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Boba Your Expert Travel Guide

My husband and I just returned from a cruise in the Mediterranean.
While we were there we hired a personal guide to take us through Monte Carlo on one day
and Provence the next.
Boba http://www.yourguideboba.com/ who lives in Nice, picked us up in a
chauffeured car where for each of the two six hour trips gave us a tour of a lifetime.
She explained the history, art and culture of Monaco. We walked the tiny principality
and toured the famous Monte Carlo Casino. Monaco was preparing for the Formula
One Race so my husband was able to walk some of the track. My husband was thrilled when our driver took us through some of the turns that would be part of the race.

We had lunch in a charming outdoor cafe on the hillside of Eze. We could see the Mediterranean below the high precipice. We walked through the Medieval Village of Eze then we toured Nice for the rest of the day. We walked the French Riviera through the old part of the city and enjoyed the quaint town. Boba told us stories of how the English created the famous beach promenade.

The next day Boba picked me up at the dock in St. Tropez where she and our driver took
me and a friend to St. Baume and St. Maximum. A 1 1/2 hour trip took us to where Mary Magdalene
lived her life after the death of Jesus. In St. Baume there is a natural cave or grotto, La Sainte-Baume ("Holy Cave", baumo in Provençal) in an indigenous forest where we walked up a steep gravel road La voie Royale" A royal path that was used by the French Kings while going up to the Grotto. A Grotto in the side of a mountain that is now taken care of by seven Dominican Monks. We went into the Grotto to see the Chapel and experience the Grotto . Then we went to The Basilica Saint Mary-Magdalene and the Royal Convent. Here the last relics of Mary Magdalene are enshrined. Boba shared her knowledge of the history and events, as well as legends of Mary Magdalene when she arrived in Gaul and her remaining years. Truly a wonderful and inspirational experience for me.

For my husband and myself we felt hiring Boba was the highlight of our trip. If you are planning
a trip to France or Italy please hire a Boba as your personal guide who can enrich your experience and spend the quality time with you.

Grace Allison Blair

Posted by
2 posts

My wife and I concur with the above post. With only a day and half to spent in Nice and Monaco, we made a great choice in contacting Boba to make the best of our time. Boba gave us a tremendous 8 hour walking tour of Monaco and Nice. One might think 8 hours would be a little excessive having just arrived from the USA the afternoon before, but Boba made us forget about our jet lag by captivating us with stories about the history and current events of both Nice and Monaco. We took the local train with Boba between Nice and Monaco which is a scenic and efficient way of traveling between the two sites. We also ate socca where the locals eat socca. Boba speaks perfect English and has a very relaxed manner such that you feel like you are touring with a long time friend. For a guide that will definitely enrich your experience in the French Riviera, Boba is a great choice.

Daniel Loes

Posted by
16895 posts

Sounds great and I'm glad you had the experience! Can you also relate here what is Boba's procedure for getting every tour member to report back on this Travel Forum? Free ice cream? Hypnotism? Frequent readers would like to know.

Posted by
6 posts

Boba is special. I found her on the Rick Steves Forum. I wanted someone who could give me
an indepth experience of Mary Magdalene. My husband wanted an experience of Monaco. In my experience of a tour, the person who conveys the information should have special qualities like empathy. Boba has that special quality. Most guides regurgitate information. Boba gives context to her tours. Special to each person she touches. If you are going to spend your hard earned dollars on a guide who will give you a once in a lifetime experience then the person should be have themselves invested
in the relationship. Boba makes friends, not just customers. For me I want to share who is she is not just
what she does. Her specialty is Italy and France. She has lived in Paris for twelve years,
now lives in Nice. She speaks several languages. Loves her customers like family.
Cheers to Boba,
grace

That is why I love Boba.

Posted by
41 posts

We couldn't agree more that hiring Boba was worth every penny! My daughter and I decided to take a break during our Europe vacation and spend 4 days in Nice to relax and didn’t plan what to do in advance. As the time for us to visit approached, I realized that I knew nothing of the history of Nice and on a whim decided to hire a private guide for a half day tour just to get a good overall perspective. How lucky we were that I found Boba in Rick’s book and she happened to have a morning available! She met us at our hotel and provided us with an incredible tour all around Nice – emphasizing the things we wanted to see and learn but making sure we covered the all of the high points of history. We walked and walked and walked (she kept asking us if we were okay to keep going and we were so enjoying our time that we didn’t feel tired at all!) Truly lovely to talk with Boba not only about Nice and the area but about what is happening elsewhere in France, US and the world. We hope to return to the area some day and go on some other tours of the area with Boba- a great tour guide really is the highlight of any trip!

Posted by
5697 posts

Inquiring minds want to know -- it was worth every penny, but how many pennies was it ??