About
Have you ever dreamed of going to Paris? Maybe you’ve put it off because you didn’t have a travel partner, or you felt intimidated because you don’t speak French, or because you’ve never traveled abroad? Maybe you have visited before but this time want a less touristy, more authentic experience? If so, then Meet Me in Paris is just for you…
Meet me…
Formally trained as a school psychologist, Joelle works in education specializing in children with learning disabilities, emotional disorders, ADHD, autism and developmental delays. During the summer months when the kids are out of school, she and her Yorkie, Zoé go to live in Paris. It is during this time when Joelle invites guests to meet her for a week's stay in the enchanting city of light.
As a travel host, Joelle welcomes guests to explore Paris together through guided walks, food tours & wine tastings, Paris jazz clubs & more! From the moment that travelers arrive at the Paris airport, all of your needs have already been taken care of including transportation, hotel reservations, curated itineraries, admission tickets, exclusive experiences and all of the details in between. Guests simply arrive, relax and enjoy the Parisian vibe.
Meet Me in Paris is not just about seeing monuments, but offers a taste of Parisian culture and joie de vivre (joy of living). Guests spend time in the neighborhoods hearing stories, exploring the different arrondissements, visiting the French market, checking out the live music scene, and experiencing Paris café culture. As a speaker of the French language, Joelle helps guests navigate through the bonjours and bonsoirs with the locals. As for your place of stay, your home for the week is a boutique hotel in the elegant sixth arrondissement filled with an assortment of delightful places within walking distance. Meet Me in Paris is the perfect Paris vacation for first time and returning visitors, solo travelers and those traveling with family or friends.
… in Paris.
“C'était le coup de foudre” - It was love at first sight. I remember the day when I fell in love with Paris for the first time. It was during a trip with EF Tours in April 2002, my first trip abroad in fact. Our group of 40 plus travelers had just arrived from London to the City of Light via Eurostar. On the coach ride from the Gare du Nord train station to our Paris hotel, I remember looking through the windows and feeling immediately enchanted. The cafés, the bridges, the stylish people, the architecture, the language... there was a certain mood, a certain ambiance that I had never experienced before and I instantly felt at home here.
“It was love at first sight. I remember the day I fell in love with Paris for the first time.”
— Joelle G.
Fast forward to 2011, the year that I started traveling to Paris and France as a solo traveler with Zoé, my little princess Yorkie. I knew that this time around there would be no tour guide to translate for me, and so I decided to prepare for this solo trip by taking French classes at the Alliance Française. I’m so glad that I did because not only have I met some of my best friends there, but when I arrived in Paris that summer, I realized that knowing basic phrases in French was a total game changer. I was able to go to my local boulangerie and order “une baguette tradition, s’il vous plaît”, chat with merchants at the weekly farmer’s markets, and even build friendships that still exist to this day.
Zoé in her Paris apartment
It was also during this trip where I developed a passion for French wine after an impromptu visit to “La Bordeauxthèque”, the former wine gallery attached to the Galeries Lafayette, and later that month, visiting famous wine regions such as Burgundy, Provence and the Rhone Valley. I knew then that my life would never be the same.
The Pont Neuf
Since that summer in 2011, I’ve deepened my relationship with Paris and France by being there as often as I can, usually for a month or longer at a time and staying in my favorite Parisian neighborhood Saint Germain des Prés. When in Atlanta, I enjoy hosting French themed events through Meetup and InterNations. The wine continues to be “a thing” for me (it always will be :) and in 2013 I went on to pursue formal training at Emory to become a French Wine Scholar. The Covid-19 pandemic further opened up opportunities to train remotely with schools based in France such as the Comité Champagne where I could specialize and become certified in Champagne, as well as studying French at Sorbonne University in Paris via Zoom. Nowadays, as a full-time educator with summers off, I invite guests to join me each June- July in Paris where we experience the “joie de vivre” (the joy of living) together!
