Dream job?

Would you like to get paid to travel? Yeah, me too.

Recently, I met a 23 year old travel guide named Gavin, who works for Florence for Fun. Gavin was actually my tour guide during my trip to the Amalfi Coast a couple weeks back. I decided to interview Gavin to learn more about his job and his experiences in Florence. He had given all of us his phone number and social media accounts to contact him while we were on the trip, so I was easily able to contact him and meet up with him.

Where are you originally from?

I lived in Ireland until I was 15. I live in Boston now but I went to school in New Hampshire.

How did you get this job?

I studied abroad in Florence in the spring of 2016 and became really good friends with the tour guides from Florence for Fun. They asked me to stay for a couple weeks during the summer so I extended my visa after my semester was over. After that, I jokingly asked the boss if they were hiring and he said yes and that if I wanted the position, it was mine.

How long have you been in Florence?

I have been in Florence for 2 years now.

Do you speak Italian?

No. You would think that I would be at least semi fluent now that I’ve been here for so long but I only know the basics.

What other countries have you traveled to besides Italy?

Ummmm just to name a few I’ve been to Germany, Croatia, Greece, Iceland, Thailand, and Switzerland.

What is the best and worst part about your job?

Oh my job is amazing and I love it but the only thing that sucks is that it is very exhausting and I don’t really have any down time. I have events to attend every single night. Every Monday-Wednesday I am at different bars promoting different deals for students and then typically every Thursday-Sunday I am always traveling/guiding a group.

Do you live with other tour guides?

Yes, I share an apartment with 4 other people who all work at the same company as me. It’s a little crowded but the company pays for my apartment so I can’t really complain.