Jeff and Julie move to France (during a global pandemic)

This week, we present the first of a two-parter talking about our amazing trip to Roland Garros and the Champagne region. On the way, we enjoyed visits in Brive, Chateauroux and Limoges. Let's get to that first.

Come and join us for a stroll through the beautiful streets of Issigeac in the Dordogne region of France. We also look into the latest effort to curb smoking in France. And we wade through some of the post-covid marriage and divorce rates.

There is so much nefarious activity going on that we had to weigh in. From Kim Kardashian's diamond heist, to sabatoge at a Nice power station, to Crypto kidnappings, France is in the cross-hairs. Not to mention the upper-cut the President endured from his wife. Oh, and we traveled to Miramont de Guyenne.

This week, we take you to one of the largest outdoor markets in South West France. Check out some of the 200 vendors of le Marche at Monsempron-Libos. We also look into Spain's recent crack-down of foreign owned Air BnBs there. And, watch out for the Schtroumpts!!

Against stern warnings from locals, we threw caution to the wind in hopes of finding something interesting in Fumel, and we weren't disappointed. France is hosting celebrities from all corners of the globe as the 78th Annual Cannes Film Festival rolls out the red carpet. And a French dictionary has added 150 new words.

In this week's offering, we explore the EU's decision to roll out the red carpet to scientists from around the world. There's a new French app which detects products made in the USA called, DéTrumpez-vous. And we checked out the "City of Hats", Caussade France.

The rains have moved on and we are in full spring swing. And along with a resumption of some long ignored yard work, we were able to squeeze in an enjoyable day-trip to nearby Castlemoron. Also on this week's show, we explore the history of the Conclave, as the Catholic Church searches for a new Pope.

After stumbling on to some fantastic wines from this appellation, we decided to visit Buzet. If you're looking for a softer French red to wean yourself off of anything from California, this is the region to try. Also, now is the time to set your traps for the Asian Hornet. Julie has the recipe.

We had a lot of fun with Chapter 155 of our podcast. Yes, we visited, and loved, the charming village of Villereal. However, we couldn't ignore a truly Canadian moment involving a federal leaders political debate and a hockey game.

Join us for our visit to the beautiful village of Clermont-Dessous, and the amazing restaurant, Maison Bleu. We also weigh in on Canada's Swearing index. See if your city made the list.

Currently, there's one polarizing topic which has affected everyone's day to day activities...the Trump tariffs. We will endeavor to make as much sense out of it as is humanly possible. Welcome to Liberation Day!!!

The 3rd annual Feria Agricole et Gourmande was held this past weekend in Villeneuve Sur Lot, and it was evident as to why this will continue to be a yearly occurence. Also on this week's Chapter, the origins of April Fools Day.

Since moving to France in 2020, we haven't seen our Canada in the news as much as now. We talk trade, the new PM and how the U.S. is affecting a lot of the attention that Canada is getting.

To celebrate our 150th podcast, we took a special trip. This week, we piled in the car and drove to beautiful Tourrettes sur Loup, with stops in Arles, Cannes and of course, Nice.

With summer travel brewing, we thought it would be a good idea to sit down with Richard Vanderlubbe of Trip Central to discuss options and trends.

Dog adoption season is in full swing, which is why we are thrilled to dedicate this Chapter to finding forever homes for some stray dogs. Today, we talk to Anastasia Somers, CEO of Stray Paws from Greece Toronto Dog Rescue.

Oh Boy! The French Government is at it again. This time, flexing their muscles by telling us all how to wash our clothes. No really! We have that, and quite the spicy plans for Valentines Day to tell you about. Not for the faint of heart.

We just returned home from a spectacular trip to the Costa del Sol in Spain. The highlight was connecting with our dear friend Howard Glassman, then taking on Malaga, Marbella and of course, the Rock of Gibraltar together.

Thanks to TomTom (GPS), we now know which cities to avoid due to congestion, and Toronto isn't the worst. We also look into the number one tourist destination recommended by the Lonely Planet for 2025.

This week, we have a new Netflix movie to tell you about… and it's from France.  And a very deserving honor for Canada's Michael J. Fox.

If you have European travel plans for 2025, you're going to want to know about the new requirements from the UK and EU. We'll have those for you. And since it's our final podcast for 2024, we thought we'd also share our favorite podcast moment of the year. Happy New Year.

It was touted as the best Christmas Market in the area and it did not disappoint. We visited the charming village of Sarlat la Canéda in the Dordogne region. Also some long awaited recognition for two very influential Canadian Fox's.

It's been 5 years since the big fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, and they are already set for the grand re-opening on Saturday. We talk about all that went into this incredible renovation. Also, it appears the French Government is grinding to a halt, and there are more labor strikes coming our way.

It's a really dead time here in France, so what better time to visit the Hearse and Carriage Museum. We also look into France's version of Black Friday, and Julie's old school in Montreal celebrates its 170th birthday.

