Paris trip group photo

Paris Odyssey participants

A trip to Paris led by a recently retired 杨贵妃传媒视频 French professor and a 杨贵妃传媒视频 alumna steeped in Parisian culture highlighted 杨贵妃传媒视频-sponsored travel in 2024.

Eilene Hoft-March, French professor emeritus, and Charlotte King, class of 2009 and current co-owner of the Parisian travel agency Bacchus & Clio, served as hosts for the late-September Paris trip, dubbed Parisian Odyssey. Eilene鈥檚 passion for French literature and history paired with Charlotte鈥檚 intimate knowledge of French culture and cuisine were an ideal match as the group explored the City of Light.

杨贵妃传媒视频 has been leading educational travel experiences to all parts of the world for lifelong learners. In the past 15 months, there have been excursions to Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand, not to mention opportunities to explore several cities while cruising on the Danube River. I was kicking myself that I hadn鈥檛 signed up for the Parisian Odyssey. Lucky for me, I happened to meet up with Eilene at a 叠箩枚谤办濒耻苍诲别苍 clean-up day in December and was able to do the following impromptu interview about the Paris experience:

Sue Pappas (SP): How many people traveled with you? Had they been to Paris before? How well did they speak French?

Eilene Hoft-March (EH-M): We were 26 people in all, seasoned travelers by any measure and most with previous experience in Paris. Some had a few years of French that still served them well; others made good efforts to communicate in the language. They were game for each new experience that Charlotte cued up for us. It was a privilege to travel in such enjoyable company.

Paris Trip 2

Observing Cordon Bleu chef prepare meal for group

SP: Describe the area where you stayed. Was it convenient to many of the sites you were seeing? 

EH-M: We were in a 4-star hotel tucked away off the Boulevard des Italiens, a vigorous stone鈥檚 throw away from the Op茅ra Garnier (of Phantom fame!). The beautiful Palais Royal gardens were less than 15 minutes鈥 walk as were the Tuileries gardens. Twenty minutes of brisk walking got you to the Seine and some of its most iconic views.

SP: How did you get to other sites located further away? Was the Metro easy to use?

EH-M: We used the Metro for a lot of our city travel. The marvel is that we managed not to lose anyone for too long!

SP: After all the summer tourism in Paris, were the Parisians still throwing out the welcome mat?

EH-M: I鈥檝e run into my share of cranky Parisians (and New Yorkers and Appletonians鈥), but I must say, people were kind and welcoming to our group. Most notable were the young people who offered seats in the metro or answered questions with courtesy and enthusiasm. And central Paris was as clean as ever I鈥檝e seen it. Understandably, great efforts had been undertaken to make the city shine for the Olympics and the ParaOlympics. 

SP: Were you very disappointed that your trip was a few weeks too early to see the incredible reopening of Notre Dame?

EH-M: Yes. On the other hand, Charlotte got us tickets to a virtual tour of Notre Dame, which had us walking through the 12th century building site, rising up into the bell towers, and peering over the city through the ages. (Charlotte also caught us on video with our virtual reality goggles, sidling up to invisible sites, crouching and bobbing and shuffling around the 鈥渃athedral.鈥)

A special shout-out to Matt Baumler for his enthusiastic presence and careful shepherding, to Charlotte King for her fun presentations and her excellent choice of unusual activities and exquisite dining, and to her colleague, Franck Ramage, who guided us through many a bottle of wine and champagne.

Miriam and John Jenkins on Champagne Cruise along the Seine

Miriam & John Jenkins on Champagne Cruise on the Seine

Future Travel Opportunities

To learn more about upcoming trips including
(Aug. 31-Sept. 12, 2025) and
The Northern Lights of Finland (March 19-30, 2026)
visit the
LU Events & Travel homepage.