Retire and Learn French Retreat
with Deborah Pham van xua
Chateau de Borie
Saturday September 12th – Saturday September 19th, 2026
Limited to 12 participants
It’s never too late to learn French — or to create the life you’ve always dreamed of.
Imagine yourself in a world apart, where Château de Borie rests against a limestone cliff, embraced by forest and fields. Morning sunlight filters across the wide-plank floors as the day begins with the gentle rhythm of conversation and discovery.
Here, French is learned not through drills, but through laughter, shared meals, and real-life encounters. You wander the market, greeting vendors with confidence, or relax on the terrace, practicing simple phrases over a glass of local wine. Each day brings new ways to step into France — through language, culture, and connection.
In the evenings, you gather with others who share your dream of a new chapter, exchanging stories, ideas, and laughter beneath the château’s soaring beams. This is more than a retreat. It’s a chance to feel at home in France, to find your voice, and to say bonjour to the life you’ve imagined.
“Learning a new language later in life is humbling — but also a beautiful chance to laugh, to grow, and to see the world with fresh eyes.”
Your teacher:
Deborah Pham van xua
Déborah Pham Van Xua is a French native teacher with more than a decade of experience teaching French around the world. She grew up on the Atlantic side of France in a family with roots across four continents, where the scent of Vietnamese pho mixed with Malagasy words at the dinner table. Travel, languages, and connection were part of her life from the start.
Her own journey — from building a library in Togo at 17, to teaching at the prestigious University of Nanjing, to following her Kiwi partner to New Zealand — has shaped her belief that learning a language is more than vocabulary. For her, it is a path to curiosity, connection, and personal growth.
As the owner of FeelGoodFrench, Déborah brings French learning to the crossroads of language and wellbeing. She works with expats and 50+ learners who love France but sometimes feel challenged by learning a language later in life. Her playful, holistic approach builds confidence, helps overcome the “freezing” moments, and invites learners to rediscover the joy of speaking French.
Full bio: https://feelgoodfrench.com/your-teacher/
Your host:
Abigail Carter
The owner of Chateau de Borie, Abigail Carter is a published author, artist and website designer. Her memoir, The Alchemy of Loss: A Young Widow’s Transformation was published in 2008, a cathartic expression after the death of her husband, Arron in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Her second book, Remember the Moon, a novel, was published in 2014 and is also based on themes of grief and loss.
After a difficult breakup in 2017, Abby returned to painting after a thirty-year hiatus, re-discovering another outlet for her renewed grief and self-discovery.
During the pandemic, Abby became obsessed with the idea of owning a chateau in France that could be used as a retreat center and managed to see the dream come to fruition in 2022 with the purchase of Chateau de Borie. She now lives full-time at the Chateau with her Boston Terrier minion, Lulu.
About the Retreat
The Goal of the Retreat
This week-long retreat at Château de Borie is designed for those ready to experience France not as tourists, but as participants. Together, we’ll practice real-life French in fun, stress-free ways: chatting at the market, treasure hunts, café conversations, and a wine tasting with a French sommelier.
Set against the rolling Gascon countryside, this retreat blends language immersion with cultural adventure, wellness, and community. You’ll return home with new friends, greater confidence in your French, and a deeper sense of whether life in France could be part of your next chapter.
By the end of the week, you will:
Gain confidence speaking French in everyday life
Experience authentic French culture — food, wine, markets, and more
Discover what living in France could feel like.
Connect with like-minded adventurers in community
Imagine your next chapter with joy and curiosity
Who Should Sign Up?
This retreat is designed for people who:
Are 50+ and curious about making France part of their lives — now or in the future
Want to learn or improve their French in a supportive, stress-free environment
Prefer experiences over textbooks and love the idea of learning by living French
Are seeking community and connection with like-minded travelers
May be considering retirement in France, but want to “try it on” before making the leap
Or simply want a joyful, cultural immersion in France at this stage of life
Language Levels
We welcome participants from absolute beginners to intermediate learners (A2–B1). To ensure everyone feels supported, you’ll have a chance to assess your level before the retreat with a short self-test. Depending on the group, we may split into smaller workshops so each person can progress at their own pace.
Our focus is not on grammar drills, but on connection, curiosity, and joy. Whether you’re learning your first bonjour or brushing up on rusty French, you’ll leave feeling more confident and ready to connect.
Local Market and Cooking Demo
Join us on an unforgettable culinary adventure with an esteemed chef, where we'll explore the vibrant Agen farmer’s market, handpicking fresh produce. Later, back at Chateau de Borie, we will be guided through an immersive cooking workshop, crafting our evening feast.
The Retreat Experience
Each retreat go-er will be housed in a private room equipped with a desk. During your stay, you will enjoy the sweeping views of the French countryside, free time, intimate workshop mornings, and organized excursions to explore nearby sites and partake in the local wine and cuisine.
Inspiration, Instruction
Daily French immersion sessions — interactive, creative, never intimidating
Real-life practice in markets, cafés, and vineyards
Excursions to local villages and a French market
Wine tasting with a local sommelier
Evening sharing circles on life transitions and belonging
Optional chateau-based massages (additional cost)
Playful French activity around wine vocabulary — an oenological journey with French flashcards to awaken the senses, describe a library of flavors, and find words for fruits, spices, and textures, while practicing the essentials like du, de la, des.
“Keeping French Alive” workshop — a session to build autonomy, where you’ll design a tailor-made French language routine that matches your own learning style, creating joyful, playful habits to keep French alive in your daily life.
