TESTIMONIALS
Wellington Tours
GENE IS A SUPERB GUIDE
We booked a walking tour with Gene in Wellington, New Zealand for 6th March, 2014. Due to a cruise deviation to avoid rough seas, we arrived in Wellington 2 days early. Gene very kindly adapted her schedule to do the tour on the afternoon we arrived. As promised, she was waiting for us at the train station and took us on an informative and interesting tour of Wellington. The walk was a bit abbreviated due to rain but Gene adapted the tour and made helpful suggestions for the next day when we would be on our own. We very much appreciated Gene's friendly and helpful emails prior to and during our voyage to Wellington. She knows the city well and is a superb guide.
AN EXCELLENT WAY TO SEE WELLINGTON
What better way to get to know Wellington than to go on one of Gene's very informative and enjoyable tours. Her pre-purchase of the cable car tickets saved us time queuing and we covered a huge area, seeing most of the important sights as well as learning a lot about the history, culture, folklore and architecture. We left feeling that we really know the place well and confidently revisited some of the places on our own and at our leisure. A thoroughly enjoyable few hours.
Brian and Hana
GREAT DAY!
We loved our day with Gene - she is the best! We were on a cruise and opted to do our own tour, rather than a huge group. What a terrific decision - we saw everything and had an absolutely wonderful time with Gene. She is a wealth of information and is a delightful person. She made Wellington marvellous for us.
Ellen and Barry, Houston, Texas
A GREAT CITY WALKING TOUR OF DISCOVERIES
Genie met us at the railway station promptly on time as promised, with a warm greeting. With a spring in her gait, we all headed off to discover the many city venues that would interest any traveller. Her knowledge of the city and its history was excellent. Her tour was thoroughly enjoyable for the 3+ hours at a very reasonable fee. No hesitations in recommending her services.
Ian and Laura, Montreal
PERSONAL GUIDED WALK
We considered this walk to offer the best value-for-money of all our excursions during our trip to New Zealand. We had expected to hear background on all the main sites, but got much more than this during our personal guided walk. We particularly enjoyed the chats between stopping points, which gave us an added insight into a wide variety of topics relevant to our trip around the North and South islands and beyond.
Jan O, Nottingham, UK
DISCOVER THIS FANTASTIC CITY
I had a private tour of Wellington with my friend from London and his parents who are also from New Zealand. It was excellent and a fantastic way to get to know the city. Wellington has so much history and I got so much out of my trip by doing Gene's tour. Gene was knowledgeable, friendly and knows her way around the city. I had previously done one of her walks in London and both were excellent. We started at the station where we met and toured this first with its history being explained. The tour then took us along the harbour and up the Cable Car to the top. gene stopped to explain local points of interest, including the areas of the city which were on reclaimed land. At the top of the Cable Car we had stunning views of the city. We continued down into the local cemetery after a great break in the Botanical Gardens and then the tour continued, including Parliament buildings. The New Zealand locals on the tour were really impressed and saw many areas they did not know themselves. As part of the ''new world'' one might assume that there is not as interesting a history as you might find in Europe. However, there is much more to the city than meets the eye. I felt closer and more familiar with the city once the tour was over. I really recommend this tour to those interested in Wellington and, especially those with only a short period of time to discover this fantastic city.
Andrew. Lancaster Gate, London
I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND GENIE'S WALKING TOURS
I had previously lived in Wellington, but really had never explored the city. I decided to do a walking tour of Wellington led by Gene to cover as much ground in the short time I had in the city as possible. What great value-for-money for a tourist! I saw things I did not know about and Gene was so knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend Genie’s Walking Tours and wish she did other New Zealand cities.
Lynn, Hastings, New Zealand
A WONDERFUL TOUR OF A UNIQUE CAPITAL CITY
The whole walk was so enjoyable and informative and, for someone like me who has never been to New Zealand before, a morning well spent viewing the many interesting facets of New Zealand's unique capital city. Thanks again for a wonderful tour. If I know anyone coming to Wellington I will most definitely recommend they come on one of your walks.
June, Melbourne, Australia
London Tours
ART DECO TOUR WITH GENE
Gene took me on an Art Deco Walking Tour in London on Monday and I could not have been more impressed with her knowledge, her charisma and her warm personality. I did not want the tour to end! The rain did not put us off and Gene took very good care of us. I cannot recommend her walks highly enough. Thank you Gene.
