From the French Countryside to Classical Concerts in Paris, Episode 557

From the French Countryside to Classical Concerts in Paris, Episode 557

[Music] This is Join us in France episode 557. Bonjour. I’m Annie Sergeant and join us in France is the podcast where we take a conversational journey through the beauty, culture, and flavors of France. Today I bring you a conversation with Casey Amistad and Molly Peterson about their adventures exploring Paris and the French countryside. Discover hidden gems, horseback riding, vegan travel tips, and unforgettable moments in iconic places like Roamadu and Tuloo. Listen in for practical advice, inspiration, and stories that will make you want to plan your own French getaway. I’m sure this podcast runs on chocolate, caffeine, and the support of lovely humans like you. You book itinerary consults, take my voice map tours, ride shotgun in my electric car, come to the boot camp, or slip me a few euros on Patreon, and I love you for it. Want to keep me going and skip the ads? There’s a link for that in the show notes. Head to join usinfrance.com/boutique to purchase any of my services. And thank you for the magazine part of the podcast. After my chat with Casey and Molly today, I’ll discuss over tourism in MA from a local perspective. You know, we’ve been hearing about that a lot on French news, but I bet it’s not getting talked about too much on travel channels. And yeah, I would like to keep it real and let you know that there’s another side to over tourism. [Music] Bonjour Molly Peterson and Casey Armystead and welcome to join us in France. Bonjour. Wonderful to have you today. So you are sisters and today we are going to talk about the two of you exploring Paris and the French countryside. Tell me when did your trip take place? This was in 2024. It was the very last week in May and the first week in June. So you had a couple of weeks. That’s correct. Wonderful. Okay. Was it your first time in France? It was my third time in France. I believe it was Molly’s second time in France. All right. Do you either of you speak French? Very little. For about the six months prior to our trip, I had been using Pimpsler on a nearly daily basis. So, I had picked up a lot more phrases and could count a little bit. So, I really liked Pimpsler compared to the other language apps I had tried. Oh, that’s good that you say that because I’m also in the Pinsler camp. I find all the other apps just games and I don’t retain anything. But with Pimpsler, if I do it every day, I pick up a lot of stuff. That’s very helpful. Yeah. Right. I agree. All right. So, let’s talk about the things you liked best because I mean, we’ve talked about all these places a fair bit on the podcast, but you guys found some gems that we want to explore. And the first one is not something I had heard of. It’s the mass deer. So, it’s a farm in the lot department. Perhaps Molly, you could tell us a little bit about this. Well, Casey had selected this place because she is an equestrian and they do horse riding tours. That is kind of their feature. So, she had pre-seelected this, but I was kind of a last minute invite to this trip. But, I love to hike, just do day walks basically, and this was a great area for me to do that. But they host equestrians, but you can also stay at this location if you don’t have anything to do with horses. It was just a lovely place to be and explore that area. We had a car, so while Casey was horsing, I was driving around and looking at some of these other lovely places. Well, that’s fantastic. So, Casey, were you why were you particularly charmed by this place besides the horses, of course? Well, so in in France and all over Europe, there’s lots of different companies that you can go and ride a week with a group, but this was where, you know, you didn’t necessarily have to join a group. You could change up the days. If you didn’t want to ride seven days, you could just ride three days. So, it was kind of all a cart. And I wanted to be in that area. I wanted to kind of be in the southwest of France. So, I had just kind of looked around and found this place. And it was perfect. It was charming. Right. So, if it’s a mass, it’s probably kind of in the middle of the country with not a lot of big cities near. What was the biggest city nearby? Probably Fiji. Fijac. Okay. Fijac was the nearest one. Yeah. So, it is boonies. It is very much so. And we loved it. That’s wonderful. That’s wonderful. And how long did you spend there? We were there three nights. I believe. Yeah. Three nights. It was just a charming little family with the children and they just spoke to us in French, but just home-cooked, beautiful meals. It was fantastic. Oh, so this would be a really good place for people who want to practice their French, I assume. Oh, absolutely. That’s a good thing to know about is that, you know, they’re quite happy to speak French with you and their kids, too, probably. And Yeah. So, was it particularly plush or was it just regular French family life? It was definitely regular French family life. Excellent. All right. Wonderful. The second thing you mentioned is cloyers of 800year-old Abby Santa, which I have not visited. Where is that? So, each day when we were on our horseback trip, we would find a picturesque place to have a picnic. And so this abbey was on one of the very popular hiking routes. I’m not sure if it was part of the Camino dantiago, but it was a very popular hiking path through there. In fact, in this abbey, hikers could get a room for the night. So it was just, you know, way out in the country, but it was just very beautiful. We got there right before lunch and right at noon, the church bells started ringing. I just loved the church bells. So that was really neat. That’s great. What did you think, Molly? I didn’t horse that day, so I didn’t do that particular I met them at other locations, but That’s right. You didn’t go to that particular place. So I assume this is a place where you could get to with a car as well. Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. It’s a village and an abbey, but was the abbey in the village or was it in the countryside by itself? The abbey was I don’t know that there was really much of a village around it. It was just the abbey and several buildings I think attached to it which I think is probably where the hikers could stay. But besides the abbey I don’t know that there was much else there. Right. So this happens a lot in France. We have some abbies that are in the middle of nowhere but we also have some where the abbey started out being in the middle of nowhere but then a village grew around it. And there are a lot of villages that are organized around a religious establishment, an abbey or convent of some sort. And so clearly this one was not as successful at attracting a lot of people. It stayed on by itself in the countryside, which that’s what some abbies wanted. You know, they didn’t necessarily want to attract a lot of people. So yeah. And then you went to Roamadur and Sans Laopi, which are two places that I know quite well. Molly, you went to those, right? I did. Well, Casey was horsing. I was able to get in the car and go to those. And oh my goodness, they were everything fairy tale that you would imagine. Of course, I had done my homework and knew of Rocka Madur and how it was structured. You know, it’s almost like a multi-story building, you know. Yeah. So, I understood about how to navigate that. Parked at the bottom, rode the train up, actually walked back down, but I climbed the stairs, not on my knees as the pilgrims of old days. But it was charming. It was very touristy. It was very crowded, but I’m able to kind of turn that off and just see the architecture and be in that space and enjoy that. Of course in the church there was some kind of a lecture going on that day. So that was interesting to listen to. And of course the mountain side is the backside of that church which was so interesting to me architecturally. So that lovely. Yeah. We So we had a whole episode about this. It’s episode 338 and it’s called the medieval village hanging on a cliff and it literally is hanging on a cliff. This is not hyperbole. And what I recommend you do is that you park at the top. There’s parking at the bottom and at the top. I find it easier to park at the top. Then there’s an elevator you can pay for. I think you pay for x many rides. So if you want to walk down or walk up, either way, you can also do that. But if you have bad knees or whatever or cranky children, take the elevator because it’s very steep, right? Yes. Yes. Did you use the elevator or did you walk some of the way? I walked. I walked. Okay. Loving that. It was kind of a hiking get out and burn some energy day. Yeah. Oh, definitely. Definitely. And so you did that by yourself while Casey was horsing as you put it. Yes. Yes. I love that horsing. It’s not a word I use in my everyday life. And sensopi, we also had an episode about it. Let me see which one was it. We’ve talked about it so many times. Did we did a single episode about it? We did exploring the treasures of the lot department, but I think we did. So, it was episode 43. So, that was an oldie but a goodie. That probably came out in the first year of the podcast. But you know what? Like Sans hasn’t changed that much. It’s been there for a thousand years or more, probably more. And it hasn’t changed very much. And I should mention that both Hokamadu and Sabopi are places where I can take you on a if you want to do a a day trip with me on my EV, I’ve done that. Those are favorite destinations of a lot of people because they are scenic and beautiful. I’m sure that I had listened to your episodes and I had done a little study. I parked my vehicle down the river at the next little town to the west that’s on the same side of the river, you know, across the bridge. Bul Bul Bul something like that. And then I walked that trail along the river under the little cliff edge back to Sens and then climbed and walked and explored the city. And then I walked back to my car along the top side of the mountain for a different view. So it was just beautiful. That’s wonderful. Less crowded than Rakamadore. Way less. And maybe in the different day of the week that I was there. Yeah. Yeah. No, I think typically Sans is less famous and it’s not the same sort of thing. It’s not as wow, you know, it’s not as flashy because it’s a beautiful village on a hill. It’s on like a rock, but it is surrounded by mountains, but it’s not hanging on the mountain quite that walk up the toe path. That’s what it is. The Schuman Alaj is what it’s called in French. You can walk it up or down. It’s what maybe a couple of miles, maybe a mile. Yes, it was very very easy. Lots not lots of people, but there were people you didn’t feel like you were by yourself, but you could be, you know, have some space. Yeah. And they’ve put some art along the walls. Shando Alaj is a place that they dug out because long ago it was people pulling boats, people or horses or mules or oxen, but it was usually people because the people could just be called over. they would come and help and pull the cuz this is an area this is a part where it’s uphill a bit. You need power to bring boats forward without a lock. There is a lock. It is getting remodeled but it’s not a lock that works super well and so that’s why they needed human strength to to pull the boats. But yeah, it’s a beautiful thing to do and you can make a whole day of it. The painted cave of Peshmel is also a wonderful thing to visit in that area. So what I would recommend people do is they start with the painted cave with Peshmel. They have a guided tour in English at 10:15 most days and then you park your car at Bazul or Bul. I’m not sure if there’s an A or an U or an O U, but it’s very close. You’ll find it on the map. You park your car there. You can take a boat ride to Sansk most of the time. Right now, right as we record, probably not because they are redoing the lock, but most of the time you can do it or you can hoof it up to hoof it up. It’s not up that far. I mean, you don’t remember even it being particularly strenuous, do you, Molly? No, not at all. All right. And sensor the village is a beautiful place to go have some lunch, look around, take some beautiful photos. Great place to visit for sure. Then you put Tulus and Elisa’s walking tour. Did you both do that? All right, Casey, tell us about it. Oh, well, Tulus is just gorgeous. It is just gorgeous. And the walking tour was very, very interesting. We only really had one full day in Tuloo and we could have easily spent more days in Tulus. But yeah, it was beautiful. Particularly as we were doing the walking tour and we were getting closer to the cathedral there. There was a some street musicians, you know, street musicians playing there near the church and I just loved that. I mean, I just loved the music and I could have sat there and listened to those musicians for, you know, half an hour. It was great. That’s wonderful. That’s wonderful. Yeah, Tulus is one of these places that people don’t know about so much and so it’s not overrun by tourists. There are some obviously and Lonely Planet named it as its number one place to visit in the world in 2025. We did quite a bit of shopping around Tuloo as well. Uhhuh. Shopping for what sort of things? Oh, like scarves. And I wish I had written down the name of the department store we went in. It was like a I don’t know a fivestory department store. There was a there was a cafe on the very top floor and Right. So that’s the Gila Fet. Okay. Yeah. We bought some I think some tiny teaspoons there and I’m not sure what else we picked up but I mean it was just I didn’t feel like it was touristy the shops we were going in. I didn’t feel like it was like touristy like in the heart of Paris but you know more everyday type of shops. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, Tulus is a nice place. Did you get to try some casuli? We did not. So I will tell you this. So Molly is vegan and so we did find quite a few places to eat that were vegan or you know had vegan options and even the places that we stopped at you know and I ate vegan as well sometimes it was really good. Yeah, tell us about that Molly. Was that difficult or was it fine? Well, I’m used to doing it but we had especially the places we stayed longterm the B&Bs we reached out and they were very accommodating. And of course, it’s in a lovely place. It was a great time of the year. There was plenty of fresh produce that people could provide. But I had done some homework. I knew, you know, I could get a meal. Very high quality everywhere we went. Of course, we went to a lot of markets and we just buy produce and bread. And of course, I know that the baguette would be, you know, vegan technically. So, I did not go hungry at all. Oh, that’s good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If you enjoy cooking, vegan is very easy anywhere. But in France, especially that time of year, you find beautiful produce, beautiful strawberries, things that will make you hungry. You know, that’s the nice thing about France. Now, if you just eat at restaurants, perhaps that would be a bit limiting. Yes, you need what your options are. The restaurant we ate in Salah Salat. Yeah. The restaurant we ate in was right downstairs from the room we were staying in. But I knew I had scoped out their menu and I knew they had some vegan options. So I had done a little prehomework, but I’m used to doing that. Yeah. Yeah. And if you use like Happy Cow or one of these apps, there’s a lot of information. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So you can find stuff almost anywhere. I mean, you know, perhaps at the cloister where Casey went horseback riding, maybe not, but most other places. Yes. Yes. And Elise gives a wonderful tour, doesn’t she? Yes. That was fabulous. Yeah. She’s very thorough and she’s very friendly and personable. Yeah. I I think she could probably do more than that one there in Tulus. Well, she keeps doing so she has a regular city tour and she does a resistance tour and she’s threatened to do another voice map tour of Tulu. She has a voice map tour as well. So, if you want to just buy the voice map, you can. That’s what we did. That’s what we did is the voice map. Uhhuh. Uhhuh. Very good. Yeah. I mean it’s cheaper and it’s very good. She does a very good voice tour as well. All right. Next thing is salat and market day. So just yesterday I was talking to someone who asked me, “So what’s the deal about salat in the market? Is it the mustsea?” Well, how would you have answered that question? I would say if you’re in the area, it is a mustsee. And it’s a do. It’s an experience. It’s not something you see. It’s just walking through it and you’re there with the real French people cuz they’re shopping for their things and I mean it’s clothes, it’s housewares, it’s food, it’s oh my gosh, it was fabulous everywhere. Everywhere in the city. Yeah, it’s spread out throughout the city and it’s pretty neat. And that’s exactly what I told him is if you’re in the area of course you need to try and you know if you can at all you can have this experience on Wednesdays and Saturdays. try to be there on a Wednesday or Saturday and go to the market. Would I fly all the way across the world just to go to that? No. But if you’re close by, yay. Absolutely. The hotel we stayed at, I can’t off the top of my head think of the name of it, but it was one that you recommend, which I mean it is right there in the city center, and we just walked around the corner of the building and boom, there’s the market is just wide just, you know, wide open. Mhm. Did you drive yourselves to Salat? We did. You almost need a car in that area. One thing I would recommend is if you’re going to stay in a hotel like that, you need to know beforehand you need to plan for parking. If I had told them, we have a car, we need a space for parking, they would have given us accommodate us, given us a voucher or whatever. But we got there on a I guess it was a Friday night kind of late and so parking Friday night was a bit challenging because of that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s always a good idea when you pull into a French town or city even more to have some idea where you’re going to park because all French cities are trying to get rid of cars. It’s just a fact of life. We have decided that life is better without all the cars. And so to push the cars away, you make it hard for them to park and you slow down. You narrow the roads and you kind of slow them down. And then if it gets to the point where it’s easier to walk, people will walk. But if it’s easier to drive, people will drive. That’s just how humans are. And so when in France with a car, make sure you know where you’re going to park. Be it your Airbnb, your hotel, perhaps you have found a public parking garage that you have to pay for, but if it’s public paid parking, typically there’s some room there. Have a plan for parking. That’s very, very important. All right. Oh, now we’re going to Paris. Next thing you list is the Pantheon and walking on the roof. Yeah, we were lucky. We had lovely weather that day and so we walked up onto the top of the Pantheon, you know, and walked around the dome and took pictures of across the city. It was beautiful. In case it’s a little scared of heights, but she was brave enough to do that. I think she enjoyed it. Was it a ton of steps going up or was it doable? No, it was doable. It was doable. Was it like scary old steps? Probably. I know the answer to this. They were probably pretty even, right? Even steps. There were some really narrow steps without a banister. Do you recall that, Casey? I don’t recall because I have I have climbed up the top of other churches, so I can’t remember exactly that one. Right. I mean, I think if you have knee problems or heart problems and you know you don’t need to be climbing those stairs, that’s something to consider. But if you’re fairly fit, it was worth it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s just that sometimes in these very old buildings, but the Pantheon is not that old in the grand scheme of things. You know, it’s 18th century, so 1700s. But like in the San Chapel, for example, the steps are very uneven and treacherous. And the ones in the St. Chappelle is I remember when we took my 84 year old great aunt a couple of years ago. Not only are they uneven, but they’re spiral stair staircase. It’s spiral. It’s narrow. It’s uneven. And I fell last time I was there because I wasn’t planning. And you know the crazy thing is there was a tour guide right behind me talking to his customers, reminding them that the stairs are tricky. Be very careful. And boom, I illustrated this year when we went to St. Chappelle cuz we went there to listen to a music concert. We didn’t have to climb those stairs. We came in through the office buildings, the top. Yes. Yeah. We didn’t have to climb those stairs. