The Earful Tower: Paris

We have the empress of Paris real estate - Adrian Leeds - in the studio today talking about property in Paris. You might recognize her from the hit TV show House Hunters International. She suggests good places in Paris to buy an apartment, she discusses the difficulties of buying a place as a foreigner, and how it might not be as tricky as you think to start a new life in Paris. If you want to buy...

Paris is home to some of the most famed classical art in the history of the world. The Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Rodin's sculpture of The Thinker. Monet's game-changing forays into Impressionism. But there's one Paris art movement that's getting a lot of people very excited - and it's right beneath our noses, by our shoulders, and above our heads.  Yes, I'm talking about the mosaic-tiled works of u...

Today's episode is a top-20 bonanza! I had tour guide extraordinaire April Pett in the studio to take me on a virtual walk through Paris. She gives her favourite street in each of the 20 Paris arrondissements.  I like her list because it's not just streets, there are bridges, alleyways, elevated walkways and more, and she recommends them for different reasons. One street has the city's only baguet...

So what's the big difference between France and Paris? Are they the same? Or are they wildly different? We have Janine Marsh - the woman behind The Good Life France website - in the studio to chat about it all, and also her new book My Good Life in France. Find out more here .  Referenced in this episode: My  one-million hit Facebook video  about How to Fake French. Janine's book My Good Life in F...

The best way to understand a country is to understand the person running it. That's my theory at least.  And with that in mind, we've got Adam Plowright in the studio. Now, Adam may not be the person running France, but he is the man who wrote the first book in English about France's President Emmanuel Macron He explains the "Macron handshake", the president's fascinating rise to power, and how he...

We're back! Season three already! We're starting off with a bang, talking to Clotilde Dusoulier, the brains behind the hit website Chocolate & Zucchini. In case you don't know her, she was the first ever French food blogger - and she does it in English! She explains how to tackle French food markets, how to find the perfect baguette, and how to write a recipe.  Here are a few links to things menti...

Merry Christmas Earful Tower listeners... here's a little hello from me and Corey Frye, plus a bit of news about the show. PS: The wolf wall we talked about is at the corner of Rue de la Fontaine au Roi and Rue Saint Maur in the 11th arrondissement.  Happy holidays *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras...

Earful Tower listeners - here's the season 2 finale.  I'm purposely going to go light on the details here, but recommend you get comfortable for this story - I can guarantee it's one you've never heard before.  Thanks to Josh Vardey who stepped in for the editing on this one.  This episode was performed live in Paris on December 13th, 2017. Patreon members can watch the video from the show here ....

It's a very different episode of The Earful Tower this time around. Meet Eddie Gee, my little brother, who has just been in Paris trying to help me solve a ten-year-old mystery. In short, we're tracking down Mary, a woman who saved both of our skins on our first trip to Paris a decade ago. Along the way, we see loads of Paris and meet a few interesting characters too. But can we find Mary? Images...

Forget the studio this week, we're heading into the Metro system. Yes, I'm joined by podcaster Luke Thompson from Luke's English Podcast  to take Line 2 around town while recording an episode about the subway system itself.  And did we time it right so Corey Frye gets on the train as Luke gets off? Listen in to find out.  To answer some of the unanswered questions from the episode: 1. Colonel Fabi...

Meet Jennifer Greco, better known online as the woman behind the Chez LouLou blog , and a cheese and wine tour guide extraordinaire.  And we're talking cheese. Specifically, the mistake people make while eating it! Here are some of the points so you can remember, but please listen below (and hang around for a story at the end from Corey Frye - also related to cheese and France's history). Mistake...

Today I've got a Frenchwoman who teaches French at French Today to teach me French pronunciation today. Still following? Good. Here comes Camille Chevalier-Karfis, who runs the French Today website, and she sets me straight on how to pronounce the following ten words. (Plus we have a good old chat, with me in the studio and her at home in Paimpol, Brittany).  Here are the words: Brouilly (a wine,...

