Table of Contents for this Episode
Annie: This is Join Us in France, episode 546, cinq cent quarante-six.
Annie: Bonjour, I’m Annie Sargent and Join Us in France is the podcast where we take a conversational journey through the beauty, culture, and flavors of France.
[00:00:32] Today on the podcast
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Annie: Today, I bring you a conversation with Linda and Scott Rogers about their fantastic trip to France during the 2024 Olympics.
Annie: They share some great experiences like watching the Olympic basketball finals in a packed park in Dijon, cycling through wine country in Burgundy, and exploring the charming towns of Annecy and Lyon.
[00:00:55] Podcast supporters
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Annie: This podcast runs on chocolatine, caffeine, and the support of lovely humans like you. You book itinerary consults, take my VoiceMap tours in Paris, ride shotgun in my electric car, come to the boot camp, or slip me a few euros on Patreon, and I love you for it.
Annie: Want to keep me going and skip the ads? There’s a link for that in the show notes. Head to joinusinfrance.com/boutique and vive les podcast fans.
[00:01:25] The Magazine segment
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Annie: For the magazine part of the podcast after my chat with Linda and Scott today, I’ll discuss movie locations in Paris and why they are so popular.
Annie: Want the links and the full transcript? It’s all on the episode page at joinusinfrance.com/episodes.
[00:01:53] Welcome to France: Linda and Scott’s Journey Begins
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Annie Sargent: Bonjour, Linda and Scott Rogers, and welcome to Join Us in France.
Linda Rogers: Bonjour, thank you.
Scott Rogers: Bonjour.
Annie Sargent: Wonderful to talk to you today. You had a great trip to France. It overlapped with the Olympics, and we’ll find out why in just a second, so July 2024, some of August as well perhaps?
Linda Rogers: Yes.
Annie Sargent: So you were in France for several weeks, right?
Linda Rogers: We were traveling for several weeks, and Scott was there before that, even.
Scott Rogers: I was there basically for a month. I was supposed to leave on July 19th, and we came back on August 19th.
Annie Sargent: Okay. So why did, were you there for so long? Tell us.
Scott Rogers: So, I was there for the host broadcast of the Olympic Games. So I was the producer for skateboarding and BMX freestyle atPlace de la Concorde.
Annie Sargent: Wow.
Scott Rogers: So, it was great.
Annie Sargent: Was that a good experience for you?
Scott Rogers: Oh, it was fantastic. So, I’ve done a lot of Olympics, and Paris was definitely one of my favorites. It worked out really, really well. You know, we stayed in the Montmatre, our train stop was Place de Clichy. We rode the train sometimes to the venue, but a lot of times we walked, and it was a really nice 30-minute walk through town.
Scott Rogers: The weather was perfect in the 70s. The venue was great. It was the first, you know, Olympics in eight years, post COVID, so we could really, you know, have fans and everything, and it was fantastic. I had a great, great time.
Annie Sargent: And the organization, I mean, I think they did a great job, but I didn’t see it from the inside as you did. Did you run into any snags with the organizers?
Scott Rogers: No, the organization was really great, really professional, everybody, you know. The thing about the Olympics is, it’s always people who’ve done it for their first time most of the time, because the Olympics just go to a different city.
Scott Rogers: So it can be inconsistent. But the French were great, and everything ran like clockwork. You know, there were really no problems. A lot of times the transportation, the buses and stuff can be a little finicky, but the French did a great job. I was extremely impressed.
Annie Sargent: Wonderful. And Place de la Concorde isn’t, you know, it’s not bad. It looks nice.
Scott Rogers: Yeah, yeah, it really looks nice. We went to the Grand Palace, the fencing venue, that was really close to us. And, you know, everything was really close to us. And I got to do a little bit of the opening ceremonies. I was working in a truck where we were picking out dignitaries, so we went down there, but everything, yeah, everything was great.
Annie Sargent: Fantastic.
[00:04:25] Linda’s Dream Trip Across France
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Annie Sargent: And then you also had a great trip around that with your wife, Linda.
Annie Sargent: So Linda, tell us where you went, and what was the, kind of what was the gist of the trip for you? What was your idea going into this?
Linda Rogers: Well, I’ve wanted to go to France my whole life, and I took French, you know, starting in grade school. And my class, when I was in sixth, no fifth grade, they did a trip to France to go skiing in the Alps, and I didn’t get to go.
Linda Rogers: And so when we decided we were going to France, I was determined to spend a bit of time in the Alps because I’d missed that trip. That was part of it for me.
Linda Rogers: We started in Paris. I met Scott there for the end of his work on the Olympics, and then we planned, we wanted to take a trip hitting a couple of different places, but not spend a huge amount of time getting from place to place. So we went from Paris to Dijon, from Dijon to Annecy, Annecy to Lyon, and back to Paris.
Annie Sargent: And this was on the train?
Linda Rogers: Yes, on the train.
Scott Rogers: We took a bus from Annecy to Lyon.
Linda Rogers: That’s true, yeah. But mostly it was train.
Linda Rogers: Because?
Linda Rogers: Timing. When we got to the train station, we would have had to wait longer for a train, or than the bus was leaving, and we would get there at the same time, so-
Annie Sargent: Yeah. And the bus isn’t bad, right? I mean, taking the bus in France is fine.
Annie Sargent: It was fine.
Scott Rogers: Yeah, the scenery was good, and it’s not a long trip. It was fine.
Annie Sargent: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:06:03] Over-planning vs an Adventure
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Annie Sargent: So tell me about some of the things, how did you plan this trip? Are you planners? Are you hyper-planners? Are you people who like to take it easy? “Ah, we’ll just see when we get there,” whatever?
Linda Rogers: We are planners, and what we have to do is hold back from over-programming, so that if we over-program, it’s not an adventure. And so our goal was to be very comfortable with the amount of time we were spending in each place.
Linda Rogers: We planned the accommodations, and maybe one or two activities in each place, and that was it, because we wanted to feel like adventurers, explorers. So we had some milestone things, like wanting to have a fabulous dinner in Lyon, wanting to do a bike trip through wine country, but by and large, we tried very hard to just go with the flow.