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. One of these days they’ll have a serious accident and they will change that. But for now they haven’t. They can. I have access to San Chapel without the stairs. So, it’s possible, but it’s not what they choose to do on a day-to-day basis. Beautiful San Chappelle, of course. And oh, that’s one thing I skipped. Classical music concerts in churches in Paris. Which church did you go to? We went to three different churches. Three different concerts. The first one was that St. Chappelle. Yeah. That was gorgeous. Just gorgeous. I love these classical concerts. The music is just so good. And of course then you’re in these, you know, fabulous settings. The other one was a church there near Pantheon. Little teeny tiny church just a couple blocks down the hill from the Pantheon. That was a tiny little church. It was just a piano concert. That was actually the second time I went there on a different trip as well. It wouldn’t be Sante cuz that’s not that’s too close to the Pantheon to be that one. Yeah, it’s just down the hill. Gosh, I should have written it down. And the other one, there’s another old church. Of course, that’s an old church near the bookstore. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, that would be the San Juliano by Shakespeare and Company. It’s a very small church, but they have concerts frequently. And that one was like a quintet, and there was a soprano who sang a few of the songs. Wow. That was just really breathtaking. How did you find those concerts? I think there’s you can just Google classical concerts in Paris or maybe classical concerts and they just list them all over Europe. But there are multiple concerts every week around Paris. And if you want classical music, it’s even easier than rock concerts because rock stars, they only come through when they’re ready to come through. Right. Right. And I wouldn’t say that these musicians are necessarily, you know, worldrenowned performers, but they were really, really good because, you know, yeah, you have some well-trained musicians. You know, Paris is like one of these towns where there’s a lot of very well-trained musicians and they are used to performing several nights a week and so they are very, very good at this. Absolutely. All right. the park mono and the highline park along the canal makam. Who wants to tell me about this? Well, so the park monso the first day we were there after we were able to check into our the first hotel we stayed in, Molly was kind of wiped out. She probably didn’t sleep as much as I did on the plane. So, she chose to take an early evening in. But I it was still lots of daylight left. So, I hit the streets. I actually found an equestrian store near that area, I think is the name of it. I did a little shopping and I walked back through this park and I just thought it was so charming. the young school kids were out playing games and in this park there’s like a little carousel and then there’s a little vendor selling snacks and so I grabbed a I think a soda and a Nutella and banana crepe and I sat on a park bench and I watched the children play and it was just so charming and peaceful. I love that. And then we found other parks in Paris like the Highline to walk down to because we had already been at another trip. We had already been to the Lou. We had already been to the Paris Opera House. So we had done all those mustseas. So we were looking for more peaceful ways to experience Paris. Right. La is really nice. It’s on the eastern side of Paris. It’s bits of old railway tracks that have been converted into a walking path, which happens a fair bit in France really. You can find stuff like that everywhere. But that one is particularly nice because it’s in the middle of the city. It’s like a garden. It’s like a linear garden. And we were there at the time of the year the roses were blooming. It was beautiful. Yeah. In May, June it would be very nice. Yeah. That’s when it starts being very nice and then until late August, even into September, it’s going to be glorious with flowers and bushes and things. If you go in February, it’s not as nice. E, that’s just nature. And near the end, there is one of the fountains that has the sparkling water where you can just refill your own. It was a public fountain that had sparkling water. Of course, that’s novel for us from the United States. So we filled up every empty bottle we had with that sparkling water. It was love. That’s very nice. And did you go along the canal Samaran as well for a little distance? I mean that day we were walking from the river and so we walked along the river a little ways and then walked along the canal just because we were headed to the Highline. Very nice. We’re leaving Paris again and you went to the Chateau D Grand Countryside and Restaurant. Was that another horsey day? Well, yes. So, originally when I was planning this trip, six months before my trip, I was planning this and it was just going to be me. So, I was planning all these horse trips, staying at all these equestrian centers. So, Molly, a month before my trip, Molly decided she was going to retire and join me. So a lot of my trip was based on horse adventures. So this is truly out in the country. I think it’s the area is called U A U V E R G N E. It’s like between the lure and Leona. It was just sheep farms and forest. But anyway, this was a chateau out there in the middle of nowhere. There was an equestrian center there and there were some people there riding but I would say it’s very tiny but most of the guests were not riding. They were actually there because the restaurant there is a Michelin recognized restaurant and the food was just amazing. So I think a lot of people most people just stay there you know because it’s a beautiful chateau and the restaurant is so good. Sounds wonderful. Yeah. Again we have quite a few of those in France. We’re very lucky. We have a lot of destination kind of restaurants that are out of the way. Usually they’re in a beautiful chateau or a beautiful mass or a beautiful kind of setting and somebody very talented in the kitchen will set up a restaurant. Sometimes it’s Michelin starred. Sometimes it’s just listed as a Michelin bib, which is also another great thing to look out for. And I think this one was like you’re saying the Michelin bib. I don’t know that they necessarily had a star, but it was amazing food. And of course, they geared a lot of our lunches towards vegan for Molly, and they were amazing. From a non-vegan, they were amazing. Yes, when you know how to cook really well, you can do some very nice things with vegan food. That’s one of the nice things about going to nicer restaurant. Personally, I tend to prefer the Michelin bib restaurants to the Michelin starred