Yep, this time we have Julie Collard in the studio to talk about her one-woman stand-up show "Oh My God she is a Parisienne".   But what IS a Parisian woman, and are any of the myths actually true? Apparently they're all myths, at least according to Julie. Hang around at the end of the episode for another story from Corey Frye, tour guide extraordinaire, who has a theatre-related Paris story. This...

This week we head to the American Library in Paris to talk to Grant Rosenberg all about books, Paris, and working by the Eiffel Tower.  And Corey Frye, tour guide extraordinaire, somehow ties it all together at the end with a Paris story related to libraries too!

Did you know there's a sewer museum in Paris? In case you're put off by the thought of even stepping foot inside it - don't worry, I've done it for you. Yes, I teamed up with past guest Amber Minogue ( hear her last appearance here ) and we went underground to check out the Musée des égouts . And Corey Frye the tour guide ties it all together with a story about the Paris catacombs. Find Amber's po...

For those of you who couldn't make it to our live show on November 15th - don't fret - it was recorded. Here's what it sounds like to do an episode to a sell-out crowd. The episode itself was recorded just like a normal one, featuring the inimitable author John Baxter, a story from tour guide Corey Frye, and a few words from Abby, who runs Set in Paris where the event was hosted. Plenty of pics fr...

Here come Elin and Charles, a Swedish/French couple taking a new look at Paris via the medium of embroidery.  We talked about their workshops, their embroidery, and a new language I invented.  Check out their work at Le Kadre  via this link , and scroll down for a quick look.   And hang around at the end of the episode for a story from Corey, amazingly linked to embroidery too. Quite spooky too, i...

"It's fully part of France, but it's completely detached". That's how this week's guest describes her island home Guadeloupe, which is 100 percent French even though it's in the Caribbean. Yes, here comes Laura K Lawless, an American teacher of the French language who lives 6,750km from Paris in what's known as a DomTom. We talk about about the island, the French language, and I go through the spi...

Here comes Tal Spiegel, the man with over 200 pairs of colourful shoes to go with his colourful pastry.  If you've never heard of him, check out Desserted in Paris on Instagram and inject some serious colour into your life.  Here's our chat, followed by a story from Corey, as usual.  *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock alm...

The Left Bank, or, as the French say, the Rive Gauche. What is it? Where is it? Or who is it? And what's the live event we're doing on November 15th? All these questions are answered with the help of author John Baxter, Set in Paris's Abigail de Bruyne, Coutume's Tom Clark, tour guide Corey Frye - and a full day whizzing around Paris on the red scooter.  *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks...

It's Halloween, so here's a spooky story from the Paris Whisperer, Corey Frye. Happy Halloweening. *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.  Membership takes only a minute to set up . T...

I got an amazing gift for my birthday - a Paris guide book from 1911.  So, I decided to get the Paris whisperer, Corey Frye, to come in and look through it with me. Of course, he had no idea what he was in for until the last second.  Here's our chat about it. *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras includ...

I meet with Jim, a 71-year-old Brit who has been in Paris since 1965. This isn't a typical episode - it's a little more laid back, (but we still did a quick-fire round), and it's a little more conversational. We talk about the advantages of being a foreigner in France, the differences between French and English people, and how you should never "learn" French. Then we have a Corey Story, this time...

This week it's American journalist, Heidi Moore, who LOVES Paris. While she doesn't live here, she's probably visited more than most tourists ever will, so we had her into the studio to talk about the city.  Specifically, she explains how NOT to be an American in Paris. If you're not American, you can still learn from this, I promise. I've typed out the subheadings she brought up, but you'll have...

Amber Minogue, the woman behind the Paname podcast , comes into the studio and clears up how Paris got its nickname. She also talks about her Paris podcast, the cafe that charges five euros for a cup of milk, and how to spot a movie set in Paris. And hang around for Corey's Story at the end, this time he's talking about the ultimate scam in the history of Paris. *********** The Earful Tower exists...