Bonjour Paris! Facing Memories And Embracing New Adventures

Welcome to the SELF.STYLED.LIFE Podcast with Janelle Wehsack

Bonjour Paris!

The title says it all for this episode, as this episode goes live Scotty and I will be almost ready to head back to Paris for the first time in 5 years, so this is a bit more of a personal episode.

If you're new here, then one thing you absolutely need to know about me is that I'm in love with France. We've visited Paris around 20 times (maybe more at this point, I'm no longer sure), and I love to share with you what it is I love about Paris, why we keep going back and all the lessons that I've learnt throughout our visits.

In today's episode - Bonjour Paris! Facing Memories And Embracing New Adventures I'm sharing with you the memories that have held me back from returning to Paris for 5 years, what I'm looking forward to the most, and some travel resources if you're thinking about your very own trip to Paris! 

Read this episode's full transcript here.

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Transcript

Hi Hi fabulous humans and welcome to the latest episode of the Self.Styled.Life podcast with me, Janelle Wehsack. I hope things are completely magical in your world today. Thank you as always for joining me, I never lose sight of the fact that you’re busy humans with many options in your life. You could quite literally be listening to anything right now, and the fact that you’ve tuned into my podcast is something I’m completely grateful for. Now, as you’ve probably guessed by the title of this episode, it’s a personal one. By the time you listen to this episode we’ll be just about ready to head to France. We’re spending time in Paris and Bordeaux on this trip, and it’s completely safe to say that I can’t wait. Although we did spend some time on the French Riviera in 2022, this will be the first time we’ve been back to Paris itself in almost 5 years. Which feels a bit like a lifetime when I think about the fact that pre-pandemic, we were back there every year. People are often shocked when I tell them that we’ve visited Paris around 20 times. So many times that I lost count years ago. And we’ve never lived in Europe. 

But if you follow me on Insta, you might have seen my post where I shared the reason we haven’t been back to Paris for such a long time. Paris is my favourite city on the planet and I know that many of you have been curious as to why I hadn’t rushed back by now. The thing is, Paris has always held so much joy for me and now, for the first time since I first visited in 2008 she holds some sad memories. You see, on our very last visit, my darling friend and long time French teacher Alisa shared that devastatingly, her cancer had returned and that it was now consuming her body. I was heartbroken by the news, which Alisa shared while we were having dinner in her much coveted Parisian apartment. Alisa and I had met through my blog, Distant Francophile, and she was a mentor to me, and not just when it came to me learning French. I found her approach to life inspiring and loved our catch ups - which happened every week online for years. Two nights after Alisa shared her prognosis she and I wandered around the Musee D’Orsay. We were there for the Renoir exhibition, and then we sat and talked about her life and her love for her grandchildren, and about her desire to buy a special piece of jewellery for her newborn granddaughter. We caught the line one metro together and I cried as Scotty and I stood on the platform waving as the train carried her into the Parisian night. I knew right then it would be the last time I would speak with her - and it was. Only a few short months later, her husband kindly let me know she had passed. 

So anyway, I know that not returning to Paris before now, has been a protective mechanism for me. I wasn’t ready to face into the memories. It’s the same reason I haven’t done a French lesson since then. But now I’m ready to go back. And today I want to share what we’ll be up to, what I’m looking forward to and some of the travel planning resources I’m loving right now. Now I need to warn you from the outset - this is going to be a longish episode, at least by my standards. But there’s so much French goodness I want to share. So on y va team. Let’s go.

First up, let me give you some context for this next trip. We’re flying into Paris and spending four nights before we jump on a two hour TGV train trip down to Bordeaux. It’s been almost 8 years since we visited Bordeaux so we’re looking forward to spending a couple of nights there before we head into the Dordogne region of France, to catch up with our friends Graham and Damon in the village of Belves. Graham and I met as bloggers years ago and we can’t wait to stay with them in their newish cheese and wine bar that also offers bed and breakfast style accommodation. After three nights there, we’ll pop back up to Paris for four more nights before flying home to Oz. Now I know many of you will be thinking that we’re not staying long - especially given we’ll have to fly 24 hours both ways to do the trip. But we actually like these short and sweet trips. Yes, the flights can be gruelling - no friends, we’re not flying business unless I can score a sneaky last minute upgrade - but the short trips mean that we pack a lot in and we don’t have to save a fortune before we go. And, given the way airline points work, we can travel more often. Which definitely works for me. 

Alright, time to get into all of the things that I’m looking forward to. It probably comes as no surprise that I’m looking forward to some delicious French food. I mean, you can’t go to France and not eat well. And drink well too, especially if you are going to a French wine region. And on this trip we’re going to two. But we’ll get to those later. 

First though, let me start with meals that I’m looking forward to in Paris. And we’ll be jumping straight into Michelin star dining only less than 48 hours after we land for Scotty’s birthday lunch. Because we often travel in May, Scotty has celebrated many a birthday in Paris and we always try to do something a bit special and this trip will be no exception. We’re heading to the one starred Le George in the Four Seasons, which will be a new one for us. It’s got a bit of an Italian leaning, and I’ve heard great things about it. And let me tell you, it’s worth saving up for a Michelin experience while you’re in France. They really are unforgettable meals and not always as expensive or as intimidating as you might think. My best money saving tip is to go at lunch time, when they normally have a relatively affordable set menu and you still get to see the views. By leveraging the lunch time setting we’ve been able to eat at one, two and three starred venues all over France, and I’ve loved every one of them. And if you think that maybe a Michelin star restaurant may be too fancy or intimidating, I can assure you they’re not. In fact they’re easier in some ways than more relaxed dining because the staff are there to make you feel special and ensure you have an amazing experience. 

