katia and kyliemac original version (VO)

And now for something completely different! In episode 432.5 we find ourselves in the middle of the country, visiting a snail farm and doing our very first interview entirely en français with the lovely Mme Rosanne Fabbio, snail farmer! This means that there is a special 20-25 minute section of this episode which is exclusively in French, so if you don't speak French, just skip ahead to our summary of the interview which is in English. You get to hear all the charm of the country, with birdsong, wind blowing and tractors revving, and we find out about the nitty gritty of what it's like to be a snail farmer in France, and learn all about the life cycle of the snail. It's fascinating. Really. We then chat (in English this time) about a visit we did later in the day to a very unusual church in Saint-Bonnet-le-Château, which features some very unusual sights.

Apparently we just can't tire of the topic of adventurousness, and in episode 432 we decide to let YOU GUYS tell us what adventurousness means to YOU. We chat about the comments left by all the people who filled out our Adventurousness Survey - how different cultural perspectives, risk (perceived or real), age and health can all influence our idea of adventure - and then we reveal some of the adventurous things people told us they've done! We were gobsmacked, and we're sure you will be too!

In episode 431 we continue talking about national identity, which leads to a discussion about how our feelings about our country of origin have changed since we've been away, the concept of patriotism and the different perceptions of national pride, which leads us to talk about the definition of expat versus immigrant and how we classify ourselves as foreigners living in France.

In episode 430 we are thrilled to reveal some exciting news (not episode 500 related but it IS app-tly amazing and awesome!), then we get to chatting about an article we came across recently written by a guy who was feeling guilty about taking on another nationality. It's a fascinating conversation that leads us to discuss feelings of betrayal, the reasons behind acquiring citizenship, how it might feel to give up nationality, and what it means when you take on another nationality and how do you identify yourself when this happens.

In episode 429 we continue to chat about the results of the first part of our Adventurousness Survey - how many people would ride a bike from France to China, go flying in a hot air balloon, travel to Egypt by themselves and more! We then tackle the results of the second part - how adventurous is it to go on an African Safari, ride the length of the Grand Canyon on a donkey, travel the Trans Siberian Railway, sing karaoke in a Japanese bar and more! We had so much fun talking about this survey - hopefully y'all had fun doing it!

In episode 428 we chat about the recent Adventurousness Survey we decided to do, and after a length explanation of why we decided to do such a thing, we chat about the results of the survey - how many people would really go bungee jumping, spend two weeks hiking in the Amazon forest, eat a live bug, go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef or spend a year sailing around the world and more! It's all HIGHLY scientific, of course.

In episode 427 we continue chatting with Forest of 52 Martinis, where we talk about what makes her an expert on drinking cocktails in Paris and sip another version of the classic martini, stirred up by Forest herself! She lists some of her favourite books on cocktails, then tells us how she goes about finding the places she reviews on her blog, what sort of criteria she applies when writing her reviews and what her favourites are at the moment. She reveals how often she really goes out, tells us the secret of refining your palate for cocktail drinking, then we chat about the differences between standard bar cocktails and crafted cocktails.

We're rather excited to welcome Forest of 52 Martinis to the studio for episode 426! After we sip and compare shaken vs stirred martinis carefully made by the Martini Diva herself, and discuss the merits of different cocktail ingredients, she tells about her website, where she reviews bars in Paris! We talk about how she made her way to France, what inspired her to begin writing about cocktail adventures, and why she chose the Martini as her signature drink, then she tells us about some of the meetups she organises in Paris! Of course, all this is RIGHT up our alley.

In episode 425 Frog continues to regale us with tales of his trip to Argentina and Chile. We chat about his Argentinean private supper club experience (and talk at LENGTH about how to truly experience local cuisine, and whether such private supper clubs allow you to do this), and he tells us all about a most unusual scam he encountered whilst in South America!

With the inimitable Frog in the studio for episode 424, we get into the South American spirit, as we drink Picot Sours and chat about Frog's recent visit to Argentina and Chile: preconceptions of Buenos Aires, Evita moments, bus travel, his favourite city in Chile (Val Paraiso), why he loved Chile, and comparisons between the two countries.

We continue chatting with Ann Mah about the life of the diplomat's partner in episode 423, as we discuss what it's like to be constantly on the move, with a new post every few years. We talk about her current house-hunting project, which naturally brings us to the subject of the Real Housewives, then she gives us a glimpse into her current writing project, and we chat about andouillette and other weird and wonderful French dishes!

We're excited to welcome Ann Mah back to the studio for episode 422, and after we wax lyrical about the joy of gimlets, Ann tells us all about the life of the diplomat's wife, also known as the trailing spouse. We chat about the various challenges faced by couples and families in the foreign service, the different things one does to prepare for the next foreign posting, and the type of personality required for this sort of life.

In episode 421 we decide to discuss a recent spate of attempted robberies and muggings experienced by some of the people in our entourage, which leads to a lengthy discussion about how different ways to stay safe in a big city, whether you're a tourist or a resident.

As we sip White Ladies in episode 420, we talk about the relaunch of k&k learn french, then we do an update on the passport discussion we had a few weeks ago, and get to chatting about which nationality could be considered the most adventurous according to a recent survey.

Ryan is still with us in the studio for episode 419, and the absolute chaos continues as he makes us try yet another Suze-based cocktail. This makes us question how much Ryan's friendship actually means to us, but we get over it quickly as Kylie tells us all about her Versailles history classes this semester! This leads to a very heated debate about one of the Versailles outbuildings being turned into a luxury hotel.