Loulabelle’s FrancoFiles

Eva Bonnet knew from a very early age growing up in France, that Australia was going to be a very special place for her! Eva didn't plan to come to Australia directly, but as she says, "life brought her here".

Eva chatted to me about how she ended up living a French life in Melbourne. Since making the permanent move down under, Eva has found love, had a cancer diagnosis and beaten it, brought two bubbas into the world...

Harriet Churchill and her husband Henry are originally from England, but spent many years living in Australia based in Melbourne originally, working in the area of sustainability, but eventually moved to regional Victoria right near me! I first heard of their story and their vineyard in the Macedon Ranges Zig Zag wines, when I was hanging out with other locals around the fire during happy hour at my local pub!  I'm thrilled th...

Italian born Vittoria Busetti had a dream for many years of moving to Paris, so she worked a way around the obstacles in her path, packed up her Milan apartment a few years ago and took the leap to her new Parisian life!

Moving all alone to a new city with a new job is not without its challenges, so after navigating through loads of situations where she struggled to find helpful info, Vittoria put together a guide for people moving ...

Alexandra Ganipeau runs the French Language school in Melbourne "The French Hack". She has connected people in Australia to France over many years, through organising cafe catch ups as well teaching French to people of all ages.

Recently I chatted to her about how she is now connecting people to France with a weekly dose of Frenchy vibes via her Weekly French Bites. Over 52 weeks Francophiles can experience a "bite&qu...

Recently I travelled for a couple of months in France, road tripping from the top of the country in Normandy to the bottom at the Côte d'Azur and towards the end of my stay I enjoyed a most marvellous visit with Caroline Riddell-Clark at her Villa Florente in Menton on the Italian border.

Caroline has stayed in France each year for many years, spending much of that time in Menton staying with friends who had moved there a long ...

I am currently in France and have been road-tripping all over the place, but more on that in upcoming episodes...

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At the moment I have connected with friend to the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast Ruby Boukabou and in this episode we discussed some observations from this particular Cannes Film Festival. We had tickets for the opening night red carpet event and we were in the room for the opening ceremony too, to see Robert De ...

Kent Tisher is a Palliative Care Doctor in Toronto Canada who loves to unwind and shed the stress of life by traveling in France. I first chatted to Kent back in April 2023 about his love of French vacations and it was fabulous to chat again as he arrived home in Canada on the same day that I arrived in Paris!

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Kent came to France this time for only 10 days. He caught the TGV direct from CDG down to the Languedoc region to end up in...

This episode is coming to you from Paris! Ouuuuiiiii!

I have escaped Melbourne and headed to my happy place, but before my departure last week I chatted to my dear friend, author, performer, tap dancer and long time Cannes Film Festival journalist Ruby Boukabou.

2025 is the 78th festival in Cannes where Ruby and I will meet up, but even though this is my second time attending the festival, I needed this chat with Ruby to explain many...

I am about to return to Burgundy for my third visit there and I can't wait! The region is wonderful to immerse in with wonderful food, scenery and amazing wines!

On my last time in Dijon I met the wonderful Emeline Pin whose business Vino Dilectio runs tasting workshops showcasing the various wines of her region. I attended a cheese and wine pairing workshop and I loved every minute of it.

Emeline and I chatted about the various...

Tune in to hear Loulabelle chat to Shannon Pratuch:

Shannon Pratuch has moved to France from the US many years ago. She now shares her world which is most often in Paris or Brittany and shared with her gorgeous French bulldogs, through her website as well as her ThisFrench.Life YouTube and Instagram accounts. 

Last year Shannon compiled a series to take us virtually through many châteaux in the Loire and close to Paris, as well ...

Each year one of the highlights of the French calendar in Australia is the Alliance Française French Film Festival which commences with the gala opening night of the 36th festival at Melbourne's Astor Theatre on March 5th. But it is not only here in Oz that French film is popular. 2024 was a record breaking year for attendance at the cinema in France, with a higher percentage of the population going to see a film there than in...

Maria Tawk made the decision to study in France a few years ago and moved from Lebanon to university in Aix-en-Provence. From dreaming as a child with her best friend about one day being in Paris together, to now living a beautiful life in Provence, Maria feels like every day she is living out the life she had only seen before in movies.

It was lovely to chat to a fellow Francophile, who seems to now be where she has felt she a...

This episode is the first in Season Six of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast with me (Lou) chatting to Alex Ganipeau from The French Hack. 

After having many Francophiles get in touch with me about their upcoming intended travel to France, we thought it a good opportunity to chat about our experiences of planning trips to France in recent years but also plans for each of us with our intended trips coming up in 2025...

Ma belle amie Claudine Hemingway has so much knowledge of the history of Paris, she also lives just a few minutes walk from Notre Dame, so it was fascinating to chat with her about all the goings-on for the opening of the iconic cathedral in December.

In this petit papotage we discussed the cathedral's renovation, the before & after differences, how to plan your visit to the newly opened Notre Dame as well as the ...

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 wo...

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, ...

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...

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 ...

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 take...