restaurants because Michelin star means it’s a theatrical experience. It’s the way they present the food, both the server, the waiter, how they talk to you, how they surround you, bring you the food. It’s almost like a ballet. I mean, they’re not dancing, but it’s a performance. It’s a performance. Exactly. And it takes a long time because every time they will explain what you’re eating because you can’t tell what it is. I mean, it’s made into something very unusual. And so they will just talk to you about the food before you get to eat it. And I’m not that patient. After the first couple of courses, I’m like, “Okay, I’m ready to get out.” Like a child, you know, just like a child. But Michelin Bib usually have some very nice food. without much of the ceremony which suits me just fine. Me as well and the two chats which Oh, the two shadows of the chat royale and ll is what you mean. That’s right. Yes. Yep. That was a surprise for Molly. You know, like I had planned all this itinerary and she was just kind of like, “Oh, I’ll just jump on.” So I think Molly was real delighted with this area. The shadows and the area was a big surprise for her. So maybe she could talk about that. Yeah. The big one and I don’t know the names of them. What was the one in the village there? That’s the dumb. Okay. And it was just, you know, it was lovely and we went up to see that. We toured it. But to me, the proximity of that little village, how it grows up and it’s this symbiotic relationship between the chateau and the community and how you see that very particularly there because that community is right there at the bottom of the chateau. Some really good food there, some little bit of shopping there, but just super walkable, not big at all. Just sit on the street corner and watch people come and go, you know, that was a lovely place. When we walked over from across the river where we were staying, very walkable and the little bridge was beautiful. The rivers were high. They were almost in flood stage then, but the poppies were blooming. It was just a lovely a lovely visit there. I think that was very early on in our trip. And because we were in that location, I just decided I would stick with white wines mostly along the Cabernet Seven, you know, kind of a dry white wine. And that just started my trip. But I just stayed with that wine basically the whole two weeks, which was was a nice way to compare similar wines instead of jumping all over between reds and whites and sweets. And that kind of set the tone for me how I was going to treat my wine experience. Oh, that’s a that’s an interesting note there. I hadn’t thought of doing that, but you’re right. If you just stick with the same similar kind of type of wine, it’d be good. Yeah. Molly was talking about just sitting, you know, in a cafe and watching people go by. While we were there, we struck up a conversation at a next table of this woman who was single, about our age, and she was from Russia. So, we saw her that evening and talked to her a little bit at dinner, and then the next day we saw her again because it’s such a small little community. So, it was just very interesting, you know, to be able to strike up this conversation and, you know, develop a relationship. That’s wonderful. Yeah. I mean, I think the town has five or six thousand people. It’s not a very big city. It does get a lot of visitors because it is gorgeous and it has two chateau. So, the chat royale don is really interesting especially from a historical perspective. But then you have the cli which is a much smaller chat much much smaller. It was the place that the king of France gave to Dainci, Leonardo Davinci, the artist, and where he finished his life. This is where he died. I don’t remember how old he was when he died, but he was not a young man anymore. And he’s buried on the grounds of the chat royal damis in a chapel that you can normally visit. Last time I was there, it was closed for renovation. So, I assume by now it’s open again and beautiful. And the clus is interesting because in the grounds they have all of these kind of reproductions of Dainci machine. That was very interesting and kind of an unexpected little delight. And you kind of walk through this park where these little machines are kind of set up almost like garden sculpture but they’re reproductions of his drawings. Yes. Yes. And kids love it. It’s a really fun place to go with kids. The chat royale dumb is more about history and adults, but Clus is I mean I would say it’s a mustsea for anyone, but especially for people with kids. Yeah. Somehow we bought a ticket that allowed us to do multiple chateau and that’s kind of drew us to the other one which was a delight. Yes. Yes. They are very very nice. Yeah. If you’re at all a fan of Dainci, you should go there for sure. Yes, definitely. hiking along the river in the OA. Did you both do that or is it Molly? Molly’s a hiker. So Molly has an app that you can go on and say, “I’m here. What hikes are nearby?” And this was the afternoon we were leaving the chateau dev to Tuloo. And so Molly had gone on her app and said, “Well, this looks like an interesting hike along the river.” So it was just gorgeous. Finding the trail head was a little bit of a challenge, but it was we ran into one of those situations where we were driving down this very small farm road and here comes a small herd of cows that were being herded by the farmers, you know, and we had to kind of pull off and let the cows by. So, that was charming. The hike was beautiful and the river was in flood stage, but it was a really gorgeous hike. nice well-maintained bridges and foot but very remote. Kimoot is the app that I use had that hike listed. So that’s I recommend Kimoot highly. I mean, it’s a European app, which we’re so used to all the famous apps being American, but this one’s a European app, and it is full chalk full of great hikes, great bike rides, and you can specify if you want a loop or if you want a oneway, if you’re going from place to place with your backpack or whatever. It will show you photos. It will show you reviews, the difficulty, the elevation, all sorts of. It’s a really good app and it’s free for the most part. You can subscribe. I have a subscription to it. When a thing like this is really helpful, I just subscribe because I figure they deserve support. You can download the map route before you get there. You know, when you’re on Wi-Fi in case you’re in a remote place and you don’t have service or whatever. I found that helpful. Yeah. And most places finding the trail head is the only difficulty. Once you’re on the track, you’re fine. Just sometimes finding the trail head is like, “Oh, where is it?” Yeah, just makes sense. All right, we got to hurry it up and the medieval bridge, the Valentino Desantiago route. Tell me about that. This was kind of just a a half day stop as we were traveling through. Just lovely. We had lunch or dinner. I can’t remember. I have been