Annie Sargent: Right. So did you get bored at any time? Did you run out of things to do?
Linda Rogers: Never. Never. If anything, there were one or two times where I felt a little guilty because I just wanted to get food and go up to our accommodation in Annecy, and just have a little lunch at our place and take a nap. And I felt guilty that I was missing something.
Annie Sargent: Yes, yes.
[00:07:28] Exploring Dijon: Wine Tours and Olympic Thrills
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Annie Sargent: So Scott, tell me, so you, when you show up in Annecy on the train, what’s the first thing you did?
Scott Rogers: Well, before that, when we went to Dijon,
Annie Sargent: Oh, that’s right, yep.
Scott Rogers: Yeah. So we went to Dijon, and again, the train, like super nice and fast. The train station, what was… I don’t know, I forget what our train station was that we were in in Paris, but it was really nice train station, beautiful, and you think with the Olympics, it’s just going to be a complete zoo, it was not.
Scott Rogers: So we got on the train, nice train trip. So, we went to Dijon and our little apartment was good, but it was hot. Like when we were there, it was hot, but it was still very doable.
Scott Rogers: And the first thing we really did is, we went on a cycling wine tour through the Burgundy area, and we took, did we take the train to Beaune, honey?
Linda Rogers: Yeah, we did.
Annie Sargent: Probably.
Scott Rogers: We took a little train from Dijon to Beaune, and then we walked through the little town of Beaune to our bike tour. And we had such a fun time on the bike tour, just going around and, we got the electric bikes because we didn’t want to have, you know, just like be working all the time.
Scott Rogers: It was really super fun trip, and just so scenic. And that’s the one thing that I saw about France, is just everywhere we went is so beautiful. Sometimes you go to places and it’s like, you know, you hear about, “Oh, it’s so, it’s beautiful.” And there’s parts that are beautiful, but everywhere was beautiful. It was super fun.
Linda Rogers: I think Beaune, like that village, it sticks in my mind, and I’m so glad that we didn’t take an Uber or anything from the train. We walked through the village. It was magical.
Linda Rogers: And the place where we did our bike tour, their setup was in the center of a park in the center of Beaune. Everything about that walk getting there, it was just perfect and beautiful.
Linda Rogers: It just, it replays in my mind again and again.
Annie Sargent: Do you remember the name of the tour company, the bike tour company, and how did you find them?
Linda Rogers: I think I probably just found them online, I do have the name of the bike company.
Annie Sargent: Well, you can send it to me later. I’ll put it in the show notes. because people will want to know, you know.
Annie Sargent: Mm-hmm.
Annie Sargent: Was this a big bike tour or was it just a few of you?
Scott Rogers: Well, is there like 10 of us, maybe? Yeah, 10 or 12 of us. So our guide was really good. He was just, he’s classic, the guy was right out of a romance novel. He was just kind of this strapping 20-year-old guy and, you know, in the winter, he’s ski patrol and, you know, his family runs a winery or does fields and it’s classic.
Linda Rogers: Cool. Yes.
Linda Rogers: But before, before we did the bike tour, when we got to Dijon, first of all, the place we stayed, it was an adventure finding it. And even though we used booking.com, they had like a secondary interface that was all in French.
Linda Rogers: And so it was not the easiest. It was like, oh, we were looking for this little tiny door, and you had to find the code and put that in and then go upstairs.
Linda Rogers: I mean, the place was great. It was right in the, like from our bed you could see the cathedral spires, but finding it was a bit of an adventure.
Linda Rogers: But when we walked through Dijon, to me, walking through that village, that city, it felt like the background of a Shakespearean play. It was so picturesque and beautiful and it just, every place I looked, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it is.
Annie Sargent: A movie set.
Linda Rogers: It was a set. It was absolutely a movie set. But we had a very interesting experience in Dijon. And it was Olympic related. And I’ll let Scott take it from there.
[00:11:24] Olympic Basketball
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Scott Rogers: So well, because you know, we left Paris with like, I don’t know, there’s like four or five days left in the games. And you know, my job, I worked for the Utah Jazz, of the NBA doing basketball television. So I was extremely interested in the basketball part of the Olympics.
Scott Rogers: So when we were there the second night, we went out to dinner and then we came back and turned on the TV and the US was like down 14 to Serbia in the quarterfinal, like if they lost, like the USA would lose, which is like unbelievable. So they came back and won that.
Scott Rogers: And so I’m like, “Oh, so we are going to watch the gold medal game against France in Dijon. And I was like, “Where should we watch it?”
Scott Rogers: Well, we found out that there’s a park where they had a big screen set up, so to go and watch it there. We had dinner, we walked into this park, park is packed, packed with people to watch this game.
Scott Rogers: And we’re the only Americans. I didn’t hear, I didn’t see any other Americans there. We got there too late to get a seat, so we’re standing with these French people, and the US is basically killing the French for like two thirds of the game.
Scott Rogers: And then in the fourth quarter gets down, Victor Wembanyama, who is unbelievable, um, brings France back to within three, and then Steph Curry starts making threes. It was fantastic. The best part was, is like at the end, it’s like Curry would get the ball, the whole crowd would go, “Oh, no.”
Scott Rogers: Yeah.
Scott Rogers: And then he’d like make two more threes. And it was, it’s cool because… It, it’s like… And I love being on the road when you’re winning on the road and the French, like they were so into it. And they were bummed that it, that they lost, but like, I think everybody appreciated, like what a good game it was, and it’s like…
Scott Rogers: And one of the things that, you know, when I go to the Olympics, I really try to, especially for the opening ceremonies, is to be with the locals just to see how proud everybody is of their country and you get the real flavor of it.
Scott Rogers: And that was a different experience, watching that gold medal game in France with the French, but it was just as good. That’s the kind of thing you want to do in an Olympics, and that’s why it’s like, you know, I tell anybody, “If you ever have a chance to go to the Olympics, get your accommodation set and then figure it out,” because you can always go get tickets or whatever, but it’s like nothing else you’ve ever been to.
