South of France Tour Guide

Meet Carol – Owner & South of France Tour Guide

My travelers often ask me when I first became enthralled with France. I have been in love with France since the age of 10 when my aunt brought me a Cancan doll from her trip to Paris. This fascination for France was reinforced when I was a student at the Sorbonne in Paris. We studied French language, history, art, and how to enjoy cafés like true Parisians. After this experience of living in France, my primary goal became: “How to get back there – as soon and as often as possible”.

How did we get here?

After 11 years of teaching high school French in Atlanta, I opened a French import boutique in Frederick,Maryland. During my yearly buying trips to France, I discovered tiny villages and out of the way places in the countryside that I did not know existed. It occurred to me how much other people would enjoy this experience of meeting local artisans and going to these small towns to discover the true France. When my customers in the boutique asked me to organize a tour to France, I took them seriously.We set off for our first tour to Provence in 2000. Since then I have led hundreds of happy travelers on new adventures as their France tour guide and have never looked back.

“The French air cleans up the brain and does good – a world of good.” – Vincent Van Gogh

What is my experience?

Education: I studied French at Auburn University, Foreign Language Education and Fine Arts at the University of Florida and completed my studies at the Sorbonne, Université de Paris.

Teacher: As a high school French teacher I learned patience and that I need to repeat myself a lot. My students helped me develop my sense of humor and to appreciate the unexpected. They were my teachers as much as I was theirs. Every other year we organized a trip to France which involved various fundraising events such as bake sales, plays, and a sidewalk café serving crepes at the school. These motivated students saved their money and worked very hard to make their dream of traveling to France
come true.

Why I love what I do:

The people I meet and the friends I make as a France tour guide are the most important reasons I love what I do. A favorite part of each day is the mornings at breakfast together, anticipating what the day holds for us. I love when my travelers tell me about their own discoveries at the end of the day. I enjoy the “Show and Tell” on the bus and our travelers’ delight in sharing what they bought, what culinary treats they tasted, who they talked to, and how friendly people have been to them. Many of our travelers have made lifelong friends on our tours. They plan new tours and continue to travel with us and their new friends. No matter how many times I revisit a place, each time is different because our guests make all the difference!