studying the Camino looking to that kind of a trip for a long time and I haven’t done it yet but I kind of I was very impressed to see that this is part of the old traditional route as well as that area through Rockamad and the other part of the we were I didn’t recognize that it was so well supported as far as places to stay and they just support the hikers so much as well as that Spain route. I mean once you get down in that area. So I was real impressed to see that we crossed the bridge at Cahoos. We had done that history homework and knew about the little devil on the bridge and the construction history of that. What else? Kate I was just that was one of the places we ate at a vegan cafe. Actually we were only there in town for just a few hours because we were that was the day we were traveling to Tuloose. But it was great. You don’t remember the name of the cafe? Oh golly no. I’m sure I used my Happy Cow app to look it up, you know. Yeah, we walked over across the bridge over and it was a lovely day. Yeah, I’m just asking the name of the cafe because people will ask me because they want to have specific recommendations. But you know what? Happy Cow is great because it changes like you know what if it changes hands. If you listen to this podcast 5 years from now, which people will maybe it has changed, you know, so it’s really good to just use the Happy Cow app and find what you need. Puppies and irises blooming everywhere. Yeah, it was a great time to be in France in general. I took a lot of pictures and the irises are just huge. I mean, bigger than your hand. And you know, walking through the poppies, you felt like you were in a Monae painting. Yes. Yes, we have puppies. They will come up pretty soon. They will start coming up pretty soon. Right now, we’re recording this in early March. And so, we have violets in my yard. My garden is full of wild violets. And I planted some irises, but they are still waking up. They need to wake up for real. They like a little warmer, don’t they? But yes, when you’re in the French countryside, you will see poppies and irises. And if in the right season you will see lavender fields, you will see the sunflower fields. You just have to be in the right season to see them. But you don’t really need recommendations for where to go because if you get around a little bit, if you drive in the countryside, you will see them. Absolutely. They are there. Wonderful. Okay. The last thing is Latin dancing along the banks of the San River back to Paris. Yes. So, I will just say for the listeners, when we flew into Paris, we spent three days in Paris before we took the train out of town to the south and the countryside. And then the last three days we were back in Paris. The very first time I was in Paris, I was riding on the one of the boats on a dinner cruise and we went by the side of the there near the garden deplants and I saw all the different dancing there on the side of the river and I thought and next time I’m in Paris I want to go and watch that. So we this was one of the our kind of our low-key just walk around Paris days. We could walk from the Pantheon down through the old Roman ruin. So then we had walked through the Jordan de Plants and of course the flowers were blooming. It was beautiful. And then we got to the Sin River and this was I thought they did the Latin all the dancing stuff on Saturday night but unbeknownst to me this was a bank holiday Monday and so they were doing some of the Latin dancing there. So Molly and I sat there on the in the little on the steps there by the river and watched them do their Latin. We could have sat there for an hour probably, but it kind of started sprinkling rain. So we mosied on down the river. But yeah, that was very interesting. All the couples and you could say it was like um a club of dancers that knew each other. Some of them had matching outfits. It was just a lovely way to spend some time on the streets in Paris. Yeah. Yeah. It’s very common. Dance clubs will meet outside in Paris. They do that along the banks of the river like you mentioned near the Jean de Plant. And this also happens by the French Academy. So between the Louv and the Col Buren. Yes, I’ve seen that too. Right. So it’s in front of the theater. Right. Anyway, it’s just a beautiful area to visit. Well, it sounds like you had a wonderful time in France. Is there something that you learned that you want to make sure to share with people? Did you have any problems, things that you want to warn people about? Well, I’ve already said about the parking. We had the same situation when we stopped in Tuloo and our hotel, you know, was well, not the city center. We stayed across the river, but still parking was a challenge because I didn’t realize that I should have told them, hey, I’ve got a car, you know, where do I need to park? So, parking was a little bit challenging. I mean, when we stayed at the Airbnbs out in the country, parking was not an issue at all. And if I lived in a big city here in the United States, I would probably have known this, but I live way out in the country. Anyway, so yeah, if you’re staying in a city center and you have a car, you need to plan ahead for where you’re going to park. The other thing is in Paris, we did not use the metro, but we used the bus a lot. Love the bus. But of course, this was like two months before the Olympics, so some of the routes, the bus routes were shortened. And of course, I think there was some construction going on as well. So if you Googled your trip or whatever, Google may not have recognized that the routes had been shortened or that certain bus stops were not in use. If you have time tickets for a performance or to go to a museum, give yourself plenty of time in case your bus route has been amended, right? And if you use the Bonjour app, they are completely up to date. City Mapper is also usually up to date. Google does a pretty good job as well by now, but yeah, before the Olympics, it was all bets were off. Yeah, it we never got fouled up on any of our trips, but we were giving oursel plenty of time. Oh, I know a recommendation. We did go to Monaet’s Gardens out in June, which was gorgeous. And we had originally planned to do that on a Monday, but when we went to buy our tickets, all the tickets were sold out because I didn’t realize it was a bank holiday. So, we just flipped the whatever we were going to do on a different day, we just flipped those itineraries on those days. So the gardens were gorgeous, but it was just so crowded that it was, you know, almost not worth to go because it was so crowded. So many people. Bank holidays in France are trouble. And we have three of them this May. So it’s May 1st, May 8th this year. May 1st and May 8th are always bank holidays. But then there’s Pentecost, which moves. That was the Pentecost was the day that I was not aware of. Right. Right. And so we have at least three bank holidays in May. This is a time when French