the times Saturday January 23 2016

38 Travel

Activity break

How to turnFrench lessonsinto a holidayCarol Lewis heads to the LoireValley for a language coursethat includes cookery lessons,sightseeing and Scrabble

six) or an en suite attic room in the mainhouse. Some meals are taken with Sylvieand Mark and, depending on yourlanguage ability, will be accompanied byconversation in French.The lessons and activities are tailored to

the students but Reeves’s speciality ispairing English and French students, witheach speaking the other’s language. This isa lot more fun than expected.Wemeet Lydia Labalette, the director of

innovation at the local abbey, Abbaye deFontevraud. Labalette and I get along andchat easily: she in English and I in French.During an abbey tour, she details the richhistory and the modern art installations.Reeves prompts us from time to time toelaborate or to ask certain questions andalso, rather disconcertingly, scribblesnotes about our performance on aclipboard.Natasha and I also tour a sparklingwine

company, Louis de Grenelle, in Saumur.Here, we are shown around miles of

underground tuffeau caves and tastewine with two of Louis’s grand-sons, Etienne Bodet andCharlesFlao, who are also learningEnglish with Reeves. It feelslike we are getting an insid-er’s view of local sites,having fun and learningFrench at the same time.Well I am. Natasha hashardly said a word.But thenmydaughterwas

less than enthused about ourtrip. “Speaking French andhaving lessons— you call that

a holiday?” she said in horrorwhen I told her about the plan.

Once at theReeves’ home, shemadefriends with the cat and seemed happy

swimming in the pool.The first formal lesson, though, is a

I’am struggling to express myselfon a range of topics, from theimmigrant crisis to subsidies forEuropean farmers. It’s not thatI don’t have opinions. It’s becausewe are speaking in French — orrather, everyone else around

the dining table is.I appear to be enacting comedian

Eddie Izzard’s “le singe est surla branche” sketch as I try to twist whatlittle French vocabulary I have to fit theoccasion. I’mnot surehowmy long-suffer-ing hosts Nadine, who Imet when I was 15on a school exchange trip, and her hus-band Eric keep their faces straight.Neither Nadine nor I left school with

any useful language qualifications—LatinGCSEnotbeingall thathelpful—and over the years our enthusiasm forwriting in each other’s language haswaned. Correspondence was brieflyre-kindled with the discovery of GoogleTranslate, with some hilarious results. Ivisited from time to time, relying on morefluent boyfriends to lead the conversation.Then, ten years ago, I ran out of French-speaking boyfriends and communicationvirtually stopped.Now I am back sitting in their

farmhouse kitchen just outside Angers inthe Loire Valley, because my 13-year-olddaughter, Natasha, and I are on ourway tospend a week on a French languageimmersion holiday. The plan had been todo the course and then come and show offour finely honed language skills but, for avariety of reasons, I’m attempting todiscuss the Syrian situation, inFrench, the evening before ourcourse begins.It is no coincidence that my

school exchange trip and thelanguage course were bothin the Loire Valley. It is herethat the purest French issaid to be spoken. This isthe French of textbooks,untaintedbyheavyaccents,making the area a focalpoint for language students.Natasha and I are guests in

the home of language teacherSylvie Reeves and her Englishhusband, Mark, in the village ofFontevraud, just outside Saumur.Reeves runs the Parfum de Francelanguage school where she offers gueststheoptionof staying in a gîte (which sleeps

Carol Lewis was a guest ofParfum de France(00 33 2 41 51 78 74,parfumdefrance-fr.com)which offers week-longFrench immersion coursesfrom €1,600pp (£1,220),including B&B, dinnersand lessons. Train travelfrom London to Saumurcosts from £100pp return(0844 8485848,voyages-sncf.com)