Scott Rogers: The vibe around it is always just… it’s indescribable, you know, and it’s like… And you’re seeing people, you get the feeling of, you know, these are people that worked their whole lives for this moment and the pressure is unbelievable, but the home country, the people from the home country in the Olympics nearly all the time rise to the occasion, and to have the crowd behind you like… there’s just really nothing like it.
Annie Sargent: Yeah, the ambiance was great. I mean, I just went to some basketball in Lille, and it was, the ambiance was great, and then we went to Paralympics for a whole week, so we went to lots of events, and even for the Paralympics, people were really excited.
Annie Sargent: It was really fun. It was wonderful.
Linda Rogers: The other thing we did in Dijon is, we planned a very good meal there. It was like a Michelin-
Scott Rogers: Oh, yeah.
Linda Rogers: … recommended restaurant, Parapluie. And wasn’t that the name of it, Parapluie? Yeah. You have parapluiedijon.com.
Linda Rogers: The food was very inventive, it was very different, some of it was Asian influenced, and we were sitting, you know, on a cobblestone sidewalk, and it was a really, a very French experience.
Annie Sargent: So this was a starred restaurant?
Annie Sargent: No.
Linda Rogers: I don’t know if it was a starred or a recommend.
Annie Sargent: Okay. So maybe a Michelin Bib, the recommended, yeah.
Scott Rogers: And it was price fixed, so it’s like, “This is what we’re having today.” So… And it was really good. And it’s not like a place where if you were walking by it, you’re like, “Oh, that’s a big time restaurant.” Not like that at all. It was a small place, and it was right around the corner from our Airbnb. It was great.
Annie Sargent: All right. Fantastic. Fantastic. Okay.
[00:15:40] Annecy Adventures: Biking, Lakes, and Local Charm
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Annie Sargent: So Annecy, you enjoyed as well. I mean, how can you not enjoy Annecy? Tell me more about that. What did you do? What did you particularly like?
Linda Rogers: Well, I was determined for that, where we would stay, would be right you know, in the heart of the village looking at the canal.
Linda Rogers: And so we ended up staying in,this was a, I guess it was an Airbnb, it was a loft on the fourth floor above a restaurant in the middle of the town.
Linda Rogers: And it was, they were having a heat wave in Annecy, in all of France. Yeah. And you know, you know you’re not getting air conditioning, it’s just not going to happen, but when we found our place, it was kind of a scavenger hunt. It was, “Okay, look for this restaurant, and then look for this little door, and then put the code in, and then you’re going to go through a tunnel and then you’ll see stone steps.”
Linda Rogers: It was just this scavenger hunt. And the tunnel was in between two restaurants, and both of them, their ovens or stoves exhausted into the tunnel. And so the tunnel was like 140 degrees.
Linda Rogers: So we had to just like bolt through this tunnel to get to the steps and then go up these four flights of stone steps, like really treacherous, and then we were at this amazing loft overlooking the canals. Wow.
Linda Rogers: So it was absolutely perfect, but we were very strategic about, “Okay, are we leaving the loft right now? Do we have everything we need so we don’t have to come back up and, you know, don’t forget anything?” Because it was really… getting through that little tunnel, whoo. It was so hot. And there was no air in the tunnel. It was just…… heat, pure heat. But it was a beautiful, very French little place and the terrace had a, a hammock and you could look at all of the action below and watch the storms roll in. And it was really, really, really beautiful. But I know, I know, Scott, you really loved that place, right?
Scott Rogers: Well, we liked the hammock so well that Linda got me one for Christmas. We could recreate our little balcony in Annecy at our house now.
Scott Rogers: And we’re looking around at all these places. We were like the only people that had a balcony, and we had a little bit of a breeze. We saw the sunsets all the time. It was so much fun.
Scott Rogers: And then, you know, we were like a three-minute walk to the lake from there, and walking through the little streets and all the little shops and the ice cream. Ice cream, a big deal in Annecy. Like, every fourth place is a ice cream shop.
Linda Rogers: Yes. The lake was beautiful.
Annie Sargent: It’s just spectacular. I assume you two… Oh, you biked around the lake. Yes.
Scott Rogers: Yeah.
Annie Sargent: Did you rent the bikes ahead of time or did you just go? Because you can just go to the lake and there’s a bike rental thing right there, several of them.
Scott Rogers: Bunch of places, yeah. Yeah, definitely. And there’s a lot of people riding bikes, but the path is so good. Like, it was crowded, but it wasn’t like you were really slow or anything like that. It was like… It was so nice.
Scott Rogers: And we got to see the… so many paragliders. So people come off the mountain on the far side of the lake, paragliding in. That was great. And it was a super nice sunny day. And I figured that lake, you know, you look at the lake, you’re in the Alps, it’s like that water must be cold. And we’re like, “Dude, I don’t know.” And then, I stuck my hand in and I’m like, “Oh, this is nice.”
Scott Rogers: So we got back. Did we do it the same… No, we didn’t do it the same day as the bike ride, but we went and rented paddle boats, you know, paddled out, not to the middle of the lake, but a little farther out, and jumped in the water and swam, and the water temperature was perfect. It wasn’t cold, it wasn’t too hot, and it was just super nice. I loved being on the lake.
Annie Sargent: Well, so you guys live in Utah, so I’m used to lakes in Utah. They are mighty cold by comparison.
Linda Rogers: Yes.
Annie Sargent: Yes, because they’re high mountain lakes. They’re very, very cold. Much colder than lake Annecy,
[00:19:51] Biking Around the Annecy Lake
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Annie Sargent: How long did the ride around the lake take you?
Scott Rogers: Well, we had lunch, so I bet it, like, the whole time we were out there, three hours, you think, honey, with lunch and everything?
Linda Rogers: Maybe a little longer. Three, four hours.
Scott Rogers: Yeah, maybe. Yeah.
Linda Rogers: We did a very leisurely lunch. Just found this little spot. We stopped at two places. One was a little coffee breakfast place specifically for bikers and hikers. And then this, the lunch place we stopped, it just had this big terrace overlooking the lake.
Linda Rogers: Oh.
Linda Rogers: And we got a bottle of wine and just had this perfect leisurely lunch, and then got back on the bikes. So, it was great.
Annie Sargent: That’s fantastic.
