Moi, c’est Holly.
Teacher, traveler, writer, mother, avid Francophile, and flaneuse.
My Story
It all started on a high school trip to France at 15 years old. From the moment I stepped off the metro and onto the bustling streets of Paris, I fell in love with French culture and was mesmerized by the French language.
Fast forward 20 years, and the love story continues. After earning a BA in French and studying abroad in the southeastern city of Grenoble, I became a high-school French teacher and, in a full-circle moment, began leading groups of students to France in the summer. Few things have given me greater joy in life than witnessing a student put their French knowledge into practice in a real-world setting.
Since then, I have tutored students of all ages and levels, with one uniting factor—
they want to learn real French, usable French, not a series of random vocabulary words. My greatest desire is to help you speak confidently, lean into French with your full heart and soul, and to travel abroad with boldness.
If France feeds the soul, the French language is the champagne.
Canary-yellow mimosa flowers dotted the sidewalks in front of the fleuristes. I ducked into a patisserie to grab a galette des rois, nodding a “bonne journée” to the shopkeeper, savoring its flaky almond texture while crossing over the Seine. The cold felt biting yet welcoming on my face as I sat down for the most luxuriously rich chocolat chaud before continuing my adventures. By late afternoon, my body felt weary but my heart was bursting with the excitement and energy that perhaps only Paris can give.
“On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.”
-Saint Exupéry
