Brian Eno, David Byrne, and Talking Heads asked this question over forty years go (and the song "Once in A Lifetime" still holds up today).

Many of my clients know how I got here but the majority probably don't. Like many travel advisors, it was a winding road that led me to turn an avocation into a profession with the founding of Mon Voyage.

The Travel Bug Bit Me Early

In my youth, it was not typical for middle-class families to travel internationally. And we were very typical, usually driving to not-too-distant beaches for our summer vacations. 

But during my sophomore year of high school, I was invited to participate in a French-language exchange program that resulted in my spending part of the summer with a family in Quebec. The following year, I received a scholarship to study French at a university in the Loire Valley.  After spending that summer on my own in France, it was all over. I knew I would be going back as often as possible.

Fast forward to my senior year of college at Tulane. At this time (a girl needs to pay her rent), I was exercising my creative talents as a milliner at Fleur de Paris, the most elegant ladies' boutique in New Orleans. The Newcomb College dean strongly urged me to apply for a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which would provide a very generous stipend for a year of independent study abroad. My proposal involved apprenticing myself to milliners in London, Paris, and Florence. I was selected that year as one of about forty fellows from across the country, and off I went to Europe again, at long last.

The Logistics of Immersion

Since the Watson Fellowship explicitly precludes enrolling in "organized" education, each fellow is tasked with making all international and cross-border arrangements for the study project, accommodations, financial management, transportation--everything. (This was not as easy in the 1980s!) But I was ready to tackle the challenges and enjoyed an incredible experience during my time in Europe. 

Having honed my craft and expanded my horizons, I returned to the US after eleven months. I moved back into my apartment and settled back into my millinery position. I was very successful in that career, being featured on television and in newspapers, and I had at least a dozen hats displayed at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Midway through my tenure at the boutique, I moved to Dallas for my husband's career opportunity and began commuting to New Orleans several times a month. 

I returned to Europe as often as i could, every two or three years. I took painstaking time and effort to plan these trips and they were wonderful. Each time I felt as if I were returning to my second home. Friends and acquaintances would marvel at the experiences my husband I were able to enjoy, thanks to my diligent advance work (and the language skills help). 

A Natural Evolution

After fifteen years of commuting between Dallas and New Orleans, I decided it was time for a change. Around that same time, a few people started asking me if they could pay me to plan their trips. Naturally, I said yes, and I knew immediately what the name of my new business would be. With a French degree and a flair for customized itinerary planning, Mon Voyage said it all: My Trip.

Within just a few years, clients began asking me to travel with them, and Mon Voyage began to offer Small Group Trips. The first domestic trip was to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (2010), and the first international destination was France (2011). Now there are three to five opportunities a year for clients to join me on an escorted trip. Often these itineraries are centered around art, history, music, and culture, which tend to be strong interests of my clients. Indeed, several music organizations have engaged Mon Voyage to plan trips for their supporters over the years.

What's Next? Where Am I Going? Where are WE Going?

Today I must carefully balance my time between planning private client trips and creating these Small Group Trip packages. The relationship is a circular one: some of my private clients join the group trips and sometimes a group trip participant becomes a private client.

The past few years have been a relentless rollercoaster ride in the travel industry, but we have strongly rebounded. I've had so many private clients traveling this spring and summer that I'm behind on my billing. And I have been to Europe six times in the last 12 months; five weeks from now I'll be back in France. (If you're feeling spontaneous and want to join us, message me!)

In November, I'll be taking a group to Mexico City. In 2023, we'll have a Dallas Opera Guild road trip in February; we'll sail a music-centric Danube itinerary in the spring with a post-cruise sojourn in Vienna; soon afterward there's a trip to Ireland (mid-May or late June); and lastly, I invite you on a fall foliage Rhine cruise with an extension to Lake Como.

For 2024, I'm working on a Mekong Delta cruise (with an extension to Angkor Wat) for January; a trip to explore the best of Argentina in March; and a Greece itinerary (with Crete for sure!) in the early fall. I'd love to add an Africa trip for the summer if we have enough takers...otherwise, perhaps Quebec City?

Client participation my annual survey has helped determine these destinations, so if you didn't complete the survey this year, I invite you to join in next year. The 2023 Ireland trip was completely born from the survey suggestion box a few years ago. I always include an open request for future ideas and Ireland kept popping up...

Enough About Me...How About You?

How did you become a traveler? Was it gradual? Was there a single trip that just changed your outlook on life? I'd love to hear about it via reply to this email or in our private Facebook group, the MV Travel Hub. I'll post a thread there for your responses. 

If you'd like to be kept in the loop and have first dibs on any group trip I've mentioned above, or need help with an independent trip in 2023 or 2024, please drop me a line.

In the meantime, try not to wilt under the heat!