Seeing the sights in the City of Lights Business gives gift of accessibility to wheelchair users BY LORI ANNE OLIWA Coresspondent Derek Guzman must be the only businessman in the world who can push his clients around and still get paid. With Derek Guzman as tour guide, Lina DeCarlo took in all the sights in the beautiful City of Lights. Clockwise from top: The two pose in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Guzman helps clients find accessible transportation. The two paused amid the bustle at the Arc d'Triomphe. Guzman, Middletown, owner of Paris on Wheels, said that 11 years of health-care experience, several trips to Paris and the idea for an accessibility guidebook all melded together to fuel the creation of his business. Paris on Wheels is an enterprise that operates guided walking tours for wheelchair users, pushing included. Guzman said the initial idea for the business was just that - an idea - and nothing more. "I didn't really see the demand at first. What I did know is that I wanted a job that would pay me to travel and to have fun at the same time. I eventually put two and two together after making several trips to Paris, realizing I could usemy experience with wheelchair users while introducing them to the most beautiful city in the world," Guzman said. The guidebook never got published, but Guzman accumulated so much information through his research on accessible locations and attractions that the idea of guiding people around seemed more than feasible. "Everything developed from there, and I used that information to start my own business," he added. Paris on Wheels has been in existence for two years and has a steady clientele, according to Guzman, who is fluent in French. His clients include repeat customers, first-time travelers, and referrals from travel agents or advocacy organizations serving the disabled. "Having a French-speaking guide is invaluable for an inexperienced, handicapped traveler who might be very scared of traveling," Guzman said. He also emphasized that his clients hail from around the world - Israel, South Africa, Australia, Canada and Scandinavia. Guzman splits his time equally between Middletown and Paris and actually resides in Paris for six months of the year. "But I can go back at anytime," he joked. Guzman, who also offers accessibility consulting in addition to the guide service, describes helping and caring for people as "part of my psyche." He worked for United Cerebral Palsy in Seattle, Wash., for 10 years and said it was a great way to earn a living. Guzman actually credits several of the people he cared for and said they were responsible for his "on the ground" business training. "I worked with aman named JimDixon who was confined to a wheelchair. He used to wait for me on Saturdays, eager to know where we would be going that day," Guzman stated. "We went to lots of places together and had a good time doing it," he added. Guzman also recalled Tim Purbaugh, another wheelchair user, and the times he spent riding buses with him and taking the ferry to Vancouver and Portland. "Little did I know that taking these guys out was actually going to be the foundation formy business," Guzman stated. Kidding aside, Paris on Wheels is actually dealing with a serious issue - advocacy and quality of life for the handicapped. Guzman said that Paris can be very challenging for someone in a wheelchair. He estimated that only 40 percent of the city's buses are accessible. "Paris is not where we are in terms of accessibility laws, and still has a lot of catching up to do. This is where my ingenuity comes in," he quipped. "Being there when somebody is able to realize their dream, experience bliss, and get a thrill is an amazing experience," Guzman said. "Pushing someone to a place they wouldn't ordinarily be able to go is wonderful." Guzman explained that some of the most popular destinations on his walking tours are the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, an art museum that houses some of the most famous art in the world. He said that he has escorted clients on strolls down the Champs-Elysées, around the Arc d'Triomphe, and on Avenue Montaigne, also known as the "fashion avenue of the world." Guzman recalled two clients in particular - Lina and Silvia from Toronto, Canada - and the fun-filled day he spent escorting them up and down the streets of Paris. "They just wanted to keep going. One night we took a bus, and it dropped us off at the Eiffel Tower around midnight. Almost as if on cue, the tower started lighting up just as we exited the bus. It was a beautiful moment and a wonderful way for the day to end. They were thrilled, and I was thrilled," he said. Paris on Wheels also offers guided tours to places outside Paris, where it is often necessary to take a train. Guzman recently escorted a couple to Normandy, where they visited the cities of Ouen and Dieppe and briefly stopped to tour Claude Monet's garden. Being somewhat of a nomad, Guzman has no intention of ending his tour of duty in Paris. He has expanded service to London and New York and is currently considering other cities. Guzman recently took a native Parisian on the Eurostar train to London. "We walked nonstop for eight hours and went from Piccadilly Circus to Brick Lane to Liverpool Street, a real marathon," Guzman said. He also wants to establish New York City as a workplace, so wheelchair-bound residents of the Bayshore can enjoy some time in the city. "There is so much to see and do there," he added, "and I see New York as being basically a local market." Guzman will also offer accessibility consulting services for people who want to arrive at a destination completely prepared. "They will not have to do any research once they arrive. Extensive information on accessible public transportation, hotels and lodging, restaurants, stores, tourist destinations and other venues will be prepared in advance. I can even provide detailed directions on how to get fromone place to another on the bus or train," he said. Information for Paris on Wheels can be found on the Web site, www.parisonwheels.com. Guzman's e-mail address is powparis@yahoo.com. Information for New York on Wheels is available at www.newyorkonwheels.com, and the e-mail address is newyorkonwheels@yahoo.com.