Annie Smithers is a celebrated French chef in Australia who has achieved a wonderful work life balance living in the country French style, growing her own produce from paddock to plate! Starting out in the early 80s in the kitchens of the famed Aussie restauranteur Stephanie Alexander, Annie has an amazing knowledge of French cooking, with its intricate techniques and traditional dishes. 

I love Annie's passion for working with the terroir when making up a menu. I also adored chatting with her about the history of food in France as well as nattering on with our observations of the evolution French life and how we connect with it here in Australia too. She has a wealth of knowledge, telling me all about particular breeds of chickens, about how the power of food creates memories, about various regional French dishes and cooking techniques including fabulous French sauce-work, about the temptation to buy a château on Instagram, just discussing the evolution of a quieter French life. For Annie's French way of life it is all about the French food that brings people together! 

Tune into to escape to France and share the joy with us.



**Note this episode was recorded onsite at Annie's home at Babbington Park. Patience with the sound will be required momentarily at the start, with the regular high Loulabelle's sound quality returning after the first few minutes.

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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 YouTube
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Instagram
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website

A few years ago I chatted to Kate Veach on the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast and since then (like a number of guests!) she has become a beautiful friend. I stayed with her and her husband Nathan recently in Burgundy which was such a wonderful time and our stay with her absolutely illustrated why we are now lovely friends. Kate and Nathan have become part of their local community in Lucenay-L'Eveque with artist events, aperitif sessions in the village square and more important that anything, wonderful friendships that will be life long.

Kate has an amazing knowledge of her local area. I have connected with her on previous trips but this time was on her actual home turf and she didn't hold back! We experienced everything wonderful that Bourgogne has to offer. Kate asked before my friend Trudy and I arrived, what we'd like to do and lucky for us, Kate knows all there is to know about finding great brocante which is exactly what we wanted! We visited the Beaune market as well as other brocante spots nearby, we meandered through Burgundian villages and towns, we had food and wine experiences I never expected, we were accepted and wrapped up with warmth by the locals and we enjoyed amazing cooking and hospitality in the cosy country home of Kate and Nathan.

Tune in to hear the wonderful tips if you're planning a trip to Burgundy, but even if you just want to imagine a day in France and escape momentarily.



Link to The Paris Plan as mentioned in this episode on the LFF website

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

It's getting to that time of year when Christmas is on our minds, although I'm a little obsessed about all things Chrissy all year round! So when I had the chance to chat to Lucie Brocard and Anne-Sophie Pink about the Alliance Française Melbourne's upcoming Marché de Noël, I jumped at the opportunity!

Lucie is the Cultural Events Manager and has done an amazing job with the AF Christmas Market being held at the Abbottsford Convent on the weekend of Saturday 30 November & Sunday 1 December. 
For Loulabelle's listeners who are Australian residents, there is a family pass to be won to this Marché de Noël... just make sure you are a subscriber to the Loulabelle's free newsletter and the winner will be randomly drawn from the subscribers and notified via email on 26 November. (see below for the T&Cs for this giveaway).

Anne-Sophie is the Director of Studies so is coordinating all the Education programs at Alliance Français Melbourne from pre-school up to advanced adult levels. 

As well as hearing about upcoming up events and what's going on for learning French at AF Melb, I loved chatting to both Lucie and Anne-Sophie about their stories of growing up in France, how they came to be in Australia and then also sharing our experiences of travel, food, culture and life in France.





Terms & Conditions for the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles AF Marché de Noël giveaway:

1. Win 1x Family pass (two adults and two children) for the Alliance Française Xmas Market taking place at Abbotsford Convent on Saturday 30 November & Sunday 1 December, 2024.
2. Entry is open to Australian residents only.
3. Giveaway commences 17/11/2024 and closes on 25/11/2024.
4. The winner will be randomly selected from subscribers to the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles free newsletter.
5. Prize is not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash.
6. The winner will be notified via email and will receive their ticket via email.

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

Nadège Alex knows Paris inside and out! After growing up in the Champagne region, she moved to the French capital in her early twenties and fell in love with the city. She is now a travel planner and assists travellers from around the world to put together their itineraries for their Paris visit.

Chatting to Nadège was like having a conversation with an old friend. She gave me tips of places to photograph the Eiffel Tower and lots of little tips for visits to Paris. We spoke about her fave spots in the city and also her thoughts on lots of the regions of France as well, as she has travelled to almost all of them! It was wonderful to chat to a kindred spirit with a similar obsession as me with history and all the fabulousness that France has to offer. 




For the details related to the Château Mas de Pradié event on December 8th mentioned in this episode, head to the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website to the blogpost for this episode 170.
 

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

Kyong Millar has been having a love affair with France for ages, which prompted a purchase of a wonderful village home, 500 year old Maison de Frédéric in the south of France near Avignon and Uzès, in the beautiful Provence region.

What followed was an amazing experience which was more than Kyong and her husband expected at the outset, but the end result is better than anything they could have imagined.

Kyong takes us through her story including how they found their home, what criteria was on the list of must-haves, how the renovations progressed, how she found items to furnish with her eye for gorgeous French styling and now what kind of life they experience when they're in their idyllic corner of France.

I have been following Kyong's @maisondefrederic on Instagram for years and have loved following her journey. Now I think I need to take the next step to visit her beautiful Maison de Frédéric, which Kyong describes as a "vessel for memories" to make some lifetime memories there of my own.


Click through to the LFF website for links and further details from this episode.

