July 5, 2007

France anyone?

AVAC members storm the provinces

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

Memories of a vacation are often remembered fondly but for Almaden Valley Athletic Club [AVAC] members, the word most often for their recent trip to France is “fabulous.”

AVAC members recently traveled to France for a trip of a lifetime. Here, members and friends pose in front of the Eifel Tower in Paris.

Every year, AVAC plans a trip and this year 26 members vacationed abroad in France. Five days were spent in Paris with tours of Versailles and Giverny. A motor coach ride escorted the group through Burgundy and stopped at Beaune. And then they boarded the M/S Provence in Chalon sur Saone River cruising through Lyon, Tournon, Avignon, Arles, Aix en Provence and Rhone.

As “fabulous” as the locale was, many of the vacationers were just as moved visiting the American cemetery in Draguignan and Nice where Grand Circle Tours arranged to have a fellow traveler and World War II vet place a wreath on the grave of an unmarked soldier.

“I loved everything on the trip,” said Mary Ann Smith, AVAC senior wellness director who arranged the dream vacation. “A friend of mine who lives in Paris gave me some good advice, ‘do me a favor, visit some of the tourist sites but also take time to sit and have a coffee and watch the people go by.’ I did take his advice. I especially loved having dinner with a French couple in their home and going to the Beaujolais vineyard. The wine cave was such a new experience for me. I just can’t say enough about this trip. It was a fantastic time!”

AVAC members enjoyed a dinner in a Parisian couple’s home. From left: Host Bernard Tisserand, AVAC senior wellness director Mary Ann Smith, Joan Hahn, Florence Giacinto, Gil Smith, Marion Hill, Marilyn Haines, Dee Chase and Sue Hughes.

Smith plans each trip, and chooses when and where AVAC members and friends will attend. Previous vacations have included a cruise from Seattle to Vancouver and Victoria. The second trip was a walking tour of Italy. In 2005, a group sailed from Venice to the Greek Isles. And this past May, was the piece de resistance—13 days in France.

A visit to French Impressionist Claude Monet’s home and gardens in Giverny was especially meaningful to the group, complete with the water lily pond where the master lived and worked from 1890 after he had sold some of his paintings.

“It was like a dream,” said Almaden resident Joan Hahn. “It was my third time but first time with a group. Paris is so gorgeous. We saw the Mona Lisa. It’s so exciting to see the paintings—the real thing. Monet’s home was a rush of color—so gorgeous. It really gave you an understanding of why he painted.”

Mary Ann Smith enjoyed the Monet Gardens in Giverny with her traveling companions on the Japanese bridge that the painter built when he lived there. AVAC’s Smith plans the vacation tours for members and friends. She has worked for AVAC for 18-years but became senior wellness director 6-years ago.

Hahn recalled the river cruise with old castles, lambs wandering the lush countryside and swans at the edge of the water bank. And she made use of her French, speaking the language to vendors and at the dinner tastefully hosted by Bernard and Patricia Tisserand.

“Our tour group was great—we really bonded together” said Hahn, who has been a member of AVAC for 15 years. “Everyone fit in and got along. And everything was planned out completely. The most fun was having dinner with the French couple. It was one of the tastiest dinners. It was a thrill. And I got to use my French.”

The Tisserand’s opened their home to guests of the Grand Circle Tour river cruises every Monday evening and serve a leisurely French dinner. A quiche with a Kir aperitif followed by a plate of assorted greens with sliced home grown tomatoes with a slice of pate was the appetizer. The entrée was a Basque chicken dish likened to cacciatore with rice. And for dessert, a semonlina bundt cake with raisins and a caramel sauce. The tour group arrived during a blinding rain storm with lightening and crashing thunder, which only added to the magical setting with their charming hosts.

An open air market in Lyon where fresh vegetables and fruits could be purchased. From left: Mary Ann Smith and Carmen Braun. Photos courtesy of Mary Ann Smith

“Cruising the river was such a relaxing atmosphere to explore a country,” said Almaden resident Vickie Poitevin who has been an AVAC member for four years. “This was my first trip with the club [AVAC] and it was a wonderful experience. And my husband Mike had a marvelous time as well. It’s a beautiful country.”

Poitevin was struck by the sense of history and pride of country that she experienced in France where public buildings are centuries old and “people relaxing on the grass” graciously took time to give them directions.

“It was a wonderful trip,” said Marion Hill, a widow who travels from Willow Glen to attend AVAC and has found support with the many friends she’s made of AVAC members. “There was no standing in line or assigned seating. It was a wonderful, safe way to travel. It was really special. I’m ready to go on the next trip.”