Clare
PRIVATE LONDON WALKING TOUR
We knew Gene from Wellington (New Zealand) so felt very privileged to have a private tour of central London from one who grew up there and still lived in close proximity. This was our very first time in London. Gene was very helpful with train timetables etc., and instructions beforehand and was there to meet us at Charing Cross Station. We had a wonderful walk around the city's highlights, plus some lesser known spots, all at a good pace and with many interesting details shared. Gene had a good strong voice so tidbits of information are not lost amongst traffic and tourist noise. Gene also knew good spots to stop for refreshments. All in all a great day out and gave us a wonderful introduction to London. We would thoroughly recommend her to others wishing to get to know the city.
Kaye and Warwick
ART DECO TOUR
This walk around the Art Deco buildings of Westminster was very enjoyable and informative. Gene is very friendly and down to earth and makes everyone feel welcome. As a born and bred Londoner and an Art Deco fan, I thought I knew most of the best buildings in London but I now know how much I'd missed. I would strongly recommend one of Gene's guided walks to anyone interested in the hidden gems of London's Art Deco.
Steve, Greenwich
CLERKENWELL TOUR
I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. After working in Clerkenwell for over 8 years I thought I knew the area pretty well. That was until I did Gene's walking tour! The tour was incredibly informative, with all sorts of points of interest explained that you just don't notice as a passerby. I found the sites related to the Knights Hospitallers (St Johns) particularly interesting, something I hadn't associated with the area previously. Gene delivered the tour with all the friendliness and charm of a true professional, and had us laughing as we went. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and have no hesitation recommending Gene to tourists and residents alike!
Ian, Paddington
A WAY OF SEEING THE "REAL"LONDON
Last Summer whilst I was visiting the United Kingdom, my wife persuaded me to go on a ‘’Jack the Ripper’’ walking tour. Initially I was reluctant but finally agreed. What a pleasant surprise! The almost 3 hour tour was interesting in historical terms, finding out the origins of many of our day-to-day sayings and Gene was also quite amusing, so the tour was certainly not boring. Walking in the footsteps of old Londoners was an eye-opener and, as a way of seeing the "real" London, I would definitely recommend any of my friends to take a walking tour with Gene.
John, Paraparaumu, NZ
AN EXCELLENT AND HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED TOUR
Spitalfields was not an area we knew much about, but Gene’s insightful and knowledgeable commentary brought it vividly to life. The conduct of the tour was very professional and you knew you were in safe & capable hands. An excellent and highly-recommended tour.
Alan & Geraldine, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales
A TREAT NOT TO BE MISSED
I have been on several of Gene's walks in and around London (as well as Oxford) and particularly recommend the walk around Spitalfields, where one can experience the flavour of Roman London, the Jack the Ripper murders, the hardships and successes of the Hugeunot immigrants as well as those of the Jewish population, both groups fleeing from persecution. Gene delivers her vast knowledge in a congenial and clear manner, often with personal, relevant anecdotes and with great humour making history interesting and informative. A treat not to be missed.
Kate, Pimlico, London
ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR BIG OE
First time in London and we wanted to make the most of it. In San Francisco and Paris we had used the double decker Buses to get around and take in the sights, in London there would be no buses. We met up with Gene Mitchell on a lovely Saturday morning in July near Oxford Street, not too far from where she lives – she had told us to have good walking shoes and enough energy to last for 6 hours on the go. Off we went heading into the city, taking in the sights and plenty of photos – walking and talking, Gene giving us the insights and explanations of the well-known and not so well known buildings, bridges, parks and places that make up the fascinating city that London is. Over the day we visited the well-known landmarks: St Paul’s, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, The Globe, The Mall, Big Ben and Nelson's Column but we also saw and experienced the other better kept secrets of London like the Tudor gateway that suddenly appeared when a German bomb went off near it blowing off a later added façade or the exact spot Sir William Wallace met his fate. It is a little harder walking the tour but it is far more worthwhile with the opportunity to use all your senses in the experience. Gene just made the whole day fascinating and informative and managed to paint the mind pictures that put you back in time to when amazing events took place on the very spot you are standing on. Our walking tour of London with Gene was one of the highlights of our big OE.
Peter and Helen, Wellington, New Zealand
A TERRIFIC DAY IN OXFORD
Gene gave us a terrific day in Oxford. She met us at the London Bus Station and pointed out many places on the way to Oxford. At Oxford we had breakfast at one of the students' favorite stops, strolled by many of the colleges and saw one of the oldest libraries in the world, the Bodleian. Gene arranged a wonderful lunch for us and then we spent the afternoon at the spectacular Christ Church college and cathedral. Before leaving Oxford we toasted at one of the oldest pubs in the UK. It truly takes a day to walk the grounds of Oxford and Gene's knowledge of the buildings and history was amazing!
Laban and Edwina, Kentucky, USA