Virginie In Provence

J'ai adoré

Excellent ! comme à chaque fois que nous nous y rendons.

My family of 4 spent a week with Virginie and her family. She was amazing in teaching the 4 of us, with our disparate levels of French - truly understanding immediately what each one needed. She and her family extended truly heartfelt hospitality, including letting our kids participate in baking and decorating a birthday cake for her son. Our kids played with her kids and her cat, in the house, in the pool, in the garden, everywhere! We enjoyed meals and outings together. I don't know how Virginie does it, but she manages to connect with everyone and she is just tireless and makes learning French so fun! For example, we went on a fantastic trip to St-Remy with her, and despite the sappingly hot weather, she engaged our 6- and 8-year old in identifying key features of the Van Gogh paintings along the way. If we could, we would just live next door and have her teach us French forever. Thank you Virginie and family for welcoming us into your home and lives for a week that we'll never forget.

My daughter, grandson and I recently returned from a one week stay with Virginie. My 14 year old grandson was in France for the first time. My daughter had been in France several times and I am retired from teaching French for over 50 years and have traveled extensively in France.Virginie, Alex and the children were extremely welcoming. We immediately felt at home. The children were very well behaved and friendly. I was happy that my grandson, a beginner in French, had such an excellent experience. We are all anxious to return.My daughter and grandson had lessons together. The lessons were relaxing for them and they learned new vocabulary. I was pleased that they both were comfortable using their French when we visited Paris at the end. I didn't even have to push them to use it.In spite of my long French experience I learned a lot too. Virginie and I discussed many topics. Each topic has different vocabulary so I came away with lists of more refined expressions. In addition I am older and apparently so were some of the expressions and grammar use too. It was good to be updated. Virginie was very patient with all of my questions. I gained cultural knowledge as well.The excursions were well planned and relaxing. We went to Aix and enjoyed the market, Cézanne's workshop, and a delicious lunch. My daughter and grandson had their French lesson that day while eating a pastry in an elegant historic house in Aix. We also went to Cassis where we enjoyed another great market, the Calanques and a delicious lunch in a restaurant overlooking the harbour. Another afternoon my daughter and I went on our own excursion into the lavender fields while my grandson preferred staying home with the children. We also went with Virginie's family to the fête de la musique in the charming nearby town of Rousset. The town is very close and you can buy food there or eat in a restaurant.Virginie and Alex went out of their way to buy us pastries for the morning breakfast. They wanted us to experience all kinds of pastries. We had fruit and fruit juice as well as good coffee.I was expecting only bread and coffee. Lunch was either on the excursion, outside or around the inside table. We chose to have a few dinners and benefitted from Alex's new grill to eat a variety of meats. The children are good cooks too. Tom's rice pudding was the best I have eaten.I also had a massage. This was a first for me but I was having significant joint pain so my daughter talked me into it. After Virginie's massage nothing hurt for the rest of the trip. It was so relaxing.After comparing the price of the stay to the price we were paying before and after for hotels and food, no lessons and excursions I realised that the stay was a real bargain. It was in a beautiful location with a tennis court and pool near so many places to visit.If you want to learn French there is nothing more perfect than staying with a family and having lessons there. You are immersed not only in the language but the culture. It is a real stress free yet full and stimulating experience. We were very fortunate to have this week with Virginie and her family.

I’ve been taking French off and on for many years but as an American it is difficult to improve without travel to France. I heard about Virginie and her family from a friend in my French class in the states and immediately wanted to explore a visit to this amazing sounding home in Provence. I didn't know how I'd feel traveling by myself to someone's home I had not yet met, but the trip exceeded my expectations. Virginie is a force of nature! If you allow her, Virginie will connect with you immediately and authentically . She meets you where you are with the language and also in your life. Open and nonjudgmental, you feel safe in her home with her as your teacher. I also met Alex, her husband, and he was equally engaging, kind, and a great conversationalist. It takes special people to welcome new friends into their home and make everyone feel comfortable. The apartment connected to their home was very comfortable. It had everything I needed to feel at home. I never slept better in the peace and quiet of the setting. The rural neighborhood was also a great place for long walks and I often hopped into the pool after a hot summer day of sightseeing.Virginie's way of improving my French was to discuss movies, books, travel, and more. We did this in the car, by the pool, and eating and shopping in Aix-en-Provence and Cassis. I regularly got lists of the vocabulary words I learned and appreciated Virginie keeping track of my learning. The conversations we had mimic what you'd say in real life with friends and my French improved greatly by using this strategy. The excursions Virginie organized were icing on the cake. I didn't have to lift a finger to plan these outing, which was a relief for me, traveling alone. It was hard to choose from all the options for sightseeing in Provence. But Virginie knows all the special places to see and can tell you all about them. One of my favorites was Cezanne's atelier in Aix-en-Provence and seeing the actual objects he painted. It was a real treat to go to lunch afterwards in a typical French outdoor cafe and then to Bechard's, the oldest patisserie in Aix, for an amazing tarte! Another treat was having Virginie's eye for great photographs when we visited the lavender fields. I'll treasure these photos forever. For me, the final delight was a swim in the turquoise water of the Mediterranean in Cassis. there really are too many words, and yet not enough words to explain my trip to Virginie's home. I highly recommend this experience!