people finally get out and they’re very happy and they will flood every possible venue and hotel and restaurant and chateau and garden and you name it, we’re all there. So nobody stays home for those holidays. And so be prepared for lots of people. Lots and lots of people. And trains are full as well around those days. Well, so we did not go on that Pentecost. We did not go to Monaet’s Garden that day. We did go like a week or so later. And our train from back from Vernon, I guess is where the train station is. It was standing room only. The train was coming back was so packed with people. I stood up. Molly found a seat, but I stood up the whole train trip back. So, being mindful of that, maybe if we hadn’t jumped on the car closest to the train station, maybe we’d walked down the platform and got on a different car, maybe it wouldn’t have been as packed, but those trains are full. Those are very busy times in France. And so, just expect it that it’s going to be this way. So, I would strongly recommend, you know, I had an itinerary and I had things that were pinned in and inked for us to do that I, you know, were definitely some things we wanted to do, but I also had things literally penciled in that, well, if we have enough time or if the weather turns, these are alternative things that we could do. So, I would recommend that kind of thing as well. Yes. Yes. Yes. one of our most on the fact the day of Pentecost that Monday the day we were going to go to Monaet’s garden we kind of flipped our itinerary so this was a day late afterwards Molly called it this is our day to commune with the dead because so we were staying up near Mont M we were staying in the 17th uh Aris Disont we slept late that morning and then we went and walked through the cemetery up there and you know looked at the various we found one of the artists cannot think of the name Molly that we took a picture for Audrey I cannot we saw a lot of the famous tombs so this would be the Matra cemetery yes and Eml Zola oh Zola okay so he had a tomb there that was actually really new compared to the other ones around his tomb was real new looking so we spent you know an hour or so doing that that’s When we took a bus across town, we went to the Pantheon, toured the Pantheon, which I love the audio history, and then we went down into the crypt at the Pantheon. And also, Zola has a crypt in the Pantheon. So, it’s like, where are his bones really located? Oh, that’s quite the question. I do not know. I love his books, though. Love his books. I’m always listening to a Zola book pretty much because it’s quintessential French literature. How would I put it? It’s not the book that you cannot put down because there’s so much action, but I love his depiction of French society. It’s for people who love history. Wonderful, wonderful books. Well, I’ll need to look into that. So, after we left the Pantheon, this is when we walked down through the Roman amphitheater there. We walked through that and down by the river. That’s when we saw the Latin dancing lutes. Now it’s coming back to me. The word after we had watched the Latin dancing, it had kind of started sprinkling rain. Of course, it wouldn’t be Paris if it didn’t rain every once in a while. No. So then we went to the martyr’s museum which is right there behind there at the tip of the island. Oh yes. And so that museum, it is really hidden, you know, it’s underground really. So anyway, we went down. It was raining course, so it was perfect to go underground and it’s free and there’s never a lot of people. That’s exactly right. And so that was interesting to read that history that, you know, one of the things particularly in our political climate right now, it wasn’t just the Jews that they sent off to the death camps. It was, you know, also the gay people or anybody who handicapped. That’s exactly right. That museum talked about all of that. Well, if you had taken my voice map tour, you would have known about it long ago because it’s right there. It’s in the voice map tour. Anyway, that was our day to commune with the dead. Yes, that was definitely definitely dead day. All right, sisters, you have been wonderful. Molly and Casey, we need to say goodbye because we’ve been talking a long time, but it’s been a delight talking to you and hopefully you have many more trips back to France. Absolutely. Merciboku, thank you for your kind of travels. We love listening to you, Annie. Thank you. Thank you. Again, [Music] I want to thank my patrons for giving back and supporting the show. Patrons get several exclusive rewards for doing so. You can see them at patreon.com/join us p a t r e o n join us no spaces or dashes. And a special shout out this week to my new join us in France champions, Chinta Cooper and Annette S. Would you join them, too? You can do it for as little as $3 a month, but if you can afford it, I would love to have you pledge more so you can have access to more of the rewards. And to support Elise, go to patreon.com/elissart e l ys a rt. This week I published my first and I have to admit feeble attempt at a short video of a place in France for my patrons. I am testing the waters with them because I know they have a soft spot for me and they’ll be kind. I feel like I really need to take join us in France in a new direction, adding some video content. Probably not the talking heads of me talking to whoever else is with me on the podcast, but different creative view of places in France that I visit. If you’re planning a trip to France and want expert help, hire me as your itinerary consultant. Sometimes I’m very busy, sometimes not as much. You can check out my availability at joinusinfrance.com/boutique. Don’t wait too much cuz usually it’s kind of busy because people enjoy that service. Have you been to Mulra lately? If you have, you know how crowded it’s become and it’s changed a lot since the Olympics. I want to share what it’s really like for locals living at the foot of the Sakur, the most visited monument in France, now drawing 11 million visitors a year. That’s nearly double the Eiffel Tower’s numbers. And it’s not just the Basilica. The entire neighborhood, cobblestone streets, postcard views and village charm, is overflowing with tourists from all over the world, and they are welcome. And yes, it’s beautiful. Yes, the view of Paris is stunning on a clear day. But for the people who live there, the constant crowd is becoming a real issue. And this is what locals are saying. An Riodi a longtime resident and president of the association Viv Ara says it bluntly tourism has taken over daily life. What was once a charming neighborhood is now packed with massive tour groups 80 people at a time. She says that’s a lot of I mean I do 40 people groups and that’s a lot. 80 I can’t even imagine. And why the sudden surge? Think Emily Pulan, Emily in Paris, the Olympics, and now even the daughter of France rolling through the area. And I think she’s not wrong to worry. The