Anytime the word “garbage” appears in the title of your podcast, you know you're in for a treat. This week's chapter is a bit of a French reality check. We have heating issues, farm protests, residency application forms to fill out, and if that weren't fun enough, we have new garbage protocols to deal with. It's one laugh after another. Did I mention we're both sick? It's the feel-good podcast of 2024.

In today's chapter, we travelled to Greece to help raise awareness to the important work being done to rescue street dogs for adoption in Canada. While there, we took in some jaw-dropping Greek ruins and an incredible shipping canal which took centuries to complete.

What a week in Southwest France. We'll be talking about a 12th Century cloister in Cadouin. And Julie takes a deep, scientific dive into the differences between French and Quebecois swear words.

As Halloween draws near, we take a look at how the French regard black cats. We also share updates on the mailbox fiasco, Jeff's knee saga and some new landscaping on the property.

Wow!!! We just wrapped up the most fantastic trip to Canada one could hope for. An incredible time was had by all, and in this week's chapter we will highlight all of the amazing, and humourous moments. Enjoy!

We finally received a tour of the inner workings of the spectacular Chateau Noaillac. Also this week, we take a look at the differences in food regulations between Europe and North America.

This week, we travel to the amazing Arcachon basin to visit with friends. The weather co-operated so we enjoyed a number of activities including a trip to the Dune du Pilat.

We are thrilled to introduce Linda Festing-Smith to you. Linda and Bill are our guests this week, and they foster service dogs. Linda will talk about their fascinating life.

Friday the 13th! Looming pilots strike! Coincidence??? Not for us. Just par for the course.

We are back!! After a brief summer retreat, our podcast returns with another travel adventure. This week, we checked out the charming village of Albas.

The 33rd Olympiad is in the books, and we will have some of the good, bad and ugly from Paris. We also checked out the Tourtiére Festival in Tournon, and it wasn't what we expected.

As the Olympics draw to a close, we have a number of controversial updates for you this week. We also journeyed over to Bias to check out the Chateau of Plates.

There are so many Chateaus in France, you can actually drive by one for 4 years and not know it. Introducing Chateau de Rogé in Villeneuve Sur Lot. This week, we finally took a look.

Like it or not, the Olympics are here, and we have a bunch of updates to get to. We also took in some very cool sites in and around Nerac in SW France.

We are a week away from the opening ceremonies of the Paris games, so there are plenty of Olympic updates on this week's chapter. We also made it back out to Pujols to take in their Marché Gourmand, and it was a blast.

France is a busy place to be right now. EuroCup, Tour de France and the Olympics are all in the news. We will have updates on all three. We also, sort of, visited the Penne D'Agenais Festival of Light.

It's been a week of fails, including our attempted Adventure. There's more on that. And, we have a number of Olympic updates to tackle as the opening ceremonies near.

Our first true day of Summer got us out of the house and off to a local Lavender farm for this week's adventure. The summer sales are here. And the Paris Olympics are now less than a month away.

We put on a lot of miles this past week. From a couple of nights in beautiful Bordeaux and St. Emilion, to a quick trip to Toulouse. The French also have a mechanism which allows you to sell your house while continuing to live in it. And, there are a couple of Olympic updates to get to.

From the tip of the Archachon basin at Cap Ferret, to Les Arques and finally Domme. We've traveled around a lot this past week. We also touch on the Euro elections and Macron's reaction, and wrap it up with the most bizarre Olympic update of them all.

This week's intended destination of Toulouse was abruptly cancelled at the last minute, so we changed gears and headed down the road to beautiful Cahors, to see the spectacular St. Etienne Cathedral.

On today's adventure, we travel to the charming village of Eymet where "arcade" architure is alive and well. We celebrate Neightbor's Day in Europe and there's a new dog in town. Introducing Bark Air.

It's been a strange week. We got soaked watching the inaugural Penne D'Agenais Soapbox derby, then grabbed a few rays on our day-trip to the Chateau Monbazillac. The weather is all over the map. It's now starting to affect the Paris games. We'll have more on that.

The rotten weather is limiting our adventure opportunities. So again, we were forced back indoors. This week, we check out a wine co-operative, talk about the Eurovision results and promote women's driving in France. There's also more on the Paris '24 games.

We finally got rid of the rain. On this sunny episode, we drop in on the famous Water Lily farm in Temple Sur Lot named after its founder, Latour-Marliac. We have more on the location of the Olympic torch, and France has just baked up the longest Baguette in the history of the world. Impressive.

Is it rainy, windy and cold here in SW France? Yes it is. But do we still have a podcast for you? Yes we do! That's the length we will go to keep you happy. Today, it's supposed to be Spring, so we checked out the Foire aux Fleurs in Tournon. We also take a look at this year's May Day and the 2024 Olympics.

I suppose if there's a museum for foie gras here in France, it stands to reason that there'd be one for Hazelnuts. And there is. And we went there. Also on this week's show there's more on the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the European alcohol consumption report was issued from the WHO.