My May 2023 immersion with Virginie was truly a wonderful experience.With my sister Lynne’s encouragement, I started studying French during the pandemic with classes on Zoom. I am still very much a beginning student. Lynne had been to Virginie’s twice before and felt a real sisterhood with her and learned so much! So, when she planned her third trip and asked me to join her, I was thrilled but very apprehensive about my limited knowledge of French!After meeting Virginie, I quickly realized she is so intuitive and connects with each of her students, with compassion, at your level. She is a natural professor, so knowledgeable not only about the expertise of the French language, but about her country, art, history, current events, things to do and see. She is a warm and welcoming hostess and excellent chef inviting her students to her home and include you in their family, if you wish. She immediately made me feel comfortable and I was so excited to learn and left my anxieties behind. Since my sister is at a higher level of French, we had separate lessons which worked out nicely. Among other things, I wanted to practice my pronunciation of the lovely subtle sounds of French. I think I made some headway! We also worked on vocabulary, passe compose, common expressions and so much more.The beautiful thing was spending time with Virginie and her sweet family in the French countryside and absorbing the life and language around you. Her husband and three kids are adorable and Lily, who is seven and as sweet and smart as can be, helped me one day with my homework. “Par exemple”, she would say, and give me some hints. Loved it!We were there for 11 days and went on several excursions. These outings were so much fun, in addition to learning about France and of course, more French! One of the excursions was to Chateau La Coste, where we spent the morning hiking through the amazing sculpture park and ended with a lovely lunch at the chic outdoor café. Another day we laughed and shopped our way through market day in Cassis and ended with lunch at Chez Gilbert, a café famous for their bouillabaisse, overlooking the marina.The studio apartment attached to their home provided twin beds, two comfy chairs, a nice kitchenette with a small bar to sit at, plenty of closet space for the week and a nice shower/bathroom. We had the opportunity to enjoy their pool and the outdoors surrounding their home in the countryside. I loved every minute of my stay and I think you would, too!

My 17 year old son recently stayed with Virginie in Provence for a few days of French immersion.I only have positive things to say about the experience!Communication with Virginie was easy and smooth, and she was extremely professional and helpful every step of the way. Any doubts I had before booking disappeared as soon as we started contact over email. Virginie responded to all my questions promptly, was highly accommodating to suit our needs, and I knew immediately I was in great hands.According to my son, Virginie, as well as the rest of her family, were nothing but friendly, radiating positive energy and made him feel comfortable from the very beginning. He said that everyone was very welcoming and kind, and he said that he was well fed. The weather in Provence was beautiful (it was April) and he said they ate outdoors a few times and also went out for walks.Virginie provided quality lessons and was also very engaging - she definitely made my son speak a lot of French every day. What was also great was the fact that she was aware of his interests (you fill in a questionnaire beforehand) and she provided a thoughtful program that is personalised. For example, one day she arranged a squash lesson for him because I told her that my son is a keen squash player, and another day she took him to a museum when she found out that he likes art.Every day I got updates with photographs from Virginie, which I appreciated as I did not get any news from my teenage son, let alone photos…I can thoroughly recommend Virginie in Provence, without any hesitation!

Tout simplement, Virginie est merveilleuse! This September I spent two weeks studying French with Virginie in the lovely setting of Rousset in Provence. Chaque matin nous prenions le petit déjeuner ensemble. Fresh bread from the local market, creamy butter, and French coffee—heavenly. But it wasn’t merely the delicious food that made each day special. It was Virginie’s good humor, patience, and confidence in me to speak French.I had arrived with a fair amount of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge, but like so many French learners, I lacked confidence to actually speak French. But Virginie met me at my level and guided me to talk in French. We covered a wide range of subjects, too. Often in answer to a question, I would say, “Okay, this is too complicated. I have to say this in English.” She would listen, and then say, “D’accord, now say it in French.” And surprisingly, I was able to (give or take a few words, like housewarming" or "blackmail

Excellent stay for French immersion for our 2 children. Virginie was encouraging and patient and made it much more fun than traditional lessons. It was also wonderful to have the chance as adults to talk more French and Virginie was very generous with her time to help us improve as well. The location is superb, lovely walks from the door as well as hikes nearby on Saint Victoire.

Virginie was great! She spent time teaching French to both me and my 6 year old son. I was worried he wouldn’t sit through the lessons, but Virginie made them fun and enjoyable to him. They baked cakes and gardened and played games. Virginie’s family was wonderful. Her kids were so well-behaved and so welcoming to my son. I really felt like my son became friends with them. I loved our time there and my terrible French improved in the one week that we spent there (even though the lessons were mostly for my son). We are looking forward to going again next summer!