Do you ever dream of visiting far-away places? I do. Growing up in Idaho, I rarely saw any part of this country – outside of Idaho, Montana, and Washington State – and I had always dreamt of seeing the world and meeting new people and making new friends in distant lands. I knew the best way to do that was to travel the world – not as a tourist visiting only the most famous sites and tourist traps – but as a welcomed visitor who was able to speak to my new found friends, in their own language, so that they could show me the "real" towns and villages – and even cities – and help me to experience the local culture the way it really is.
So, I began to study foreign languages. Now that I am conversant in 4 languages, English, German, French, and Italian, I have been able to focus my travel experiences and have gained an intimate knowledge of Germany, Austria, and France. In addition to my travels, I have had the opportunity to live and study in both Germany and Italy, and have met many wonderful friends. Truly a dream-come-true!
One day it occurred to me that the only thing better than meeting new people and visiting new sites, is to share those experiences with others. With this realization, Experience Europe was born.
Our Mission
The reason I founded Experience Europe was to give others the opportunity to see the Europe I have come to know. Too often I have found that typical Tour Groups are more concerned with keeping on schedule than with getting the real benefit of travel. So I decided to design the type of tours that people can truly enjoy. Structured, so that we can get the most out of the time we have, but flexible enough that if the group decides to venture off on a spontaneous adventure, there is no timetable standing in our way. And as your tour-guide, with the language barrier gone, I can help show you places as they really are, not as they are "packaged and marketed" to unsuspecting travelers.
Our Philosophy in Action
I design tours with small friendly groups. My goal is that even if you leave the house to join one of my tours alone, before our planes pulls away from the gate to start the trip, you will already be traveling with friends.
The interesting and exciting part of foreign travel is meeting new friends and capturing the spirit of life as the locals know it. To accomplish this we travel like the locals, by train, bus, or public transportation. And in addition to visiting the well known sites and tourist attractions, we eat where the locals eat, shop where the locals shop, and relax where the locals relax.
