I've traveled my whole life, but at 75, a trip to an adult women's camp in France changed my life

23.11.2024 - 13:21 / insider.com

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Victoria Goyet. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In August 2024, at 75, I attended a six-day summer camp for women in South West France. Although I was hesitant about going the week before I left, the experience was life-changing.

Travel was a key aspect of my life long before I attended Camp Chateau. I'm originally from Witchita, Kansas, and went abroad for the first time after college on a trip to England, but my first love is Italy. I did some postgraduate work there and loved the art. I also loved spending time in France and enjoyed the art and food.

After college, when I was in my 20s, I worked at a retail travel agency. Early in my career, I discovered the women who took trips with me either had husbands who didn't want to travel or were divorced, widowed, or single. I thought it would be a good idea to create something that allowed women to feel safe traveling in small groups to interesting places. About nine years into working in the industry, I started my own travel company, Endless Beginnings.

Over time, clients would ask to bring their husbands, so the trips stopped being restricted to women. Given my age, I mostly organize trips for others based on my specialties: arts, food, wine, private gardens, and villas.

In the fall of 2023, I came across a women's camp in France called Camp Chateau that looked interesting, and decided to go.

There were 50 women attending, ranging in age from their 20s to my age. I was in a room with three other women in their 40s, around my daughter's age. We were told not to overpack because the Chateau has a lot of steps and a circular staircase, and we would have to carry our luggage up. I remember thinking, "Oh boy, I don't do steps that well."

I asked if I could have something on a lower floor and got the ground-floor room. I had a single bed, and the room itself wasn't huge, but the bathroom was incredible. It was enormous with a tub, separate shower, and beautiful tile. My roommates and I laughed and said we could have thrown a huge party in our bathroom.

The first night focused on setting ground rules within your shared room or bunk area. We all went back to our room and laughed because we realized we didn't really need any rules. Everyone was very polite. The only guideline we set was that if the bathroom door was shut, that meant don't go in. Other than that, we could come and go as we pleased.

During the day, there were many activities to choose from. There was kayaking, horseback riding, hiking, cooking, French, art, and wellness activities like massages and early morning yoga classes.

One of my favorite events was an activity called "Spill the Tea." We wrote down something we were