Ten cool ideas for college students in Paris (or those who are young at heart)
Time to meet The Earful Tower's interns - and to see what they're itching to try in Paris.
Hello everyone!
There’s a new episode out today and it features two American college kids. And these kids just happen to be The Earful Tower’s interns, sent from a university in the US.
And so, a couple weeks in to their internship, I asked Thomas and Victoria to join me in the studio to present their bucket lists for Paris. Five things they really want to see in this city during their few-month stay. And just like Bucket List episodes we’ve done in the past, the idea is to list five tangible tasks, ranging from easy to hard.
Look, there they are below, that’s me, Victoria, and Thomas, during today’s Marais walking tour (they tagged along and took pictures).
Incidentally, we broke a record on the tour today. More on that at the end of the email.
The Earful Tower Podcast Episode
Listen to the show by pressing play below, or click to find it on Spotify or iTunes.
These interns wanted writing practice too, so I asked them to type out their bucket list in 200 words with a few explanations. So here we go. Over to you, interns.
Bucket List for Thomas
My name is Thomas Farnham and as I sat in my straitjacket of a seat and ate my airplane lasagna on my way here, I planned exactly how I would spend my stay in Paris. Now, nearly seven weeks in, I haven’t touched my initial itinerary. Paris is a city of a million sights and intrigues, so a top-five bucket list was just what I needed. Here’s mine:
Get inside Notre Dame. In and out, don’t be intimidated by the queue or the crowds and enjoy the grandeur that is finally back.
Go to a jazz bar: music, dancing, history.
Go to a poetry reading. Au Chat Noir hosts a famous English language spoken word event every Monday and, with a certain amount of confidence, I will stand on stage and read my own poetry.
Visit the Louvre in the quiet hours; the moment the doors open, without a thousand other visitors competing for a view.
Play street football (soccer). Paris and the banlieues (suburbs) are famous for housing talent in the street. I’ll play on the same courts that famed players like Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe grew up on.
Bucket List for Victoria
My name is Genevieve Victoria Gorain and I’m very excited to be featured on The Earful Tower Substack. When it comes to Paris, there are so many things I’d like to do, so I love the idea of sharing my favorite bullet points on my bucket list.
1. Montmartre- It’s bohemian, it’s artsy, and it holds a whole lot of astonishing Paris history. I’d love to just wander around for a day and take it all in.
2. Saint Ouen- As an avid trinket collector, how could I not visit a Parisian flea market?
3. Madame Arthur- Seeing a drag show in Paris sounds like the most fabulous combination. I love watching people express themselves artistically and I believe this is the perfect opportunity.
4. “The Only American in Paris”- Sarah Donnelly - I saw a clip of her show online, and I’ve wanted to see it since. I love comedy, especially stand up, and as another American in Paris, I’m excited to hear her experience.
5. Champagne- The idea of relaxing in the grass under the sun with a glass of the world's best champagne sounds too perfect to pass up.
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We’ll check in on Thomas and Victoria towards the end of their internship. I wonder how they’ll fare with these excellent lists…
Walking Tour Corner
And now quick note or tours to finish the newsletter.
Last week I mentioned that our group bumped into the Mayor of the Marais during a walk (and that he came to say hello).
Well today, our group came across no fewer than six voices from past episodes of The Earful Tower podcast! Christian from Le Peloton, Frank from Cake Boy Paris, Old Jim the Londoner who has lived in Paris for over 50 years, Karen who featured on my Jewish Paris episode, and then, of course, the two interns who were on the show today. We stopped and chatted with all of them.
You never know what’s going to happen on an Earful tour, but it’s going to be memorable. Book yours here. May and June are really starting to fill up.
Oliver
PS: Don’t forget there are new episodes on The Earful Everywhere about Italy, every Friday. Episode two is embedded below - how to spend the perfect day in Rome. Be sure to follow it on Instagram here, Spotify here, and/or iTunes here.