Carmel Walking Tours 

Accolades

June 18, 2015 - by Gael Gallagher Carmel Chic Story and Photos By Michael Hiller Quirky, poetic, timeless, seductive -Carmel is like an enchanted fairytale village filled with delicious food, magical views and, of course, spectacular golf courses. You don’t come to Carmel to spend the day in a spa or lounge by the hotel pool. You come to be wowed. You come to hike along its rugged coastline, explore its leafy passageways and stare out at its wave-lashed horizon. Even when it is swaddled in fog… Read Article	September 15, 2014 - by Gael Gallagher Intriguing 48-Hour Itinerary By Kathy Chin Leong Once upon a time – in 1924, to be exact – Hugh Comstock built a storybook cottage for his wife Mayotta where she could display and sell her handmade dolls. The 244-square-foot historic Doll House, commonly known as Hansel, was tucked behind gnarled oak trees and featured and off-kilter chimney, rounded doorway and exaggerated pitched roof. A year later, the couple fashioned a matching cottage next door named Gretel. Enamored of the whimsical… Read Article
April 22, 2014 - by Admin Look All Around in Carmel by Dan Clarke Think you know a lot about Carmel? After a walk with Gael Gallagher, you’ll know a whole lot more. A transplanted Bostonian, she has been leading tours on the Monterey Peninsula since 1984. Tuesdays through Saturdays she meets with visitors in the courtyard of the Pine Inn before leading them on a two-hour tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea. It’s beautiful here. Anybody can see that. But even a frequent visitor will appreciate the area… Read Article	March 27, 2014 - by Admin The best way to delve into intriguing historical facts and tales about Carmel-by-the-Sea is to sign up for Gael Gallagher’s Carmel Walks. This informative and enjoyable city tour start at Pine Inn, and explores small and graceful city parks, historic inns, hidden courtyards, secret gardens, and intricate pathways between them. A part of the tour is dedicated to the city’s famous fairy tale houses, designed by Hugh Comstock in his adorably playful architectural style inspired by children’s books illustrations. A… Read Article
March 27, 2014 - by Admin “When you see a passageway, try not to go out the same way you came in,” advised Gael Gallagher, who leads the daily Carmel Walks walking tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea, a quintessentially quaint California seaside city just two hours south of San Francisco. I had the pleasure of taking the tour earlier this month and exploring a good part of the Monterey Bay Area. Carmel-by-the-Sea is home to just 3,800 residents and is one of the most unique communities in the… Read Article	September 17, 2013 - by Admin The Pacific Coast Highway was featured in “THE BEST DRIVES” article on CheapCarRental.net. Below is an excerpt about Carmel Walks! “A great way to explore the upscale town’s colorful cottages, art galleries, hidden gardens and famous churches is to take a 2-hour walking tour. Gael Gallagher’s Carmel Walks cover the original fairytale cottages, homes and haunts of bohemian artists and writers, and the oldest art gallery in Carmel. With 30 years experience guiding tours, Gael’s goal is to show you… Read Article

September 7, 2013 - by Admin

You don’t really know Carmel until you’ve walked it with Gael Gallagher
ONE THING Gael Gallagher doesn’t need is a Dale Carnegie course to bring her out of her shell. This outgoing, enthusiastic, passionate tour guide has been conducting tours, both predetermined and customized, for more than 30 years. Gallagher is a historian/naturalist who saturates her clients with lively patter guaranteed to keep them interested while they’re tagging along with her. - By JERRY GERVASE

“I’m a visitor who decided to stay,” she says. “I came here from Boston in 1970 to visit my brother at Fort Ord and knew this is where I wanted to live.” Since that time Gallagher has been a guide at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and served as a docent at Point Lobos and the National Steinbeck Center. Gallagher is a true Steinbeck aficionado. She often quotes verbatim passages of the author’s writings during her tours.

“Architecturally and aesthetically, this town pops!” is one of the phrases Gallagher uses to rev up people before beginning one of her Carmel walking tours. Then she spends two hours dazzling them with her depth of knowledge about Carmel.

Recently I joined Gallagher and about 20 of her clients for one of her Carmel walking tours. We started in the court- yard of the Pine Inn where Gallagher told us that in 1906 the north wing of the Carmelo Hotel at the corner of Ocean and

Broadway, now Junipero, was dismantled and the main building was rolled on pine logs down the rugged dirt road of Ocean Avenue. With the creative vision of M.J. Murphy it was reborn as the Pine Inn.

Gallagher calls this her “Nooks and Crannies” tour because she keeps us off Ocean Avenue.

“Ocean Avenue is there,” she says to us. “You’re going to discover its shops and restaurants even if it is your first time in Carmel. You don’t need a guide for that.”

Then off we went into nooks and crannies I didn’t know existed. We strolled through the gardens of the Christian Science Church ending up on the deck overlooking Monte Verde Street. There Gallagher urged everyone to tour Robinson Jeffers’ Tor House. She removed her tour guide hat and replaced it with her “acting” hat as she read the famous poet’s “The House Dog’s Grave,” a sad but moving paean written from the dog’s point of view: You were never masters, but friends. I was your friend, I loved you well, and was loved. Deep love endures to the end and far past the end.

We traipsed through the Richard MacDonald Gallery on Lincoln and Sixth, where we got up close and personal with the famous sculptor’s works, spinning them on their lazy- Susan pedestals. (I didn’t know you could do that)

We explored the Tally Ho Inn, learning that the building was purchased in 1945 by cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo, creator of Little Iodine. The Inn has a wonderful English countryside ambiance with exquisite views of the bay.

At city hall, we rested on benches while Gallagher recounted some of Carmel’s political history, including the Eastwood years. Here she told the story of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and her mysterious “kidnapping.”

McPherson turned up in Carmel where she had put into practice the Biblical injunction to love one’s neighbor. It was the scandal of the year in 1926. Once again, Gallagher entertained us, this time with the recitation of Pete Seeger’s “The Ballad of Aimee McPherson.” Now I’ll tell you my story in the usual way/About this lady preacher’s holiday/If you don’t get the moral then you’re the gal for me/ Cause they got a lot of cottages down at Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Somehow we managed to get from Monte Verde up to Lincoln, Dolores, San Carlos, and Mission while hardly setting foot on Ocean. We entered shops, restaurants, and galleries where Gallagher knew everyone and we were treated as honored guests. We visited with artist, Robert Knight, out- side his studio on Dolores, and spent several moments at the Steven Whyte Gallery, where visitors can view the creative process in action. At Lulu’s Silk Art Gallery (another first for me), we learned about the history of Chinese Silk Embroidery, an art that dates back to 800 B.C.

There is much more to tell, but you really should discover “Carmel Walks” in person. Actually, you should discover Gael Gallagher in person.

“This is my office,” she says with a broad smile, spreading her arms as if embracing the entire village. “Everything about it is superlative.”

Her ongoing coursework in local history, ecology, architecture, marine biology, and other natural sciences keeps her presentations lively, timely, and accurate. Gallagher customizes extraordinary tours that bring to life the beauty and culture of Carmel and the entire Peninsula. You can contact her at (831) 905-0350 or at www.CarmelWalks.com.

Jerry Gervase can be reached at jerry@jerrygervase.com.