Nicole Ress is Melbourne's go-to Frenchie for language and travel! Nicole grew up in a French speaking household with her mother who had come to Australia from Paris in the 1950s, met Nicole's dad and settled here. It was a wonderful and unusual childhood not just because of the French influence. Nicole's father and grandfather were in the hotel business and owned the Ress Oriental Hotel in Collins Street Melbourne. When her mother saw the hotel she exclaimed to Nicole's father, with the plane trees and the architecture it looked like Paris, all it was missing were the tables and chairs on the terrasse on the street. So Nicole's father applied for a permit to have the outdoor tables and he then coined the phrase, "the Paris end of Collins Street" which has stuck to that part of Melbourne to this day!

In this podcast chat we hear of Nicole's extraordinary life with two cultures and two countries in her heart. I was fascinated to hear of her experiences living in the city hotel in Melbourne with the Treasury Gardens as her back yard. As she grew up in this environment with guests like Maurice Chevalier staying at the hotel, she felt both French and Australian.  I loved her stories of times she visited Paris and France with her family. Especially the times she had experiences with extraordinary chefs and famous wine houses that most of us can only dream about! 

My favourite part of this podcast chat with Nicole is how she described her perfect French day. I have asked that question 90 times before, but this is the first time that a guest has taken me on a tour for the day where I could close my eyes and actually imagine myself there as Nicole walked me through one exquisite experience after another. She picked me as a cassis sorbet lover as we sat virtually under the orange trees in a Provence village looking out over the countryside to the Mediterranean in the distance. Bliss!

Close your eyes as you listen and you can join us there too.
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Louise Prichard is the host of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast.
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Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website