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

Daniel Alexander is an Australian Fashion Designer now living in Paris. Chatting to him after his second Paris Fashion Week show, I was fascinated to hear about his passion for fashion, the things that inspire him and how he hopes to inspire the next generation of designers.

From a young age in Brisbane Australia, Daniel was making clothes out of his mother's drapes (a la Sound of Music!) and he continued to work hard to pursue a career that has taken him to live around the world and now in Paris. Even though Daniel lives in a world where it is normal to consider showing his collection at a venue like the Ritz Paris, something most of us can only dream of, he is wonderfully grounded and still full of the Aussie spirit that embodies hard work and determination.

I met up with Daniel when I was recently in Paris and reconnecting for our podcast chat was such a delight. Whether you are a Francophile, perhaps a devotee to fashion or you're just interested in the life stories of others, tune into listen to Daniel's chat with Loulabelle and "watch this space" for what is coming up next for Daniel Alexander!

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

Recently I spent a couple of months in France, road-tripping through gorgeous historic villages, passing majestic châteaux, immersing in village markets bursting with brocante and eating my way through the special dishes from a variety of regions! This podcast episode follows my journey with my friend Trudy Walker as we travelled from Normandy westwards, to a couple of plus-beaux-villages-de-France in the Pays de la Loire, then turned back to the east and headed to Burgundy before going through the Champagne region on the way back to Paris.

Tune in to hear Trudy and I chat about the pockets of magic we discovered, the adventures and special events we booked, like a motorbike and side-car trip through the vines of Burgundy. We discussed staying with locals as well as times when we stayed in airbnbs or chambre d'hôtes. We also share some great tips for planning or survivng a French roadtrip! 

Join us for lots of laughs and beautiful recollections of a roadtrip that has created some marvellous lifetime memories. If you're wanting assistance for planning your own French roadtrip, book an hour with Loulabelle wherever you are in the world via the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website. 

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

Friend of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast, Ruby Boukabou has a new project working with French director Clément Reboussin, The Paris Plan!

Whenever I spend time hanging out with Ruby in France we have so much fun with loads of original, sometimes classic, must see and sometimes quirky, out of the box things to do!
For anyone planning a trip to Paris, potentially for residents living in the French capital or perhaps for those elsewhere around the world who just want to stay connected to what's going on, The Paris Plan is for you!

Tune into this podcast chat to hear more detail about The Paris Plan and head to the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website for all the links for how to follow The Paris Plan on your socials.

There are some suggestions on The Paris Plan which are evergreen and can be done anytime, with other events that are a specific agenda for the upcoming week. There are touristy things to do weekly as well as local stuff, with special occasions sometimes coming up, like this week's harvest at the Montmartre vineyard!

After listening, head to the LFF website for more info. 

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

I have just returned from 2 months in France, road tripping through various French regions and loads of plus-beaux-villages. Regular listeners to the podcast will know how much I love a road trip! Every chance I get I will take off from Australia and drive around France!

The first road trip I took this time was with my husband Paul across Normandy and Brittany, with the second road trip through more of Normandy, the Pay de la Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, Burgundy and the Champagne region with a dear friend Trudy.

In this episode I outline a number of tips. How can we allow for the magic to happen, but still be well planned enough to enjoy ourselves without stress and pack in the fun? I'll give ideas for car considerations, planning time frames, accommodation research considerations and tips for how to enjoy regional France in the best way possible.  

The extra little oooh and aaaah moments with squeals of delight can't always be planned however. I regularly recommend to get off the freeways and take the back roads. The little places sometimes found along the way can be the difference between an exceptional vacation and one that is probably quite lovely, but only what you've planned for... I don't think anyone can plan for the magic to happen, especially in France.

For all the links for this episode, head to the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website to blogpost number 165.

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

Currently I am in France! I have escaped the Aussie winter and returned to my fave destination! This time however, my husband Paul and I decided to couple our visit to Paris and other regions of France, with a stay with some dear friends who live near Prague.

There were some unexpected issues we encountered, such as the fact that our internal European flight weighed every single carry on bag before boarding which rarely happens in Australia! After a walk of shame to the overweight baggage desk and many euros later, we were fine to board but it was an issue we hadn't planned for. It was also frustrating as we had plenty of weight allowance in our checked luggage, so we were kicking ourselves for not considering the problem prior to getting to the airport for the internal European flight... we were still in long-haul Aussie-Europe mode! We did not make the same mistake on our internal european flight returning back to Paris!
It is also worth noting that not all countries in the EU use the Euro and the exchange rate is not necessarily the best once already in Europe, so a bit of research prior to departure is a must!

We adored Prague. Every building is food for a Francophile soul, even though not in France. Our friends live in Plzen about an hour from Prague, where Pilsner Beer is made. It is an amazing town with parts going back many centuries, then other parts of the city are almost stuck in the communist period. I had my hair done in Plzen w2hich was a real eye opener for the w2ay regular life takes place. I was transfixed by the difference to how we operate in Australia, or in France for that matter. We visited an ancient castle, did a beer tour in Plzen, ate incredible Czech food, attended a candlelight concert in Prague and met some gorgeous locals with our beautiful friends. I think that was the most special thing, meeting wonderful Czechs including our friends' adopted grandma, Ivcha. 

In the middle of our Czech week, we popped down to Vienna for a couple of days to attend a Mozart concert at the Musikverein, the Golden Hall. Everywhere is so close in Europe so heading to another country to fulfil a lifelong wish is not so much of a problem.

Tune in to hear some of the problems we faced as well as some great tips when going to a new city for a brief visit.



**Coming up soon will be a number of episodes about the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles current road trip through France with a number of different guests.

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