Need toknow

Angers Tours

Le Mans

Nantes

20 miles

Loire

LOIRE VALLEY

SaumurFontevraud

PoitiersLa Roche-sur-Yon

Carol Lewis and herdaughter, Natasha

shock for both of us. Simply concentratingfor twohours inaclassroomischallenging.Myconfidenceplummets as the inadequa-cies of my French grammar are exposed.WearesethomeworkeachdayandI spenda lot of timeon it, feelingdespondent atmylack of ability. Natasha reads The HungerGames andmocksme for trying to impressthe teacher.Mydaughter does, however, come to life

during a cookery lesson with FabriceBretel, a chef and owner of La Licorne res-taurant. Bretel doesn’t speak any Englishbut has a great sense of humour and con-veys a lot with a smile and shrug. Follow-ing his instructions we stuff carrot puréeinto penne, make garlic mushroom polen-ta, and bake duck in salt with lavender. It isone of the highlights of the holiday.On the last day Reeves suggests that

NatashaandIhaveseparate lessons. Ihaveamind-bogglinghour-and-a-half of gram-mar. Natasha has half-an-hour of playingScrabble in French, which she declares “alot of fun” — high praise from theless-than-effusive teenager.Not all our time is taken upwith lessons.

Natasha and I have plenty of opportunityto explore onour own.Wevisit the famousCadre noir riding school in Saumur, thenearby château atMontsoreau, and a hostof great restaurants. Towards the end ofthe week, over stacks of pancakes withchocolate andcream, I ask forher viewsontheholiday. “I’ve learntmoreFrench in thefive days here than I have in five years oflessons at school,” she says.On our last evening we meet Labalette

for drinks and a meal in the abbey’s swishnew hotel bar and restaurant. Labaletteand I decide that we would like to stay intouch. So, 30 years aftermy first trip to theLoire I have recruited a second penpal.Next time we meet, I hope I won’t be lostfor words.

Learn a new skill on your travelsCreative writing in GreeceThe Skyros Centre, in a hillsidevillage on the eponymous island,offers a choice of three coursesthroughout a week-long stay:drawing classes, health andwellbeing lessons, and a writers’lab. The last offers inspirationfrom named authors, andcourses are open to all, fromnovices to those who alreadyhave a book under their belt.Days start with a yoga class to getyou in the right frame of mind.Details Seven nights’ half-board,including courses but not flights,costs from £675 (skyros.com)

Photography in IcelandWhat a shame that one of theworld’s most amazing naturalphenomena, the northern lights,is such a headache to capture onfilm. This nine-night “Coast & Ice”photography tour of Icelandfocuses on committing thecountry’s incredible landscapes —black beaches, ice caverns,lava fields and waterfalls — toyour memory card, andphotographing that pesky auroraborealis if and when theopportunity arises.Details Nine nights’ full board,travel and tuition costs from£2,500 (01273 823700,responsibletravel.com).Wow Air has return flightsto Reykjavik from £112(wowair.co.uk)

Cooking in SpainThis small “Spanish Inspiration”group tour of Madrid, Toledo andAndalusia allows intimatecooking demonstrations witha local chef in their home.Visitors learn about seasonalingredients, including how towhip up classics such asgazpacho and patatas bravas,and the best way to makesangria. Other excursions includeolive oil tastings, a tour of tapasbars and a sherry factory visit.Details Nine nights’ B&B costsfrom £1,710pp, includingtransfers, three evening meals,one lunch and classes, but notflights to Madrid (020 89870990, backroadstouring.com)

Knitting in the FaroesThanks to detective Sarah Lundin the TV series The Killing, FaroeIslands jumpers are still one of thecountry’s top exports — and withmore sheep than people, theremote Danish archipelago is theperfect place to hold a knittingbreak. Go there between April 16-18 for the annual knitting festival,when the town of Fuglafjordurbecomes one big knitting club,and stay at the Gjaargardurguesthouse, which offers courses.Details Three nights’ B&Bcosts from £1,095pp, includingflights (0845 5195242,magneticnorthtravel.com)James Ellis

the times Saturday January 23 2016

Abbaye de Fontevraud

JASON LANGLEY/CORBIS

Travel 39