Fabulous guide in Paris

Our family (husband, wife, 16-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter) visited France and Belgium for three weeks in June ’03. While in Paris, we arrived at the Sainte-Chapelle minutes before a free English-language tour was to begin. It was the luckiest day of our trip!

The guide, Vicki-Marie Petrick, was a native of Jacksonville, Florida, who has been living in Paris for 10 years. She has a Master’s in Medieval and Renaissance Art History from the Sorbonne and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Medieval Art History. She also has a background in theater and she teaches.

Vicki-Marie was amazing. Very entertaining and engaging, she pleased everyone in the group, from those with little knowledge of art and history up to those (like my son) who can’t get enough of it.

We learned about the Roman Catholic Church in the 13th century, building techniques of the day, 13th-century demographics, why Louis desperately needed some really hot relics and a showplace to house them, political intrigue. . . She covered it all! And never did the group’s attention drift. We hated to have the tour end.

After the tour, we talked to Vicki-Marie and found that she offers private guide services. She can guide you through Notre Dame, the d’Orsay and the Louvre. If you are interested in seeing Saint-Denis, Cluny or Fontainebleau or exploring Parisian neighborhoods, she would love to discuss those plans with you, too.

Her fee structure is for any group, small or large, and is as follows: one hour, €85 (near $100); two hours €150 ($177); two separate conferences, €300; whole morning plus discussion and lunch, €400, and morning and afternoon, €500 ($590).

I highly recommend Vicki-Marie for anyone seeking a guide in the greater Paris area. And to teachers taking student groups, I want to stress she would be an outstanding choice.

You can reach Vicki-Marie Petrick by e-mail at petrick@ francenet.fr.

NANCY LOTHRINGER
Richmond, TX