Translation: Oh la la! I’m in love with France! I love France (Paris in particular) so much that years ago when I redesigned my blog, I named it GREEN ACRES MEETS PARIS! And in September, I did just that! I met Paris!!! (FINALLY!!)
I didn’t go to France alone. Oh no, I took someone who I thought would and could appreciate my enthusiasm for all things French. I took my mom, Virginia. We spent eleven full days together, traveling to some amazing places in France as part of Trafalgar’s “Wonderful France” guided tour. We were on a coach bus with 46 other people (including the bus driver, Stefan, and our travel director, Brian Tipa).
There is SOOOO MUCH to cover from this dream trip that I’m going to break it down into several parts… I’m not really sure how many parts, but we’ll start with today’s post being “PART I: Ooh la la! Je suis amoureuse de la France!”
So last year, sometime last summer, in July 2024 (I think), I saw a Facebook post by a friend of a friend named Karla, who is a travel consultant with The Road Now Traveled. We have a mutual friend, Dawn, who is the founder of The Road Now Traveled and also a travel consultant. Anyhoo… The Road Now Traveled shared a post from Karla about visiting “Wonderful France” in September 2025, as part of a guided tour with Trafalgar. I immediately messaged Karla and said that I was interested in the tour.
If you don’t know anything about Trafalgar, then here’s your introduction. According to their website, “Since 1947, more than five million happy past guests have discovered our difference. You’ll see top destinations, iconic sites, and get treated to exclusive local experiences – all with our team taking care of all the details. You’ll also discover the ways WE MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®, and how your journey leaves a positive impact. Do good, feel good, and make memories that last a lifetime.”
Ever since Mike passed away in July 2021, I was just so nervous about booking a trip (flight, hotel, car, activities, sightseeing etc.), and then I stumbled upon Karla’s post about visiting France with Trafalgar. “The ease. The experts. The icons. The locals. The hidden secrets. When it comes to your next vacation, nothing beats Trafalgar.”
Our travel director, Brian, lived in Paris for 20 years before moving to Berlin, Germany, where he currently resides with his wife and family. In his off time, he volunteers with Jeeps for Peace, which is a group based out of the UK that fundraises, purchases, and delivers vehicles to those in need on the Frontlines of the war in Ukraine.
Brian was so nice, and he would talk to us about each of our destinations while we were traveling there on our coach bus. He guided us around Paris, Beaune, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Monaco, Nice, Saint Tropez, Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Pont du Gard, and Avignon.
My mom and I ate croissants with butter and/or fromage (cheese) every morning for breakfast. I also ate two (yes, TWO) pain au chocolates every morning, with fruit (pineapple, oranges, grapefruit, grapes), scrambled eggs, small potatoes, and crepes. For lunch, we had some delicious ice cream or we ate at a restaurant where we were served a three-course meal. Then for dinner, we ate more three-course meals in some amazing restaurants.
On the Trafalgar “Wonderful France” tour, there were Iconic Experiences (included with the trip) as well as Optional Experiences (which cost a little extra, but totally worth the price). One of the optional experiences we chose was attending the La Nouvelle Eve Caberet and dinner show. La Nouvelle Eve was featured in “Emily in Paris”, where the venue was used for exterior shots and as the location for Mindy’s job as a drag queen and performer in the fictional club La Trompette Bleue. Ooh la la, for sure!
On that note, I’m going to bring Part I of my Trafalgar “Wonderful France” post to a close. Just know that I have HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of photos and dozens and dozens of stories. I’ll share more about the people we traveled with, the food we ate, and the places we visited. I’ll also share about how it went traveling with my 76-year-old mom, and I’ll even interview her for one of my blog posts so you can get her perspective on the trip (and what it was like traveling with me)!
Part II is in the works, but until then… Je suis amoureuse de la France!
Yours truly,
Vanessa
