and they pay a
lot of attention to the way you do your job, too! The following are some
feedback moments I will always recall.
2008. Jim and Gene, from Cork & Tee
tours, say this in their brochure for one of their golf&food tours to
Spain: “Day Seven: Half-day personalized walking tour with Marta, our guide who
is as vibrant as this magnificent city.” http://www.corkandtee.com/pdf/spain_golf_vacation.pdf
2007-2008. My colleague and occasional “boss”
Jose Soler from Pepito Tours says I’m “the total guide”, because I’m always
ready to give any kind of tour, and to go to any destination around Barcelona.
Nothing scares me!
1st of February, 2005. Today I had
a great compliment from the bellman of the Arts-Ritz Carlton Hotel. As my
clients and I arrived at the hotel after the tour, he said: Here comes the
“good-feelings” guide! When I asked him what did he mean, he answered that my
clients always looked happy when they came back…
One day I was surprised: I had never met that driver
before. As the clients came, and we sat in the car, I asked them as always if
that was their first time in Barcelona, when did they arrive, if they had
already seen any site in Barcelona and what were their interests, so I could
suggest the best itinerary for them. After we had decided the tour we were
going to have, the driver (speaking discreetly in Spanish so my clients
couldn’t understand) told me: “You are the best guide I have ever worked with”.
I couldn’t believe it, as only five minutes had passed since we left the hotel
and I hadn’t given any explanation yet. But he said that most guides just do
the same tour again and again without asking their clients preferences… Well,
he might have been exaggerating, but the truth is that he gave my name to his
boss and they have called me whenever they have needed an official guide!
My own experience
Most of my clients have congratulated me for my
knowledge, my good English or even my smile or the way I dress, but I guess that
must be common points with most guides… The following are some of my favorite
experiences:
I
spent several days with this family with two wonderful kids. We had planned a
day out of town and I filled my explanations with local stories and legends of
the places we were visiting, in order to entertain the children. On the way
back, the little girl wanted me to keep on telling her tales. She would go “Pleeeeeease,
could you tell us another story?”, and she looked at me with that angel
face. I would tell her a story, and then she wanted another one. Even her
parents apologized, thinking that it could be embarrassing for me. But I was
having fun, and I happened to remember more stories than I thought! The trip
back to town was so nice, and making this family happy was very rewarding for
me.
è By
the way, this is not the only time kids keep asking me to tell them questions:
In July 2009 Loriane Morency, 5 years old from Canada, kept asking me the same
question… this time in French! I love it!
I work
for people from all over the world, and many of them are American. It is very
common that when someone has liked their guide, they will recommend him or her
to friends or even to their travel agencies. This is in fact how I started
being hired by some New York up-skilled travel agencies. But sometimes word
spreads to surprising results. Once a client of mine expressed his satisfaction
to have found me, because he said I “came highly recommended”. I asked
him who had recommended me, and while I expected to hear the name of an old
client, he said he had my name from… the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington!
Believe me, I have never been to Washington nor worked for a Four Seasons
Hotel!
My
clients feedback My colleagues opinion My own
experience
BARCELONA
AND CATALONIA PRIVATE GUIDED TOURS WITH OFFICIAL GUIDE