Scott Rogers: The other side of the lake from where, from Annecy, that definitely has some hills. We were really glad we had the electric bikes there, because if you didn’t have the electric bike, you’d be walking up for, you know, unless you’re Lance Armstrong or whatever, so-
Annie Sargent: Oh, that’s good to know because I mean, I haven’t done it, I walked part of the way. I didn’t go all the way around, so I wouldn’t have known that there were some hills.
Scott Rogers: Yeah, there’s definitely some hills. And on the other part, the traffic is a little more. Like, the bike path isn’t the big wide bike path, like, on the Annecy part of the lake. But it was still doable. But that’s definitely… You know, unless you’re a real cyclist, I would highly recommend getting a pedal assist bike if you’re going to do that trip.
Annie Sargent: Fantastic. So I assume that you hadn’t booked restaurants and things like that ahead of time. You just saw it, right, and went?
Linda Rogers: I had booked, like, one restaurant in each city, but when we were in Annecy, we ended up canceling our reservation that I’d made because of timing. But I will say that when we were looking for a restaurant one of the nights, it was tricky because it was August, and several of the places that we’d had recommended to us, by the guy that owned the apartment we were staying in and by guidebooks, they were closed.
Linda Rogers: Ah.
Linda Rogers: And so one of the nights, we probably tried four or five places before we found a place to eat. And not that we minded. I mean, it was just, like, walking through the beautiful town. But certainly, if you’re going in August, and you, you had told us this, and we knew this, that the possibility of places being closed was pretty great. And so we did find that a little tricky.
[00:22:17] Is Everything Closed in August in France?
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Scott Rogers: I think one thing that’s maybe a little bit of a misnomer is, you hear like, “Oh, don’t go to France in August. Everywhere is closed.” It’s not everywhere is closed. It’s just like some places are closed, some places are not, you know. And it’s not like they’re closed for three weeks. They’re closed for a week, you know. So it’s like you could do it, but it’s just, you know…
Scott Rogers: … Yes, there’s some inconveniences, but it’s not as bad as you might think.
Annie Sargent: Yeah, and especially if you’re willing to just roll with the punches a little bit and just go, “Ah, well, this one’s closed. Let’s go to another one,” you know, you won’t starve.
Linda Rogers: One of the things that made Annecy extra special, I think, is the rainstorms. Where we were, our loft, it had a covered terrace, and so we could sit out there when it was raining and watch these storms roll in. One of the nights, it poured.
Linda Rogers: Ah.
Linda Rogers: Absolutely poured rain. And it just made… everything was just shiny, and people were huddled in places, and it was really extra special.
Linda Rogers: Like, everyone, all of the restaurants have little covers that go out onto the cobblestone walkways, but then in between where one tent ends and another begins, there’s these areas where it was all wet, and people are running from place to place, and it just was really, made it extra fun, I think. Don’t you think, Scott?
Scott Rogers: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, for sure. The rain, well, it just cleared everything out and made everything really nice.
Scott Rogers: And we were also at Annecy the one day when they had the market come in. And so the streets there are super narrow anyway, and then we woke up in the morning because we wanted to go to the market. Then we came out of the, you know, our door, and it’s like, “Hey, it’s right here.”
Annie Sargent: Yeah.
Scott Rogers: And so… … we were just like, we’re walking through it, and they have all this stuff, and it’s like, “How do they even get this stuff here?”
Scott Rogers: And then, it’s like, in the afternoon you come back, and it’s like it never happened. It’s like everything’s gone. The logistics of doing that, pretty impressive.
Annie Sargent: Well, they do this every week. And every day. Most of the vendors, they’re in Annecy one day, and then they go to a different town the next day. They work every day. They don’t just come the one week, you know, the one day a week. They’re just used to it.
Annie Sargent: But it’s true, that in Annecy, because they fill up the paths all around the river, and so it’s yeah, there’s places where it’s kind of narrow, and over the bridges as well, and stuff. It’s beautiful. It’s a very pleasant town. I found it picture perfect, and many areas are picture perfect. As soon as you walk towards the train stations and beyond, it’s a real French city.
[00:24:58] Exploring Annecy: Scenic Spots and Family Activities
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Annie Sargent: It’s not all scenic, as scenic as the city center, you know, historical city center is… But this is true almost anywhere you go.
Annie Sargent: Like yesterday, again, I was in Béziers with Elyse. Béziers is the same, it has a lovely historical city center, and then you… A little further away, well, it’s a French city. It has apartment buildings and things that are not as scenic obviously, so…
Linda Rogers: Well, in Annecy, down by the, when you walk out of the city center towards the lake, there’s a big park all along the lake, and it was filled with activity, with families, and it, it was very charming to see. It, I mean, it, it was a different vibe than the old town part.
Linda Rogers: Yeah.
Linda Rogers: But it was just families out there having picnics and stuff for the day, and that was really nice to see as well.
Annie Sargent: Mm-hmm.
[00:25:50] Travel Tips: How Long to Stay in Annecy and Dijon
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Annie Sargent: How many days would you say people should spend in Annecy so that they have time to do all of this?
Scott Rogers: Were we there three nights, Dolly? I think that was…
Linda Rogers: Yeah, we were there three nights, we were there four days, and I think if you wanted to use that as a jumping off point to go to, I know there’s waterfalls and Mont Blanc and things like that, you could be there longer, or if you wanted to go to Geneva.
Linda Rogers: For us, we didn’t want to rent a car, and so that amount of time was really adequate. It felt right, and we were ready to move on to Lyon after that, for sure.
Annie Sargent: Yeah. There is a fastish train that you can take between Annecy and Geneva if you want to do that. If you want to go take the train to go to Geneva for the day, that’s doable. It’s an hour and 20 minutes or something. and some trains are slower. I don’t, you know, I don’t, I mean, I did it, I don’t remember what all the schedules were, but yeah, there are trains that you can take if you would like.
Annie Sargent: How about Dijon? I didn’t ask you about how long to spend in Dijon.
Annie Sargent: Were we there two nights?
Scott Rogers: Yeah, Dijon, you know, Dijon was fine. I think two nights is fine for what we did. I mean, the city’s really nice, but it’s more the stuff around the city, more, like the doing the Beaune thing. I would say, between the two, spending more time in Annecy than Dijon is probably the way to do it.
Annie Sargent: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And then, you could stay in Beaune or Dijon, they’re both lovely cities differently, you know, but Dijon is bigger.
Scott Rogers: Yeah, for sure.
Annie Sargent: Very good.
[00:27:28] Discovering Lyon: A Stunning Walking City
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Annie Sargent: All right, you also went to Lyon. How much time did you spend in Lyon?
Annie Sargent: I think we were there three nights.
Scott Rogers: Yeah, we were in Lyon three nights.
Linda Rogers: Was that sufficient?
Scott Rogers: Yes.
Linda Rogers: Yeah, three nights in Lyon. I think one of the things there is we were there during a holiday.
Linda Rogers: And so some of the things that I specifically wanted to do, we couldn’t do. I wanted to explore some of the cooking, and go to a couple of, like, restaurant supply places to get some… Because I like to cook and I wanted to get some things from there and they were closed. Because it was Ascension of Mary, I think, or-
Annie Sargent: Yeah, the fifteenth of August.
Annie Sargent: Yes. We didn’t realize that things would be closed that day. Yeah. Kitchen supply stores are not… yeah, they don’t stay open if it’s a holiday because, I mean, professionals are not going to go to the kitchen supply store on a holiday.
Linda Rogers: Right, right, right. And we didn’t realize it was a holiday. So, that city is stunning. It is just stunningly beautiful. I mean, we knew it would be, we read that it would be, but it still took me by surprise.
Annie Sargent: Huh.
Scott Rogers: It’s a really good walking city. There’s a lot of good places to walk andwe were close to the river, but our side of the river, we walked all over the place and just saw a lot of really cool things.
Scott Rogers: And then, one night, we went to dinner at a food hall across the river, and then we were in the old town or what is it called, Dolly? Was it called Old Town or?
Linda Rogers: I don’t remember, but it was bustling.
Annie Sargent: Yes. So there’s actually two rivers that go through Lyon. It’s a big city, but that city’s center vibe around the cathedral, because you have the basilica up on the hill, but you also have the cathedral lower down, and around the cathedral is bustling a lot.
Scott Rogers: Yeah. Yeah.
Linda Rogers: That’s where the food hall was. And yeah, it was so festive, was just festive. People of all ages just out having fun. There was a full moon. It was really special.
Annie Sargent: Right.
[00:29:37] Dining in Lyon: Michelin Recommendations and Hidden Gems
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Annie Sargent: And so you booked a special dinner at something called Red Circle?
Annie Sargent: Yes.
Annie Sargent: So Cercle Rouge. Okay.
Annie Sargent: Never heard of it.
Scott Rogers: That was our best dinner that we had in France.
Annie Sargent: Ah.
Scott Rogers: Definitely. That place was great.
Linda Rogers: Huh.
Scott Rogers: And that was another, a Michelin recommended. We asked the guy, I’m like, “This is so good. It’s like, you guys got to be close to getting a star.”
Scott Rogers: And he’s like: “You know, we probably could get a star, but then the prices go way up, and we kind of price ourselves out of it. So we’re right where we want to be.” But yeah, that Cercle Rouge place, I would highly, highly recommend.
Annie Sargent: Wonderful. That’s fantastic. Yeah. A starred restaurant is a different business altogether, because once you have a star, it becomes kind of a show. They have to, you know, talk to you about the food, they have to display the food in certain ways. Yeah, it’s more of a theater kind of experience than simply having dinner. And some people love that and some people don’t. You’ll find both people, both types of people.
Linda Rogers: The restaurant was in a very charming two-story building. Like, really narrow, really tiny little… I mean, I don’t know how many tables they had, but not many. And the steps, we were seated upstairs and they were very treacherous, creaky old steps to get up there. But it was, it was just, I don’t know, the service was amazing, the food was amazing, the setting, everything was just magical. The night we had booked to eat there, they called us and they said, “Oh, we have to switch your booking because we’re closing for August.” You know, so they got us in a day earlier and it was their last night serving before they were taking off for like two or three weeks.
Linda Rogers: I was a little concerned that, you know, maybe it wouldn’t be as good because they’re getting ready to close. It was amazing. Really beautiful food.
Annie Sargent: Yeah.If you’re going to go toMichelin Bib restaurants, you need to book those in advance, because they are always full. People know about this and they reserve ahead of time.
Annie Sargent: That’s one type of restaurant that I really recommend if that’s what you want to do, and I recommend them. I’ve been to all kinds of different Michelin Bib restaurants. Some I’ve liked better than others. They’re all quite… They all have their own style, but I’m never disappointed. The food is always good. The service is always good. It’s a kind of a safe value, I guess. And you don’t pay that much, I mean, you pay what, 70, 80 per person or something?
Scott Rogers: Yeah. That was about…
Scott Rogers: So we, we were going to go to the big time Paul, Paul something. It was a little, it was like a 20…
Annie Sargent: Paul Bocuse.
Scott Rogers: … Yeah, we were going to go to that one. We had it reserved and they like, needed, you know… you were like, $300 in before you ever showed up. And then
Scott Rogers: Linda’s like, “You know, we don’t need to do that.” And it’s like, “You know, that’s a place like you’ve got to have the right clothes.” And I was like, “but we’re in France and we want to do, you know, the Michelin thing.”
Scott Rogers: And Linda’s like, “No, no, no. We’ll find something that doesn’t take that.” And I was extremely happy with the way we did it.
Annie Sargent: Yeah. Michelin starred restaurants are wonderful, but you do have to… I mean, you don’t have to dress up, but most people do a little bit and it will take longer. It will… Because somebody’s going to… We were laughing about this with Elyse yesterday. They will serve you something that’s the size of an olive. But before they give it to you, they will talk your ears off for five minutes describing why the chef makes this and how he makes this and why he’s so special for making this. And I’m like, “Oh, just give me the damn thing.”
Linda Rogers: Yeah.
Annie Sargent: But you know, I’m impatient. That’s what it is. All right. So you enjoyed Lyon very much.
Scott Rogers: Lyon was great.
Annie Sargent: I think three days is probably a little short. Perhaps a night, an extra four nights might have been better. I don’t know.
[00:33:44] Paris Adventures: Iconic Landmarks and Hidden Treasures
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Linda Rogers: For us, we… because… Especially for me, I hadn’t spent much time in Paris.
Linda Rogers: Aha.
Linda Rogers: And so, at that point I was ready, I was very ready to get back to Paris and kind of have our adventure.
Linda Rogers: Because when I got to Paris, Scott was still working. And so I had one day there by myself walking around, and then the next day we went to Dijon.
Linda Rogers: And I have to say the day, the first day we walked, or I walked around by myself in Paris, you had recommended that I go to a cemetery in Montmartre.
Linda Rogers: Montmartre, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Linda Rogers: By our hotel.
Linda Rogers: It was an amazing place to spend several hours.
Linda Rogers: Yeah.
Linda Rogers: And it was super interesting because it’s kind of below the street level a little bit. And so I had to walk around and kind of follow the wall till I found an entrance.
Linda Rogers: Mm-hmm.
Linda Rogers: And it was almost like a secret entrance. And I walked in and all of the hustle and bustle from street level just faded away. And you’re in this quiet space. Everything is overgrown and green and there’s hardly any people there.
Linda Rogers: And it was very dramatic and it was very shaded from these giant trees. And of course, there was a black cat that crossed my path the second I walked in, and it was really, it was really something.
Linda Rogers: It was fun.
Linda Rogers: You know, you have to be someone who likes… I happen to like walking through cemeteries.
Annie Sargent: Yeah, they are interesting.
Annie Sargent: There’s some famous French people mostly, buried there, so to me, you know, everybody wants to go to Père Lachaise, and it’s a great cemetery, but the Montmartre Cemetery is also very well. It’s very good. If you’re going to spend the day, it’s more French vibe, you know.
Linda Rogers: It just blew my mind really, it did. I would say the only place I’ve been that is even close to it is some of the cemeteries in New Orleans.
Annie Sargent: Uh-huh.
Linda Rogers: But, yeah, it was really, really something. So thank you for that recommendation. I…
Annie Sargent: Most welcome.
Linda Rogers: … was so glad to have gone there.
[00:35:57] Top activities in Paris
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Annie Sargent: So what, what were your top activities in Paris, would you say, Linda, since this was your first time?
Linda Rogers: Oh gosh, that is…
Annie Sargent: You mentioned the Latin Quarter.
Linda Rogers: We stayed in the Latin Quarter and the overall festive vibe of the Latin Quarter in the evening is not to be missed. There were so many interesting restaurants, little places, a lot of international, like one of the places we ate was a Greek place that made gyros in like a French kind of way.
Linda Rogers: We went to see the Monet exhibit at the Orangerie.
Scott Rogers: Orangerie, yeah.
Linda Rogers: Yeah.
Linda Rogers: And, you know, it’s something that your whole life you’re familiar with Monet, and then to go there and have that experience was really, kind of something I’m so glad we did. I also have to say, and I know this sounds so corny, but the Eiffel Tower was mind-blowing.
Linda Rogers: Yeah.
Linda Rogers: I mean, it is so huge and so beautiful. It’s just mind-blowing when you’re standing underneath it, and I did not expect that. I felt like I don’t really care if I go to the Eiffel Tower. And, oh my gosh, it was really, really, really amazing.
Annie Sargent: Yeah, it’s an interesting place. It’s beautiful. And it is, like you said, it’s more stunning than… I guess you’ve seen representations of it, like-… a million times. But seeing it for real is… is great.
Annie Sargent: Yeah.
Linda Rogers: It really is. There’s one other thing that… Well, there’s two other things, and I’m talking too much, I should let Scott answer this.
[00:37:40] Luxembourg Gardens
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Annie Sargent: You mentioned, Scott, that you enjoyed the Jardin du Luxembourg very much.
Scott Rogers: Yeah. That was great.
Annie Sargent: Talk about that.
Scott Rogers: The Luxembourg Gardens were pretty close to our hotel. The walk going there was just as fun, and it was a little misty, but those grounds were fantastic and just so well manicured.
Scott Rogers: And it’s, the place is huge. You don’t really realize it when you’re outside it, but it’s just, it’s a huge place and it’s so nice. I just, I loved walking around it and just kind of being there when it was a little bit misty. You know, we took some really cool pictures, and that was really nice. And I guess there’s like a lot of places like that in Paris, right?
Annie Sargent: Oh, yeah. The two big parks in Paris that everybody knows are Jardin du Luxembourg et Jardin des Tuileries.
Annie Sargent: But we also have Parc Monceau, you haveLes Buttes-Chaumont, which are also very nice. Yeah, you have a bunch of them. We did a whole episode about all the parks in Paris.
Annie Sargent: If you’re interested in that, we have an episode where we list all of them and what you can find in them. They are all wonderful, especially in the summertime.
Scott Rogers: That was really cool. The other thing that was cool, so Notre Dame was really close to us.
Scott Rogers: So we walked over to Notre Dame and, of course, it was still pretty active construction site. But one of the coolest things we saw there was, in front of it, they had these, you know, really, these really nice pictures of the people that were restoring it and little stories about them.
Scott Rogers: And I thought that was so classy and so cool and, you know, just like what Notre Dame means to the French and the care in the restoration. And to make these people like stars that they were working on, and I thought that was really, really cool. And then, you know, just a few weeks ago, just to see the inside of it and what they’ve done.
Annie Sargent: It’s very cool.
Scott Rogers: It was really impressive to see how much people cared about what was going on with that and just the detail they used to, you know, restore that place. I don’t know if you’ve been in it or since, but it seems like what they’ve made it now is probably better than it’s ever been, right?
Annie Sargent: Yeah. I’m going back in a couple of weeks, so I haven’t been back yet, but I’m going back in a couple of weeks, and from the video and the photos, it looks stunning. I really very much look forward to it.
[00:40:11] Enjoying Annie’s VoiceMap Tour of Le Marais
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Linda Rogers: One of the other things that I did when Scott was working is, I did your audio tour through Le Marais.
Linda Rogers: That was great. I mean, here I am,I’m alone for the day, Scott’s working, I had your podcast, and it was just like I had this companion, Annie is with me going through Le Marais and it was just this crazy, fun guided adventure, and it really brought it to life for me. And again, made me feel like I had a friend with me.
Linda Rogers: I highly recommend doing that. And in fact, we had friends that went there right after us, and I said, “Oh, you’ve got to get Annie’s podcast and walk through the Le Marais.”
Annie Sargent: Yeah. The VoiceMap tours, they make it simple, because, I just tell you where to go and tell you a little bit about it, and then, you know, accompany you, walk around with you. It’s kind of a fun thing to do.
[00:41:04] Cultural Insights: Embracing the French Way of Life
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Annie Sargent: We’re going to be running out of time soon, but what would you say, what would you give to people who are going to do a similar trip? Some advice when coming to France, what do you want to tell them about?
Linda Rogers: I would say, especially if you are American, you need to relax into the French culture. It seems to me that French people have this calm confidence about them that… I describe it this way.
Linda Rogers: In America, if you’re waiting to get on an elevator and the doors open, Americans will rush into the elevator before people have had the chance to get out. French people won’t do that. You have to kind of set aside your American elbowing people to get in your place in line and just be calm and enjoy it, because that’s what the culture is about.
Linda Rogers: And we have a lot we could learn from that style of living. And I really appreciated the fact that it wasn’t just a vacation, it was like a culture shift for two weeks that I’ve tried to bring back with me of, you know, just be calm and patient, and everything is going to work out the way it’s supposed to.
Linda Rogers: I really felt a calm in France that our culture doesn’t have, and I wish we had more of.
Annie Sargent: It’s more hurried in the US. People are just, they work so much. What would you say, Scott?
[00:42:35] Book Your Accommodations First
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Scott Rogers: Well, one of the things, if you’re going to do what we did, and, you know, Linda was really key about this, is get your accommodations down. When you get there, it’s like the fly-by to see your night for accommodations. We had that handled.
Scott Rogers: Then after that, you just have to be open, you know? And you’re going to walk, you’re going to use the public transportation. Be used to that, you know? If we took an Uber, like, we took two Ubers, you know?
Scott Rogers: And the other thing is, the misconception is, France is not, like, if you don’t speak English, you’re in trouble. It’s not. You’re fine. The English factor was pretty high, you know? Most people know some. You have your Google Translate and the one thing that you always said is we said, “Bonjour.” The first thing we said when we met any people is, ‘Bonjour’, bonjour to everybody. And I think that it was disarming.
Scott Rogers: And I think, you take the: “Oh, that’s the Americans,” out of it, you know? And it’s like people know that you’re not going to be asking for something or whatever. And so that was really important, and we really took that to heart. As silly as it sounds, it made a huge difference.
Annie Sargent: Yes. It’s like you’re part of the club, you understand how French people work.
Scott Rogers: Yeah, yeah.
Annie Sargent: And disarming, you said disarming. I like that. Because, you know, sometimes when you meet a person for the first time, even in a service situation, people might have a, kind of a, I don’t know, brusque reaction. But if you say, “Bonjour? Oh, he’s one of us. He knows how to handle a social situation.” That’s great. That’s wonderful.
Scott Rogers: One of the really cool things is, so we went to L’Orangerie, it was on a Sunday morning, and we were going to take the train there from the Latin Quarter. But we got there and there was some train thing that wasn’t happening.
Scott Rogers: There was a woman that was kind of waiting for the train with us and, it was being said in French, she’s like, “Oh, the train’s not coming for 40 minutes.” And it was like, “Oh, man.” And it’s like, “Well, we need to go to L’Orangerie.”
Scott Rogers: She’s like, “Come with me, I’m going down there too, you know, I’m working at the museum.” So we got to walk with the woman. She’s probably 21. She was like a college student. She spoke really good English. We just got to, a really immersive, like, how does a young person in France do it, you know? And we got a really good 15 minutes walk with her. She was so charming and so nice.
Scott Rogers: College student that’s going to school, but she works at a museum, and she was just super friendly, you know?
Scott Rogers: And I think that’s one thing, and like, all the French people that I had interactions with at the Olympics, we have a lot of students that work at the Olympics, and they were all great.
Scott Rogers: And so that’s one thing I would say, if you’re in France, you know, really try to have a local experience and get with the people. They’re very proud of France, and they want to share it with you. And that was really one of the nice little unexpected things that happened to us.
Annie Sargent: Fantastic.
[00:45:41] Final Thoughts and Farewell
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Annie Sargent: Well, we really have to stop talking because we’ve been going on a long time. But it’s been really interesting to hear your perspective on this. And I’m glad that you went out of Paris a little bit. That’s great. Many more places for you to visit on different trips.
Annie Sargent: Yeah.
Annie Sargent: But you didn’t try to over-schedule, you didn’t try to run over all over the creation. So good on you! You did great!
Annie Sargent: And thank you so much for coming on the podcast. It’s wonderful talking to you again.
Scott Rogers: Thanks for having us, Annie.
Linda Rogers: Thank you for doing the podcast, because we listened to a lot of episodes before we left the US, and we felt prepared.
Linda Rogers: Wonderful.
Linda Rogers: So, thank you.
Annie Sargent: Merci beaucoup, au revoir.
Linda Rogers: Merci, au revoir.
Scott Rogers: Merci.
[00:46:32] Thank You Patrons
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Annie: Again, a big thank you to my wonderful patrons. Your support makes this podcast possible week after week. I’m pre-recording a few episodes right now, so no shout-outs today, but I have not forgotten you. Every single patron keeps the lights on at Join Us in France.
Annie: If you’ve been enjoying the show and want to give back, consider joining us on Patreon.
Annie: It starts at just $3 a month, and you’ll get access to exclusive rewards and ad-free episodes as soon as they are ready. Visit patreon.com/joinus to learn more.
Annie: And if you’re already a patron Merci! Merci Beaucoup! You’re the reason this show keeps going.
Annie: And to support Elyse, of course, go to patreon.com/elysart.
Annie: I’m recording this ahead so I don’t have any new reviews to share, but if you’re curious about what other listeners think of my VoiceMap tours, head over to joinusinfrance.com/vmr, that stands for VoiceMap reviews.
Annie: You’ll find lots of feedback from fellow travelers who’ve walked the streets of Paris with me in their ear. Maybe your review will be the next one I read.
[00:47:49] Discount for Podcast Listeners
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Annie: Podcast listeners get a big discount for buying these tours from my website. It’s best for me as well, because I get to keep more of what you pay instead of giving it to Apple or Google.
Annie: But if you buy from my boutique, it’s a manual process, so don’t expect it to be instant like it would be if you were buying directly from VoiceMap. But most of you listening plan their trips at least few weeks in advance, perhaps a few months in advance. So, you’re probably not in a rush.
Annie: To use your code, open VoiceMap, tap Tour Codes at the bottom right, enter the code and download the tour. You own it forever. Even if you change phones, you just log into your VoiceMap account to access it again.
Annie: The tours work without data because the audio, images and maps are downloaded to your phone, and GPS works anywhere, even without cell service.
Annie: And best of all, you can listen in virtual playback from anywhere in the world, perfect if Paris is not in your immediate plans. You can take me in your pocket with my VoiceMap tours.
[00:48:52] Planning a trip to France?
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Annie: If you’re planning a trip to France and want expert help, you can hire me as your itinerary consultant. It’s a busy season, so book early at joinusinfrance.com/boutique.
Annie: Usually, I have openings within a month, but right now it’s more like two or three months, so don’t wait if that’s something you want to do.
[00:49:10] Movie Locations in Paris
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Annie: Let’s talk about movie locations in Paris and why they are so very, very popular.
Annie: Have you ever wanted to just sit at a cafe in Paris and enjoy life like Amelie Poulain? You’re not alone. That exact feeling brings thousands of movie lovers to Montmartre every year, because let’s face it, few films have captured the magic of Paris quite like Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain.
Annie: In this postcard perfect corner of the city, you’ll find real places made famous by the film. There’s the Collignon grocery store where Lucien, played by Jamel Debbouze, works, and of course, the legendary Cafe des Deux Moulins, where Amelie serves coffee.
Annie: It’s been 24 years since the movie came out and people still flock to these places, hoping to capture a bit of the whimsical Paris that Amelie showed us.
Annie: Marc Fouchedoire, the owner of the cafe, says people come for the atmosphere, for a glimpse of Paris that doesn’t quite exist anymore. He still sees about two marriage proposals a month there. Some are touching, some are, let’s just say, creatively complicated.
Annie: One Japanese tourist told a reporter that she cried when she arrived. She’s been dreaming of this moment for 24 years.Another tourist said she made it her mission to see every spot from the film, the Canal Saint-Martin, Montmartre, everything. “I just want to sit here and enjoy life like Amelie,” she said.
Annie: And I get it. I mean, I’ve included some of these spots in my Montmartre walking tour as well, because they’re fun, you know?
Annie: Globally, 23 million people have seen the film, there’s a lot of eyes on Paris, and according to Sophie Cazes, who leads the City’s Cinema Mission, seeing movies like Amelie Poulain or Amelie in Paris really does inspire people to book a trip.
Annie: She says eight out of ten foreign tourists say a film or series made them want to visit Paris. That is huge.
Annie: Of course, Amélie isn’t alone anymore. Emilie, yes, that Emilie from Emilie in Paris, I mean, she’s taken over in recent years. She lives in Place de l’Estrapade, just around the corner from the Panthéon.
Annie: According to one tourist, Emilie always gets her pain au chocolat from the local bakery. So naturally, he brought his girlfriend there for the full experience.
Annie: And it seems silly to me at first, but I do include Emilie in Paris locations in my itinerary consults, because people really love going there.
Annie: Paris hosts over 5,000 days of filming every year. That includes TV shows, movies, commercials, music videos, you name it.
Annie: City officials work hard to make sure it does not disrupt life for residents. They schedule shots during school holidays, ask production teams to get parking passes in advance, and remind them to communicate with neighbors.It makes sense because these shoots happen in real, lived-in neighborhoods.
Annie: And let’s not forget the big-budget American production. Remember The DaVinci Code with Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou? The famous Louvre scene was filmed in 2005.
Annie: Or Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise tearing through the streets of Paris at a 120 kilometers an hour, no helmet, of course. That was 2017.
Annie: And yes, it was all carefully planned with the city and the police.
Annie: Foreign productions now make up almost 20% of all filming in Paris. Americans top the list. Favorite locations include Place de l’Étoile, Place de Mexico for the Eiffel Tower view. I got to go see that one.
Annie: Place de Mexico for the view, and yes, if you go to Place de Mexico and Avenue d’Éylau, so that’s spelled D-apostrophe-E-Y-L-A-U, you will see a very nice view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance and there’s even a café there, if you’re lucky enough to find a table.
Annie: And of course, the Pont Bir-Hakeim, which I included in my Eiffel Tower walk.
Annie: The bridge was the backdrop for a wild stunt by Jean-Paul Belmondo back in 1975.
Annie: so Paris and cinema, it’s a love story that just keeps on going and if you’re like me, maybe next time you’re in Montmartre, you’ll pause, take it all in and say, “I just want to sit here and enjoy life like Amélie Poulain.”
Annie: My thanks to podcast editors, Anne and Christian Cotovan, who produced the transcripts and the audio.
[00:53:55] Next Week on the Podcast
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Annie: Next week on the podcast, get ready for a fun journey with 25 Days of French Magic with Ken Ives. Ken went to charming cities, of course, historic battlefields, beautiful caves and enchanting nature reserves.
Annie: As always, you’ll come along for the trip, discover hidden gems, savor mouth-watering regional dishes and soak in the centuries of history.
Annie: Thank you so much for listening and I hope you join me next time, so we can look around France together. Au revoir!
[00:54:28] Copyright
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Annie: The Join Us in France travel podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Annie Sargent, and Copyright 2025 by AddictedToFrance. It is released under a Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives license.