katia and kyliemac original version (VO)

We're pleased to announce the Great Suze-Off 2010 in episode 388, accompanied in our taste-testing adventures by the dynamic Olivier Magny and David Lebovitz! In this episode we taste a vast quantity of interesting (and not-so-interesting) typical French apéritifs and discuss the various features of each one, and we chat about everything to do with chinking glasses, the ever-so-trendy world of apéro snacks and drinking myths.

We continue chatting to Olivier Magny (of Ô Chateau, Stuff Parisians Like, and tDessine-moi un Parisien) in episode 387, where we talk about why the blog and the book are so funny, then he tells us where the name of the book comes from and he kindly draws a Parisian for us. We then talk about what Parisians actually like, New York, hamburger eating and the love/hate relationship between France and America, whether Parisians identify themselves as Parisian before they identify as being French, and whether it's possible for outsiders to become Parisian, which leads to Olivier sharing some very interesting theories about why foreigners are attracted to Paris.

We're pleased to welcome Olivier Magny, founder of the wine tasting company Ô Chateau and the blog Stuff Parisians Like, and the subsequent French book Dessine-moi un Parisien, in the studio for episode 386! After he reveals the secret behind his awesome English, he talks to us about the ginormous success of Stuff Parisians Like and how the book got published, then we talk about the inspiration behind the blog, the idiosyncrasies of the typical Parisian, whether he's guilty of doing any of the things he pokes fun at, public urination, French humour and whether the French can laugh at themselves, then he tells us an extremely interesting theory about the French psyche and French pride.

Danielle Wolff is still with us in episode 385, as she regales us with stories of interviews in French, being chauffered around, exclusive visits to obscure museums and not-so-obscure museums like the Louvre, as well as doing fabulous French touristy things like the Moulin Rouge and dinner cruises. We talk about doing a walking tour of Paris based on her script, she tells us more about some of the people she has encountered on her trip, we chat about what it's like to have conducted interviews and such in French, then we get carried away with the notion of wearing gowns and doing interviews on the red carpet, then wonder which French actors could play the various roles in her movie and get ridiculously excited about the possibility of visiting the movie set.

After a couple of years away, we're pleased to welcome Danielle Wolff back to the k&k studio for episode 384! We find out all about why she's here - she's one of four screenwriters who have been brought over to France for an "Autumn Stories" residency program through the Ile-de-France Film Commission and the Franco-American Cultural Fund of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique. We get to hear all about the magnificent Royaumont Abbey where she has been staying, and some of her adventures being chauffered around Paris and visiting all sorts of interesting places, as well as being wined and dined as she does research for her screenplay and meets all sorts of fabulous people.

We've still got Lily Heise, in charge of the Paris operations of Context Travel in the studio for episode 383, as we continue to chat about the various amazing walking tours offered by Context Travel in various cities around the world, such as evening tours of the Vatican and wine tours of Venice and the Veneto. We hear about some of their most popular walks, such as their "out of context" specialised one-off experiences (such as their sold-out event last Spring called Kitchen Conversations), and a new walk for 2011, a Jazz History walk. We find out how Lily got started with Context, some of her favourite walks to lead and participate in and what it's like to be surrounded by so many people with so much knowledge, and what the different docents bring to each walk according to their particular specialty.

We're very excited to welcome Lily Heise, in charge of the Paris operations of Context Travel, to the studio for episode 382! We chat all about Context Travel, which runs "walking tours for the intellectually curious", and we get tremendously excited as we hear about everything from art history and architectural tours to gastronomy and music-inspired walks. We learn how the company started, how the walking seminars are run, the people who lead the tours and the sorts of walks on offer, then we chat about a fabulous walk we did earlier in the day (New Bohemia: Paris of the Romantics), led by the dynamic Charlotte Daudon Lacaze.

We get into an enthusiastic discussion about beer in episode 381, which leads to some interesting suggestions for some future k&k Get Cultured adventures, Katia makes an apology, then talks about her recent trip to Nantes and the region of the Pays de la Loire, including the discovery of caramel au beurre salé and the usual mushroom dramas. Then we talk at great length about the childhood games like "jinx" and "punch buggy" and their equivalents in Australia, the US and France, as well as unusual customs in different countries, then Katia reveals some strange Australian childhood customs.

In episode 380 Kylie tells us all about her recent return to school and her French learning goals for the year, as well as her fascinating adventures with the language exchange at the Cercle International de l'Arc. We talk about Kylie's tv dramas and her recent gastronomic excursion to the salon Pari Fermier.

In this super special episode 379, we chat with Frog about whether you should travel around your own country before you travel somewhere else, or whether you should discover other countries before you discover your own! It leads us to many interesting reflections about why people travel and how travelling can change you.

Ann Mah, author of Kitchen Chinese is still in the studio with us for episode 378, and after a brief chat about dodgy dives and almost drinking Suze, she tells us more about her adventures living, working and eating in Beijing. We talk about national culinary pride, the diversity of the expat community in Beijing versus Paris, the ever-fascinating subject of cultural identity, and whether it's easier to be an expat in China or France. She then tells us about the culture shock of moving back to Washington, the experience of French immersion courses in preparation for their subsequent move to Paris, then (squee!) she tells us about some of her favourite places to eat Chinese food in Paris!

We're very pleased to welcome Ann Mah, author of Kitchen Chinese: A Novel about Food, Family and Finding Yourself, in the studio for episode 377! She tells us about being Chinese American and the massive culture shock that she experienced when she and her husband moved to Beijing. We chat about her family heritage and the fascinating issue of cultural identity, as well as her adventures living in Beijing, learning about Chinese cuisine, trying to get a grasp on the language and the saucy subject of censorship.

We continue our conversation with the charming PH (of Comité de la Claque and Green Paradise) in episode 376, and chat about learning English: what his teachers were like at school (and the importance of good teachers), his motivation for learning the language, the different anglo countries he has visited (and he shares with us some unique methods for learning the language) and the various experiences he had in these countries.

We're delighted to welcome PH of Comité de la Claque and Green Paradise into the studio for episode 375! We talk about his career as a professional comedian and writer, as well as what is coming up for Comité de la Claque, and talk at length about the differences between French humour and other types of comedy around the world.

We've still got the tasy Frog in the studio for episode 374, where he tells us about his recent trip to Iceland (hot springs, camping and lava fields), he gives us a most fantabulous present and we talk about naming babies and planets. We then get into a very deep conversation about cross-national intercultural relationships beyond French/Anglo relationships and our "solid entity" where we "all agree with each other" in the our anglo experience in France, and Frog asks us if all anglos (being from different parts of the world) really do have all that much in common beyond our shared experience and language in France.