The other meal we’re looking forward to in Paris will be on an evening Seine cruise. We’ve only ever cruised the Seine once - all the way back in 2008 on our first visit. It’s a lovely experience but not something I feel like you’re going to do over and over again. And we’ve completely avoided dinner cruises until now, due to the terrible reputation they have. However, one of the resources I’ll mention later in the episode reviewed the dinner cruise on Le Calife and recommended it highly. And it looks so very lovely we thought we’d give it a go. I’m curious and I’ll be sure to share my thoughts with all of you - because if it’s good, it might be something you’d like to do too.

In terms of food outside of Paris, I’ve booked lunch at La Cite du Vin in Bordeaux. We’ve eaten there before and it was delicious and excellent value for money. We visited the immersive and sensory experience that is La Cite Du Vin or city of wine the last time we visited Bordeaux and it was great fun. This time though, rather than going to the exhibition itself, this time, we thought we’d do a tasting workshop. And tasting workshops are best done on full bellies, so booking lunch prior makes complete sense.

I’m also looking forward to trying some of the delicious looking cheese plates that Graham and Damon create. Their business in Belves is named Planches et Plonk which basically translates to platters and wine. Really, what’s not to like?

And the final meal that I’m counting down to will happen in Epernay, one of the two rockstar cities in the Champagne region of France. We’ve done Reims twice before and I’ve been promising champagne lovers for years that I’d review Epernay on Distant Francophile for sure. Well we’re finally doing it. And apart from taking an underground train around the cellars of Mercier champagne, we’ll also be doing lunch at Perrier Jouet. I’m looking forward to checking out their cellar bar and visiting their Belle Epoque Maison. 

Something else that I’m really looking forward to is staying in some new accomodation and arrondissements while we’re in Paris. For the first time we’ll be staying in a hotel out in the 16th, not too far from the Eiffel Tower. While staying close to the tower isn’t necessarily a drawcard, I have heard excellent things about the neighbourhoods and I’m keen to explore them. We’re also staying for the first time in a long time in the 6th arrondissement. I’m sure the 6th is well known to many of you listening in. It’s such a buzzy part of Paris situated right in the beating heart of the left bank, which is chock full of cafes, restaurants and fun shopping options. 

While we’re in Paris we’ll be catching up with Rachel Calvo for a photo shoot. A Parisian photo shoot is on the live list of many humans, and luckily enough this will be our second shoot. The first one was with the inspirational Carla Coulson 9 years ago. On that shoot I was nervous - we’d not had photos taken since our wedding and I remember feeling self conscious on the Parisian streets. This time though, I’m super excited. One of the things that comes with running the business is the fact that people need to get to know me and photos and video is essential for that. I’ve now done a number of photo shoots and while I’m no model, I’m no longer self conscious in front of a camera. I’m really looking forward to doing a proper brand shoot with Paris as the back drop.

In terms of shopping, a visit to Geurlain is is on the list to refill my perfume bottles. I love L’heure Bleu and Shalimar. And I’m tempted to pop my head into Polene - not that I need any more handbags. But it never hurts to look.

Finally, I can’t wait to do my very favourite thing in France and that’s people watching. I can’t wait to take in the fashion and style. I always find it so inspiring and I know I’ll come home with a new trinket or two, which is exactly what happened when I saw a woman wearing stacked bangles in a restaurant in Lyon. She looked so chic, I was very happy to take on a piece of her French style as my own..

Ok, so I promised in the intro that I’d share some of my favourite travel resources for right now. As it happens both of these relate to Paris. The first is a super e book written by my friend Jo Karnaghan. Jo is an expert traveller and runs both Frugal First Class Travel and the hugely popular France Travel Planning Blog. And the 4th edition of her Ultimate Paris Address Book is another cracker. I was speaking with Jo recently and we both agreed that her book is feeling very mature and refined right now. It has the perfect mix of economical and luxury, covers every arrondissement and is packed full of hidden gems to make you feel like a traveller on your visit to Paris as opposed to a tourist. I’ll link to the book in the show notes, but if you want to have a look while you’re listening to me, then jump over to frugalfirstclasstravel.com and head to the travel planning shop.

The second resource is a ‘new to me’ YouTube channel called Les Frenchies. Antoine and Colleen are an engaging French/American couple who test out all sortsof Parisian and French fun. Check them out for tips on restaurants, tours and travel and etiquette tips - all of the things.

I highly recommend both these resources if you’re currently planning a visit to Paris - or if you just want to imagine what a future trip might look like and potentially manifest it.

Now one thing I know for sure about this trip is that I’ll be sharing it with all of you on Instagram. So if you’re curious to experience this trip with us, make sure you follow me on Insta. Just type in my name and hit follow. I’ll be sharing every day from our trip so if you’re very ok with French spam in your feed I’d love to have you join me virtually.

Ok team that’s it for today’s ramblings. Thank you again for being part of my world. And make sure you hit the follow button on your favourite podcast player too so you never miss an episode. I’ll be back soon with more strategies or inspirations or even just musings like today. But until then, stay fabulous. Bye for now.