The Earful Tower: Paris

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Places & Travel
**The Earful Tower: Paris**

The Earful Tower is a weekly podcast all about Paris, hosted by Australian expat Oliver Gee. With a huge variety of guests – from cooks and comedians to TV hosts and tour guides – this show will transport you to the City of Lights and make you feel like you’ve met the characters that make it shine.

Latest Episodes:

Life in a 72 room French chateau Jul 27, 2020

Show notes

Meet Jane Webster, an Australian woman who has just spent lockdown in a 72-room chateau in Normandy.

She is the woman behind Chateau de Bosguet, which you can find more about on the links below.

We chat about chateau life, Paris, having a one-hectare vegetable garden, and much more!

By the way, the covered passage in Paris that Jane discussed was the Passage Choiseul.

Find Jane on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/janewebsterthefrenchtable/

Find her website and chateau here: https://www.thefrenchtable.com.au/

And help me make this show better by becoming a Patreon member today: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

Versailles visit during a pandemic Jul 20, 2020

Show notes

I visited the Palace of Versailles to see what it looked like during the pandemic.

Hoping for empty rooms, I must admit I was a little disappointed to see the crowds, but it was a grand experience as always.

Here's the visit in podcast form, with my wife Lina as a special guest, and with background music from Mozart, Bizet, and Handel. Enjoy!

Want to be part of the gang? Sign up on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

Wanna see some pics from the trip? Check the blog soon or Instagram now: @theearfultower and @parisianpostcards

Daily life in Paris without the tourists Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

With many countries still on the "don't visit list" for France, the city of Paris is strangely empty.

Sure, there are a lot of French people about... and quite a few Europeans. But all the main tourist groups have vanished, and it makes for an interesting time in the City of Lights.

My wife Lina and I discuss how the city has changed and what that means for us locals.

Want to be part of a live recording of an episode? Sign up on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

How to make a memoir Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

Janet Hulstrand is back on the show! Janet is the editor of my book, Paris On Air, and we discuss what it takes to make a memoir.

If you need a book editor, check her out, she is wonderful!

Find more from Janet here:

Her blog: https://janethulstrand.com/

Some articles mentioned in the episode: Is My Book Idea Worth Pursuing? https://janethulstrand.com/2011/11/05/is-my-book-idea-worth-pursuing/ Hulstrand's Five Golden Rules of Editing https://janethulstrand.com/2010/09/26/hulstrands-five-golden-rules-of-editing/ Posts About Writing from the Heart https://janethulstrand.com/category/about-writing-from-the-heart/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JJHWriter/ and https://www.facebook.com/DemystifyingTheFrench/ Janet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/janetjoy Lastly, if you want to become an Earful Tower member, here's the link to Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower And here's the link to preorder a copy of my book: https://theearfultower.com/preorder

From rugby to restaurants in Paris Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

Meet Casey Laulala, a Samoan rugby player turned Paris restauranteur. He talks about how his life in the sports world taught him how to run a Paris restaurant.

Find his restaurant Itacoa on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/itacoa_paris/

Find the restaurant website here: http://www.itacoa.paris/

And find Casey on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/casey_laulala/?hl=en

Want more from The Earful Tower? Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

An intro to jazz in Paris Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

"Jazz is a compressed history of the modern world."

So says Alex Freiman, a jazz musician from Paris who also works as a bookseller at Shakespeare and Company.

We sat down in the Square René Viviani park beside the bookshop, where Alex had just finished a live set in front of a crowd.

We talked about the vibrant jazz scene in Paris, great musicians to get you into the jazz world, and how Alex is bringing live music to the streets of Paris.

We also talked about how jazz music can lead to life as an outcast, the trouble with how the movie La La Land depicted the Paris jazz scene, and the day the Notre Dame burned down.

You'll hear people in the background, the occasional church bell, siren, and the crunch of Parisian gravel under people's feet as they walk past.

To get Alex's album, Play It Gentle, from Shakespeare and Co, click below.

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/d/3341348159997/play-it-gentle

While you're at it, why not add my book to the bundle as well :)

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/d/9781098301996/paris-on-air

If you're enjoying The Earful Tower, become a member here:

https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

Paris fans making a difference Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

I'm gobsmacked at how impressively this community has flexed its collective muscle.

At the time of recording we have raised over $9,000 for an important charity.

If you're quick, you can join in too:

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/paris-fans-lets-make-a-difference

Links mentioned in this show:

YouTube video of "Intro to Black Paris": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKR7xS1ksTo

YouTube video of wine tasting with Tanisha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-1XQbrcBM

The podcast I mentioned is Wine School Dropout: https://www.girlmeetsglass.com/podcast

Black Lives Matter: Paris Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

It's a different episode today, a look into Black Lives Matter from a Paris perspective. But it's also an investigation into what I can do as a podcaster to diversify and to amplify black voices.

Let's make a change folks, I've already started and you'll notice it in the show going forward. Not just in the upcoming episodes, but I mean in the upcoming months, years, and decades.

Some upcoming guests on the show who'll share their Paris include these guys, go and follow them all.

Sutanya from the amazing podcast Paris for One: https://www.instagram.com/dinnerfor.one/?hl=en

Yannique from the awesome community My Parisian Life: https://www.instagram.com/myparisianlife/?hl=en

Jim the excellent lifestyle photographer: https://www.instagram.com/thatguyyoujustmet/?hl=en

Danielle who is the kindly voice of Le Peloton Cafe: https://www.instagram.com/tribe_a_team/?hl=en

The trick to starting a French conversation Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

We all know it's important to say "bonjour" no matter where you are in France. That's hardly a secret.

But let me tell you, there's no better way to get a conversation going than to ask "ca va?" directly afterwards.

French people will disagree with me, but ignore them: this is a foreigner hack that absolutely works.

The tone, accent, and body language are all important too... but believe me, this works.

This episode is me explaining perhaps the one part of my new book that people keep asking me about - and that has apparently changed the life of one French follower. Imagine that.

Grab a copy of my book here if you're in the US or France: https://theearfultower.com/us

And here if you're anywhere else: https://theearfultower.com/memoir/

Become an Earful Tower member here: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

Behind the curtains of Shakespeare and Company May 25, 2020

Show notes

You might know the Shakespeare and Company bookshop from popular films like Midnight in Paris or Before Sunset.

You might know it from your last visit to Paris... You might have even bought a book here.

But what really goes on at the iconic and mysterious Shakespeare and Company?

Is it true that they let writers sleep here for free? (Yes) Is it true they're removing the roof and renovating its insides? (Well, yes and no). And can you get a copy of my new memoir there? (Amazingly, yes!)

Together with Events Manager Adam Biles, I sat down inside the upstairs reading library, which features George Whitman's private collection. Adam has lived in Paris for 15 years and worked at the book store for over three years, and we chatted books, Tumbleweeds, and lockdown.

Here's the chat, and below are some important names and links we mentioned in the show.

Naomi Klein is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization and of capitalism.

John Peter Berger was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet.

Rachel Cusk is a Canadian-born novelist and writer who lives and works in England.

George Saunders is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels.

Valeria Luiselli is a Mexican author living in the United States.

Louis Sebastian Theroux is a British-American documentary filmmaker, journalist, broadcaster, and author.

Buy the Notre Dame Poetry book Adam mentioned here for €6

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/d/9791096101016/poems-for-notre-dame

Grab my book Paris On Air €20

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/d/9781098301996/paris-on-air

And visit their website here:

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/

Lastly, if you're enjoying The Earful Tower, become a member here and catch my upcoming walks from around the Eiffel Tower: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

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