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Lucca, Italy
Week One - training
So, I have just finished my classroom based training to be a tour leader and have been suitably terrified by the instructors and returning leaders. Not only am I tasked with my passengers safety, education and entertainment, I have to record it all in spreadsheets! So much for a nice relaxing summer. But despite that, my week in Lucca went well and was good fun. There were 18 new recruits and I was surprised how different we all were, I had expected everyone to be as loud as me but luckily for everyone that wasn't the case.But we all had a good laugh and although we had very long days we made up for it with lots of beer, wine and pizza in the evenings.Plus Lucca in the sunshine is beautiful and they did allow us out of the classroom a few times to enjoy it.
Highlight of the week was probably my 'training' trip to Pisa where I took a group by bus and talked knowledgably (honest!) about the leaning tower. Did you know it started construction in 1173 and took over 177 years to complete. How exciting! Oh and it leans because it's built on sand.So anyway, despite a few minor mishaps of nearly missing the bus and almost losing a couple of passengers, they were all overwhelmed by my amazing facts and leadership so all was well.
I also got my new (subject to change) schedule and was very happy by the fact I have managed to avoid the dreaded Paris to Berlin via Belgium trip. Hurrah. My first training trip will be from Vienna to Budapest via Prague and Krakow which also includes some trekking so that should be fab. Then I am pencilled in to train on an amazing trip from Budapest to Istanbul through Romania but that may depend on how well I do on the first one so the pressure is on. I get to meet my first real passengers in Vienna on Saturday, lucky people!
Till then I have come home to try and learn all there is to know about Vienna, Czech republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, oh and some of the languages... how hard can it be?
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