Get to know your host Grenville Jones
In 1965, at the age of 15, I went to Europe on a tour with 1 of my school masters from Bishop’s College School in Lennoxville. QC. We were a small group, traveling by van in the UK, France, Belgium & Holland for 5 & 1/2 weeks. It was at that time that I realized I was very fortunate to have had such an experience.
In 1971, while at Acadia University in Wolfville, I wanted to return to France. I had an opportunity to do a summer school course In Nice. I travelled through numerous countries on a rail pass prior to settling in at la Faculté des Lettres campus overlooking the beautiful city and la baie des Anges.
Soon after, I became a teacher of FSL. While attending a language conference in Halifax in 1983, I found an opportunity to teach in Nice in the summer with a group from Ontario. I spent 3 summers prior to making a decision that would change my life.
In 1989, along with a colleague from Paris, we established a summer language experience in Brittany. We used school facilities in St-Malo and La Baule. We not only taught, but also took our students on all sorts of interesting excursions. As time passed, many parents asked me why I didn’t offer any adult tours. In fact, we did have families join us on “tag-alongs” as we travelled through the Loire Valley and finally to Paris.
I retired from teaching in 2005 and from that point onward, I began to offer small group adult tours in France. The 2 most popular requests are WW1&2 Battlefields in northern France and Belgium as well as D-Day tours in Normandy and Brittany. The 2nd most popular tour includes the Loire Valley, Brittany and Normandy with a few days in Paris to conclude.