Optional yoga in French — stretching while picking up the key vocabulary you’d need to follow a yoga or pilates class.
Fresh, locally-sourced French home cooking
Continental breakfast and family-style dinner will be served daily. Lunches will either be provided at the chateau or will be on your own during excursions. All meals will be prepared by a local French chef using fresh local ingredients. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be available throughout the day. We will do our best to accommodate dietary restrictions.
Pricing
Premium Room:
Cygne, Etoile, Gingko, Rossignol, Jasmin
Solo: €4,600
Shared: €4,000 per person
Standard Room:
Magnolia, Colibri, Chouette, Renard,
Lapin, Paon
Solo: €4,000
Shared: €3,600 per person
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All rooms have a private bathroom down the hall with the exception of:
Rossignol: Partial ensuite (shower down the hall)
Jasmin: Full ensuite
Twin/2-bed options are ideal for friends:
Lapin (two doubles),
Paon (double + single),
Cygne (double + single).
Rooms with one bed are perfect for solo guests
or couples.
Premium Rooms
With the exception of Jasmin, which has a full ensuite and is on the third floor, all the premium rooms are on the second floor and have private bathrooms down the hall.
Standard Rooms
All Standard rooms are on the third floor with private bathrooms down the hall.
Itinerary
Chateau de Borie
Chateau de Borie is located in Pont-du-Casse, just a five minute drive from Agen, located between Toulouse and Bordeaux in an area renown for it’s fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly its dried prunes. The area is a little off the beaten path for many tourists, but boasts beautiful countryside, proximity to two splendid wine regions, historic “Bastide” villages and incredibly fresh local food.
Agen and environs
The town of Agen is equidistant between Toulouse and Bordeaux and boasts a TGV train station, making it a 3-hour journey from Paris or a 1-hour journey from either Toulouse or Bordeaux. The town is fairly substantial with a population of 35,000 and has a wide array of shops, restaurants, bars, weekly markets and annual festivals. There is also a wonderful Art Museum and an Opera House, as well as several cathedrals, one of which has an intricately painted interior.
The surrounding countryside is known for its orchards and fruit growing, particularly its prunes, which you can find in all forms - stuffed, soaked in alcohol, or made into aperitifs.
The surrounding countryside is beautiful and dotted with many “Bastide” towns – fortified, medieval towns often built atop hillsides with a templated grid pattern (developed by the brother of one of the kings of France) with a main town square, surrounded by a covered gallery housing shops and restaurants.
Sommelier Visit
Learn about and taste local wines from passionate sommelier, Stephan who will come to Chateau de Borie bearing some wonderful wines of all types from a variety of areas. Cahors.
An afternoon in Agen
Agen is an easily accessible town that has an excellent art museum, opera house, two cathedrals, and lots of shopping along a pedestrian-only boulevard. You will have the option of spending some time at the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Agen or spend the afternoon at your leisure before meeting the group at the end of the day for an aperitif back at the Chateau.
Dinner in a local restaurant
There will be a dinner at a nearby restaurant specializing in French cuisine with particular emphasis on farm-to-table and local specialties.
The Details
What’s Included:
Pick up and drop off at the Agen train station.
7 nights at Château de Borie (private or shared rooms)
All meals, snacks, and wine
Daily French sessions and conversation practice
Excursion to a French market town
Wine tasting with a sommelier
Creative language games and cultural workshops
A curated guide of websites, apps, movies, and podcasts so you can continue your journey long after the retreat, with tools that make practice feel natural and inspiring.
NOTE:
The Chateau de Borie is multi-leveled, with no bedrooms on the ground floor. Good physical mobility is required for retreat, as the Chateau has one or two sets of stairwells depending on the room you choose, and we will be on foot on the cobbled streets around France. The physical ability to walk unassisted is necessary for this retreat.
Because of the proximity of the cliffs and the seven springs on the property, mosquitos are an issue between July and October. Bug spray is highly recommended.
Lulu, Abby’s Boston Terrier will be in attendance. She is very companionable, but if you have any issues with small dogs, you might want to consider this before booking.
Participants might want to consider arriving in France a day or two before the retreat to get acclimated. Toulouse is an enjoyable place to explore. Citiz Hotel in Toulouse is well situated a block from the train station and a block from the center of town and is reasonably priced.
Travel
Arrivals: Saturday, September 12, before 4 pm
Retreat/workshops: Sunday September 13th - Friday, September 18th, 2026
Departures: Saturday, September 19th, before 12 pm.
Class participants are responsible for their own flights and travel to Agen. The closest international airports are Toulouse and Bordeaux, France. It is an hour's train ride to Agen from both cities. You can also fly to Paris and take a 3-hour TGV train from Montparnasse station in Paris to Agen (via Bordeaux).
It is recommended that you purchase your train tickets ahead of time, as trains do fill up. We recommend using www.thetrainline.com or https://www.sncf-connect.com/ to book your connections.
You are welcome to rent a car at the airport, though we will be providing transportation for the various excursions, so unless you want to get out on your own, it is unnecessary.
We offer pick-ups and drop-offs between the Agen train station and Chateau de Borie.
NOTE: To arrive at the villa on Saturday, September 12th, requires a flight departure from North America on Friday, September 11th.
Refund Policy
Deposit non-refundable after June 1, 2026
Cancellations between June 1 and August 1: 100% refund of balance if spot is filled, 50% refund of balance if not, or transfer credit within 12 months
No refunds after August 1, 2026
We strongly recommend trip/medical cancellation insurance
