Tour Guide 101

Jul 2, 2012 by Kristina

In April we had our first ever visitors from the states. We couldn’t have been more excited to have people visit! One thing we didn’t realize is how little we knew of the place we had lived for a over a year. We had to do our research before our friends arrived so that we could bring them around and show them this wonderful place we live.

We called this trip “Seppos Down Unda” as Seppos is the Aussie slang for Americans

Before we get started I thought it might be fun to give a top five things to do/know before you become a tour guide:

5. Know your tram stops. If you are trying to tell your group how to meet you for a day trip instead of picking them up, make sure you give them the correct tram stop number so they aren’t wondering around in a place of town they have no idea about.

4. Sound confident. If you don’t know the answer to a question, just give them an answer that sounds good and deliver it with confidence … they will never know.

3. Always carry water. You won’t realize how much you will be talking during the tour. You will get hoarse, but having water will let you be like the pros and able to keep talking.

2. Know the tram lines. Or at least know which one you can run down the street with a group following you and jump on knowing it will head in the right direction.

1. Always carry an umbrella. Not only so your group can find you but also so you can be prepared for the four seasons in one day here in Melbourne (covering your group for the spit of rain that you will get, will earn you bonus points).

Not going to lie, all of those things happened over the week and it was a blast. Now let me introduce you to the crew for the week:

Christine Hugo (Stine): Stine and I met way back in 7th grade on the first day in Mr. Cromwell’s art class. We have had many memories over the years together and grown a great friendship over that time. Never would have guessed we would be in Australia together enjoying my new home city.

Danny Hugo: Danny (Stine’s Husband) and I met one night at the skating rink. All of us girls would go and hang out at the skating rink and skate around. Soon after meeting Danny, he and Stine were inseparable as she started working there as well and the rest is history. It has been great getting to know him over the years.

Katie Six: Katie and I have a long history of being “nerds” together. We would stay up late together to finish school projects and always seemed to be in the “nerd” classes as well. I didn’t really get to know Katie outside of school until we were a bit older but I am so glad we did! I have loved every minute with her!

Sean Six: Sean (Katie’s Husband) and I met through one of the school projects that Katie and I were doing. I had went over to Katie’s house to finish up the project and Sean waited patiently for us to finish so he could hang out with his girlfriend. Over the years Sean and I have become great friends and share some great memories, like random dance parties!

Toni Keyes: Toni (Stine’s Sister) and I have never been super close but have always had great times together. Stine and Toni have an amazing friendship for sisters and you can’t love one without the other! It was so fun to have her down here and to take this time to get to know her more.

Kristina Guthrie: Tour Guide Extraordinaire. I had such a great time showing off Melbourne to some long time friends. I totally have to hand it to full time tour guides. It’s a lot more work and energy then you think, but it was so worth it.

Jeff Guthrie: Husband Extraordinaire and Tour Guide Assistant. Though Jeff had to work for part of the time while they were here he was a huge help in figuring out where to go and what to see. I am not sure I could have done it with out him!

We had such a great time while they were here. We hit all the major tourist attractions:

Melbourne Zoo
Queen Victoria Markets
St Kilda, BBQ’s on the Yarra River
Wine Tasting in the Yarra Valley
Rebels Rugby Game
Comedy Show during the Comedy festival
and of course just walking around this beautiful city

Jeff and I also hosted our first ever holiday dinner with them here. They were here over Easter so we served them up a beautiful Aussie dinner, including shrimps on the barbie and kangaroo meat. It was so much fun to have a little slice of home down here in the Southern Hemisphere. Though it was a short time, it was a great time. I hope they enjoyed their trip down here as much as we enjoyed hosting them. Enjoy the photos of their trip below: