Dear Friends of French Affaires!
Greetings from South Carolina. I have been wanting to send out a fresh Newsletter for the coming year.
I was able to visit Dallas a month ago and meet with two groups of travelers. Those headed to Normandy in June, and those doing the “Live Like a Local” two-week language immersion in Aix-en-Provence in August-September. If any of you are interested in the language trip to Provence, there is still room. I am happy to send you further details.
I am just now back from a trip to France. February is a pleasant time. It turned out to be warmer than the odd snowy winter blast we were experiencing in the United States.
My associate Hélène Herve (https://en.vignes-emoi.com/) and I spent four days in the Loire Valley organizing a new French Affaires trip. “The Splendor of the Loire.” Hélène is a wine specialist from Valbonne in the South of France. She grew up south of the Loire Valley and we decided this was a region French Affaires needed to return to.
Included in this 7-day trip will be visits to the remarkable Chateaux of Chenonceau, Chambord and Amboise. Le Clos Lucé, bearing the mark left by the famed Leonardo de Vinci (during France’s sixteenth-century love affair with things Italian), is not to be missed. Three vineyards especially selected by Hélène, including the Chateau of Montdomaine (https://montdomaine.fr/en/) where we will be hosted by the owners and dine in their manor home. We will also enjoy a wine degustation by boat alongside the Chateau of Chenonceau. A must-see stop is the stunning twelfth-century Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, where Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England are buried, near the wine village of Chinon (https://www.fontevraud.fr/en/). And no trip to the Loire would be complete without a Montgolfière (hot air balloon) ride over the sumptuous chateaux of the region and the Loire River.
We have made some very special personal contacts on this visit and have selected hotel accommodation in Amboise, which will serve as our center for the trip. We are aiming for a Fall 2026 date or Spring of 2027. If you are interested in this trip, please contact me. Cost $6450 per person double accommodation, for six nights lodging, meals and transport from Paris CDG airport. Brochure to follow.
Leaving Hélène to visit her family in the Vendée, I drove north to Paris for a three-day visit. My brother Peter arrived to celebrate his recent retirement. French Affaires specialist, guide, fellow-traveler and close friend Maud Hacker was able to give us a tour of St. Denis. Maud is always anxious to share with clients the insider story of Paris Fashion history. We have a trip available should you be interested. It is one
of the very best French Affaires offerings! Gather your friends and let’s go. Happy to send a brochure.
I then spent four days in our former village of Courances, seeing the old friends Elizabeth and I cherished during our years there. I served as guide for my brother, visiting Chartres, the cathedrals of Auxerre and Sens, and the local sites around Fontainebleau.
I am confident that Elizabeth watches over all the close friends from her beloved French Affaires. I am always amazed at the impact she had both in France and in the USA. Our roads in France rise up to meet me.
On behalf of Maud and Hélène, I send my warm best wishes. Please come join us in 2026!
Yours sincerely,
Chris
PS. My new book on Nicolas Fouquet appeared in the Fall under the title “The Predestinate: Ecclesiastes and the Man Who Outshone the Sun King” (Baylor University Press, 2025). The story would not have come to me without the rich times Elizabeth and I had together in France, living not far from his architectural wonder, the Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte.
And be on the lookout for a new link at the website, focusing on Maud’s unique Paris offerings, “Maud a la Mode.”