How to have the perfect French immersion retreat in Paris

HOW TO HAVE THE PERFECT FRENCH IMMERSION RETREAT IN PARIS

So, do you want to become a fluent French speaker so that you can have the great accomplishment of speaking a second language?

Want to impress and inspire your family and friends, by showing them that, with some focus in the right direction, being bilingual doesn’t have to be that hard?

Do you dream to eventually go on an immersion in Paris to perfect your language in order to be able to communicate with the natives?

They say that people don’t remember what you are saying, but they remember how you make them feel. How much better you think they’d feel around you if you spoke to the natives in their own mother tongue?

Would that be important for your personal development, for work, for fun?

Scroll down to read the journal of my first immersion retreat in Paris, and watch the video to see the French immersion at its best.

(This week, the J’Ouellette® French Immersion in Paris 1:1)

First, please keep in mind that each Immersion is custom designed based on the student’s preferences, so no two retreats are alike.

Now please scroll down to see how the first ever J’Ouellette® French immersion retreat looked like.

Journal – VIP Private Immersion Retreat 1:1 “April in Paris” 2014

After almost missing the plane, watching “12 years a slave” and a couple of hours of sleep, I made it to the starting point of the J’Ouellette® Immersion Retreat!

Much love, and I’ll keep you posted!

(L’aéroport Charles de Gaulle et moi)

IMMERSION DAY 1: le 26 avril

18:00 – 22:00 Dîner et conversation
Rendez-vous à Shakespeare & Co.

We made conversation over a poor Croque Monsieur (I didn’t think that that could be done – poor croque monsieur, that is) and a ‘meh’ Café chantilly (viennois)… again, didn’t dream that someone can succeed to do this But I guess you pay for the location (vis-à-vis Notre Dame) The evening was wonderful, rain and sun and rain and moon. We had to leave when a bold guitarist started to rock ‘n roll across the street at 10pm and we couldn’t hear each other anymore – conversation class was done 🙂

IMMERSION DAY 2: le 27 avril

10:00 – 18:00 Musée du Louvre: visite des collections permanentes
L’audioguide officiel du musée du Louvre téléchargé sur votre iPhone ou Android

Oh, my, the unpredictable weather, but my, oh my, the rewarding sun and the spirit of the Louvre, today! We visited le Parcours Chefs d’œuvres and Incontournables, with the highlights la Joconde (Mona Lisa) and Aphrodite de Milos, better known as the Venus de Milo. In the break, a goo-ood soupe d’oignons and café chantilly. Watch the video for a lil’ taste of Louvre 😉

IMMERSION DAY 3: le 28 avril

15:30 – 17:30 L’atelier des Chefs: Techniques de Chef autour de L’asperge
Rendez-vous à l’atelier de Paris Hôtel de Ville
18:00 – 20:00 Conversation

Here is what we learned to cook at “Atelier des chefs”, in French:

1. Carpaccio de veau au miel de truffe, tagliatelle d’asperges blanches
2. Crème d’asperges vertes, oeuf poché et échalotes au poivre
3. Crumble d’asperges blanches à la tomme du Ried sauce mousseline
4. Cromesquis d’asperges vertes, jus mousseux au foie gras

The eating was no easy task – we only could have the food as a takeout, and we thought it would be fun to have it in parc tour St-Jacques. But in Paris you can hardly find plastic cutlery, so, I have to confess, that it took less than 3 days for two North Americans to desperately look for a McDonald’s in Paris 😀

We ended up using stirrers from Starbucks as chop sticks for the solid part, and tiny little plastic teaspoons from McDonald’s for sauce – can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard 🙂

Ended the day with a coffee at Café de Flore.

IMMERSION DAY 4: le 29 avril

13:00 – 19:00 Parisien d’un jour: Une balade avec volontaire LACOUR René-Gustave
Rendez-vous à Métro Palais Royal sortie Place Colette

With our waggish volunteer guide, René-Gustave (From “Parisien d’un jour”) we had a 6-hour tour of Paris, to see the little secret places that only Parisians know, everything spoken in French.

From Palais Royal with its Murano subway station, Galerie Vivienne and other 5 or 6 galeries, Théatre des bouffs parisiens, la Rotonde, Opéra Garnier, Galeries Lafayette, Le Grand Véfour, Ladurée, and everything in between – history, architecture, customs and trends.

We had sun, wind, rain and lots of French jokes – but all in all, we had so much fun! We had a madeleine in front of La Madeleine at his express request, and a coffee at Café de Paris.

IMMERSION DAY 5: le 30 avril

13:30 – 18:30 Versailles: tour audioguidé
Rendez-vous à 11 l’avenue de l’Opéra

Aujourd’hui: Palais de Versailles !

Some of the rooms that we were able to visit are: salon d’Hercule, salon de l’Abondance, salon de Vénus, salon de Diane, salon de Mars, la chamber du lit, la sale du trône, chambre du Roi, chamber de la Reine, and of course, galerie des Glaces. Not being the weekend, we didn’t see the fountains working, so most of the French we did was by listening at the French audio-guide and doing conversation inside the Palace. After a very intense (and long) day yesterday, we took it a little slower today, for a change of rhythm. Watch the video below and imagine you were here with us!

IMMERSION DAY 6: le 1 mai

10:00 – 22:00 Montmartre, Sacré Cœur, Notre Dame, Cartier Latin
Rendez-vous à Métro Lamarck Caulaincourt

Heavy rain, wind and cold could not stop this immersion team today! We started the day at 10:00 and ended it at 22:00 – guided by the same René-Gustave of “Parisien d’un jour” who you met 2 days ago. He became family and we shed a tear (I know I did) when we said our good-byes – feet wet and cold, tired but happy – over a café maison at Café de Flore. He said that he wants to be the family who is waiting for us when I come back next – I didn’t meet anyone that passionate about their city and the people who they guide.

Not knowing a word of English made him my perfect partner in crime.

Montmartre, Sacré Cœur, Moulin Rouge, Marché des fleurs, Notre Dame are just the well known sites from today’s adventure. Hidden doors, roman pavement stones, secret private hotels, the Wall of Philip II Augustus built in 1,200 hidden in an underground parking lot, a solar dial by Dali on a random building are just a few examples from at least 100 other hidden jewels that only René-Gustave can know.

It was an adventure 180 degrees from your typical touristic guided tour of Paris – which is what I was looking for in the first place. It left us with the feeling that we saw and now know places that the vast majority of tourists don’t even dream they exist, made us a part of an impromptu and exclusive expedition in space and time designed by a Parisian heart of gold.

IMMERSION DAY 7: le 2 mai

12:00 – 14:00 Déjeuner sur la Seine: conversation
22:00 – 23:00 Trocadéro conversation
Rendez-vous au Quai de la Bourdonnais

Our last day of the immersion was marked by a lunch on Bateaux Parisiens where we made conversation, drew a few retrospective conclusions, and ended the day with the Eiffel tower’s sparkly lights.

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
What is the ONE most important take-out from this journal, and how would you change the French immersion retreat to fit your taste and needs?

Let me guess.