Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Ep 80 - Frenchy road-tripping vibes! Survival tips & tricks when on the road with your spouse!

10/29/22 • 39 min

Loulabelle's FrancoFiles is hosted by Louise Prichard.

Other Loulabelle's links:

FrancoFile Fix on YouTubeLoulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles InstagramLoulabelle's FrancoFiles website

This episode is the second part of a chat about our epic road trip around western France in the French summer of 2022.
On this vacation, my husband Paul and I first traveled from Paris to the Loire and then down to the Pays Basque which can be explored in episode 79.
In this Loulabelle's FrancoFiles episode we travelled from Bayonne in the Basque region of south-west France up to the Dordogne, then across to Lège-Cap-Ferret which is on the coast past Bordeaux, then spent our final days in Paris before our return to Australia.

I love a slow holiday where we stay in the one place for a month and just relax and immerse ourselves in a local scene, but I find Australians especially try to pack as much into a visit to anywhere in Europe including France as it is quite expensive for us to get over there and it takes a long time! We are quite a long way away in Oz so we want to make the most of it! But if I had the time to stop in one spot for longer and meander around a particular place for an extensive period, that would be my preference I think. Malheureusement we didn’t have the luxury of months to meander so we road tripped and I must say, it was still amazing despite moving on every few days.

In this chat you'll hear of our visits to some Plus Beaux Villages de France, our stay in the Dordogne – Perigord Noir region, how we chilled on the coast and also how we made the most of time with friends who chanced to be in the same place at the same time on the other side of the world!

All of this during a time when the mercury was nudging 40!
We also share ways to ensure you return from a road-trip still talking to each other... oui, it is ok to do separate things whilst travelling together!
Come and join us and lose yourself in France xx

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Louise Prichard is the host of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast.
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Other Loulabelle's links:
FrancoFile Fix on YouTubeLoulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles InstagramLoulabelle's FrancoFiles website

Loulabelle's FrancoFiles is hosted by Louise Prichard.

Other Loulabelle's links:

FrancoFile Fix on YouTubeLoulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles InstagramLoulabelle's FrancoFiles website

Previous Episode

Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Ep 79 - French friends, festivals & La Fleuriste... France après Covid.

Loulabelle's FrancoFiles is hosted by Louise Prichard.
Other Loulabelle's links:
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles websiteFrancoFile Fix on YouTubeLoulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Instagram

Over the past couple of years travelling anywhere has been a challenge and for most people, it has been completely out of the question during what I call "the lost COVID years".

My husband Paul has travelled in France a number of times with me pre-COVID (which we chatted about way back in episode 16 and 17). That trip included a visit to Paris, followed by a roadtrip to Provence. On our more recent trip to France in the French summer of 2022 we went on an epic road trip after another Paris stay.

This podcast chat is part 1 of a two episode sequence, as there is just too much to fit into one episode!

In this part 1 we’re exploring our arrival and stay in Paris pre our roadtrip, as well as our wonderful experiences that followed in the Loire Valley and down in the Pays Basque.
Tune in for our tips on travelling in France in extreme heat, accommodation musts and experiencing Paris like a local. We also chat about train travel to the regions, the gorgeousness of the Loire and Pays Basque... and the surprises that pop up along the way (like a potential house purchase!)

Next Episode

Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Ep 81 - Love In Provence

Loulabelle's FrancoFiles is hosted by Louise Prichard.

Other Loulabelle's links:

FrancoFile Fix on YouTubeLoulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles InstagramLoulabelle's FrancoFiles website

Author Patricia Sands is such a wonderfully warm and engaging woman. I loved chatting to her and could have kept talking with her over a cuppa for the rest of the day (probably swapping to wine at some stage and chatting on through the night!)

Patricia talked to me about her passion for writing from the perspective of more mature women, about her fascinating life story as a teacher in her early years, being widowed then remarried... She chatted freely about the way COVID affected her, about her very personal experience looking in northern France for her uncle's grave who was killed during WW2, as well as her ongoing connection to France.

Talking to Patricia about "her" Provence, I just want to jump on a plane and head there immediately! She has a way of painting a picture that evokes an emotional response.

I loved most of all Patricia's response to my request for her to describe her perfect French day. Her response, "I can answer this easily as I have lived my perfect French day so many times!" How wonderful to know then, that dreams can actually come true.

There is hope for all of us.