local bakery is gone, replaced by a souvenir shop. All that remains is a bread depot and a pharmacy. Meanwhile, buses, tuk tuks, tourists in vintage Duvo, and rental bikes are choking the narrow streets. There’s even talk of filming tourists cycling up Lupik, where the to France just went. You know, 20 or 30 for the memory. Ah, yes. Live like a local, folks. I tell you, it’s about the opposite of living like a local, but okay. Nicole, an artist who has been working on the Plazetra since 1969, sees the change to tour groups look, take photos, but rarely buy. And why is that? Because they don’t have time. Tours move on. They can’t sit there for an hour. And the artists, well, they’re squeezed tighter and tighter. She says her working space has shrunk to barely one square meter. And they do pay for those spots, by the way. This is not a free thing that they’re doing. At the same time, real estate prices have exploded. €12,000 per square meter on average. Just for comparison, in Tulus, in the city of Tulus proper, €4,000 per square meter is normal. Okay. Some listings even go for €20,000 per square meter on Avenue Juno. Locals clearly are being pushed out. Short-term rentals like Airbnb are partly to blame. Some buildings now only house SCI investment companies, and these are the companies that invest in Airbnbs. They’re privately owned. They’re not on the stock market, but these are rich people getting together to purchase as many apartments as they can so they can rent them out as Airbnb. And it’s totally legal, of course. One local owner finally sold his apartment after being the last resident in his building. He was overwhelmed by the constant sound of suitcases rolling up the stairs. Yes, when your apartment building turns into a hotel, it’s not the same, is it? And then there’s the city of Paris pedestrianization plan, which could eliminate hundreds of parking spots. Local residents are fighting back with petitions. Uh, one man says he lives for work at 4:00 a.m. He needs his car. You know, this is hard for me because I don’t think we should have cars in the city centers of big cities and anymore is right in the center of Paris. So, yeah, that that’s a hard one. Now, as you know probably, I wrote a voice map tour of Mach a few years back and even back then I thought it was really important for me to start the tour off the beaten track where 99% of the visitors never set foot. Yes, I also take you to pluter and the famous steps and even one of the pulan spots. But that’s not all I show you and I hope you notice and I hope it’s important to you. So, what’s the solution? Well, Mafra does not need more promotion at this point. It needs regulation. That’s what an says, the president of the residents association, and many of the members of her association agree. I’d love to hear what you think. Have you been to Ma recently? Did you notice the tensions between tourism and local life? Let’s talk about it. How we can enjoy this magical place without overwhelming it. My take on this is people should get spread around. They should hear about other places to visit. And you can’t say that that I don’t put most of my energy telling you about places outside of Paris. Even though I write tours of Paris, so I should send you to all to Paris, right? I should all send you to the same places in Paris where it so happens my tours are. But really consider, and I know a lot of you do cuz I talk to you all the time, but consider changing it up a bit, going to see more of France than just the center of Paris. And my thanks to podcast editors Ann and Christian Civan who produced the transcripts. Next week on the podcast, an episode about reconnecting with France and also real estate shopping with David Palace, who’s been on the podcast a few times already. David and his husband have since moved into their new place and they’re making it real. So that’s wonderful. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you join me next time so we can look around France together. The Join us in France travel podcast is written, hosted and produced by Annie Sergeant and copyright 2025 by addicted to France. It is released under a creative comments attribution non-commercial no derivatives license. [Music] Okay. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Yay! [Music]

Ever wondered what it’s like to explore the French countryside on horseback and by foot?

In From the French Countryside to Classical Concerts in Paris, host Annie Sargent chats with Casey and Molly, two sisters who share their recent adventures through rural France. This episode is packed with off-the-beaten-path ideas for travelers who love nature, history, and cultural surprises.

Listen to this episode ad-free The sisters didn’t just pass through France—they immersed themselves in it. They stayed at Mas de Peyrelongue, a welcoming equestrian farm where visitors can ride horses “à la carte” while practicing their French with the hosts. For hikers, they found a gem: the Abbey of Sainte-Eulalie Espagnac, a peaceful stop along a local trail where walkers can rest for the night. They also visited the Château d’Ygrande in the Auvergne, a gorgeous countryside retreat with an elegant restaurant—perfect for relaxing in a beautiful natural setting.

But their journey didn’t stop there. After their rural adventures, they returned to Paris for a very different kind of experience: a classical concert at Sainte-Chapelle and a stroll through the Marais.

This episode is a great listen for travelers looking for slower, more personal ways to enjoy France. Whether you’re planning your next trip or just dreaming of France, don’t miss this story.

Table of Contents for this Episode

[00:00:30] Today on the podcast [00:00:58] Podcast supporters [00:01:26] The Magazine segment [00:02:00] Episode 557 [00:03:17] Exploring Mas de Peyrelongue [00:06:02] Discovering Abbey Sainte-Eulalie d’Espignon [00:08:06] Visiting Rocamadour and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie [00:13:23]  Painted Cave of Pech-Merle [00:14:23] Toulouse and Elyse’s Walking Tour [00:18:45] Market Day in Sarlat [00:21:32] Paris: The Pantheon Experience [00:24:00] Classical Music Concerts in Parisian Churches [00:26:05] Exploring Parisian Parks: Parc Monceau and Highline Park [00:28:50] A Culinary and Equestrian Adventure in Auvergne [00:30:39] Michelin Bib Restaurants [00:32:06] Discovering the Chateaus of Amboise [00:33:30] Trying Different White Wines Along the Way [00:36:27] Hiking and Scenic Routes in Auvergne [00:38:34] A Brief Stop in Cahors and the Camino de Santiago [00:41:24] Latin Dancing Along the Seine River [00:43:30] Travel Tips and Reflections [00:51:39] Thank you, Patrons [00:53:13] Montmartre – a local view [00:57:15] Annie’s VoiceMap Tour of Montmartre [00:57:43] What’s the Solution? [00:59:16] Copyright Subscribe to the Join Us in France Travel Podcast to hear new episodes every week.

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