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After years in the Disney business and in human resources at Michel and Augustin, Aurélie Marcel was thirsty to break the routine and undertake. That's why this mother of four started her tour business in Los Angeles, L.A. Balade, a little over a year ago.
This idea has sprung up since its installation in Calabasas 6 years ago, "A kind of Wisteria Lane" where she takes to heart her role as "Devoted Housewive". This move is also an opportunity "To deepen relations with our surroundings"argues the 43-year-old Parisienne. At each visit, she walks the city, lugging her relatives from one place to another. "It's not an easy city to travel, many are lost in the hikes, are blocked in the traffic … And at the time, there were few offers of visits in French"she summarizes.
His professional adventure begins with off-the-beaten-track tours for members of the Los Angeles Home Association. And quickly, it comes to him the idea of turning this hobby into a business. "More than a guide, I create unique experiences for travelers", she says. "I knew there was a more structured competition (with Los Angeles Off Road in particular that started), but I wanted to try my luck." A risky gamble but which is starting to pay off thanks to word of mouth: since this summer, it is notably referenced at Air France, and offers visits to staff of the airline.
For Aurélie Marcel, "Los Angeles is not only interested in business, it also offers a lifestyle."With LA Balade, she builds tailor-made courses for small groups, such as luxury car rides in Santa Monica, boat tours to Catalina Island, Downtown exploration on foot and the discovery of architectural innovations like the Stahl House. At each visit, she provides advice, anecdotes, considering her clients as "relatives".
To personalize the routes, she can pride herself on having a full address book, knowing collectors of luxury cars, but also surfing teachers who are worth the detour, a "shaman" who organizes "sound bath "at Arts District or" street-artists "who can welcome guests in their workshop during a visit. Only to create these experiences, she is full of ideas, plunging on a gastronomic tour, but also collaborations with hotels and schools.
In particular, she would like to propose a discovery of Bunker Hill, an unknown neighborhood of Downtown: "they razed a hill to build it ""says Aurélie Marcel, who brings his interlocutors in Edison's art deco building and the municipal library – whose design is inspired by the buildings of ancient Egypt.
"I thought this city had no history, being only 250 years old. But it has a real architectural history, and has grown culturally in recent years ", admits this Parisian, fallen "Under the spell of Malibu" and light as soon as he arrived in the city of angels. And the desire to make her discover does not stop there: she launched L.A. Nights, evenings organized monthly to gather the French by making them discover a place.
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