riverside_sophie_epton_raw_audio_sophie_epton_s_stud_0280_clean (1)
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​[00:00:00] 

Speaker: Hello and welcome back to another episode of The Away We Go. We Go podcast. 

Speaker 2: Welcome back. 

Speaker: Well, I. Just recently pretty much got over three weeks of being insanely sick and today woke up with another little tickle in the throat. So 

Speaker 2: dude, even with like a month break of like not doing the podcast, still the last like four or five podcast episodes have been like, yeah, Sophie's feeling like shit.

Um, 

Speaker: [00:01:00] welcome to winter and the theme. Of our podcast episode today. Um, 

Speaker 2: not you being sick, not me 

Speaker: being, being sick. No. Um, we thought it would be such kind of fun and interesting episode and take just to talk about, I mean, everyone talks about like, they focus on spring, summer, and fall, and no one really talks about what it's like being here full time and living in Provence like.

During winter time. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. Because nobody wants to talk about that shit. 

Speaker: And it's, 

Speaker 2: winter is not my favorite. It doesn't matter where I am. 

Speaker: That's true. 

Speaker 2: It's not my favorite. 

Speaker: Which is also a bummer that your birthday's in January. 'cause it really falls into a, you know, I like 

Speaker 2: my birthday. 

Speaker: You have a great birthday.

I mean, Aquarius. Aquarius, you can't get better. But like it's, 

Speaker 2: I mean, I like my birthday. I am, I like the date. It's legit, but like, you know, it's a month after Christmas and Hanukkah and New [00:02:00] Year's and people are all fucking tapped out. But Sophie is a massive birthday fan. So over the years she's gotten me hyped up about celebrating my birthday.

So now I'm into it and I'm gonna be traveling next week later. 

Speaker: I. Yeah, winter to me it's like if, unless you can find somewhere that is nice and warm, it can kind of be, you know, it's just not like my favorite time of year. But I think especially when you live in Provence and you are always seeing these images of, you know, kind of like the endless summer and the lavender fields and the markets and the bustling, you know, little villages and all these things.

I think it's really good to also note that. Things feel very, very different in the wintertime here. And so, you know, again, it's, it's all about perspective. I think some people love it in the wintertime here because it is [00:03:00] like a very slow pace of life. Winter is kind of about getting cozy and, you know, not doing as much necessarily for a lot of people here.

So it's just. I think it just depends on your perspective, but either way, we just wanted to give you the real of, of what it's like living here full time. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. 

Speaker: Sophie 

Speaker 2: grew up in Colorado, so her Christmases were like next to the mountains. Her summer, sorry, winter. Her winter was next to the mountains.

Was in the mountains, right? Like, 

Speaker: yeah. 

Speaker 2: You know that shit's magical. The Rocky Mountains in the winter. It's gorgeous. 

Speaker: I mean, you would be actually a little shocked though, because even living in the mountains and having like beautiful snow, like I didn't like winter, I didn't like digging my car out of the, you know, ice and snow at six 30 in the morning and couldn't feel my fingertips and like literally having to stick [00:04:00] them under my armpits to like feel anything.

Like I don't miss those days. So. What I'll say is that the winters here are not that brutal. You know, as someone from Colorado and then Jordan coming from Chicago, like we're very used to kind of more brutal winters. 

Speaker 2: There must be some nightmare winners in Chicago. Well, you especially, especially you, you've been in Chicago. Yeah. That show is awful. I mean, I remember before I moved to Austin, my last winter there I was working at the mall.

The temperature got to a point that was like just, I don't know, sunny enough that the snow was like sleety. It was like wet. And so by the time I got to got out to my car at 10:00 PM it was like iced over, like the whole car was iced over. I couldn't get in my trunk to get my scraper out. So I sat there with my car key for 45 minutes carving out my car door, and then finally getting in and I still couldn't get into the trunk.

So I had a, a water [00:05:00] bottle that I had like kind of crushed, but still had some water in it. So it had ice in it. And I used that to chip the ice off my windshield while it was defrosting. Like that whole thing took 45 minutes. I was like, fuck this, I am out of here. Who the fuck wants to live in that shit?

Listen, I love Chicago. I love that I grew up in Chicago, but fuck 

Speaker: that. Listen, we probably have a lot of people that live in brutal winters and you're offending them greatly, but, but for us, I think it just, I lived 

Speaker 2: it. Yeah. So if they are still living in it, listen. They just understand how much that sucks.

I'm not calling them out for it, like they get it. They're like, yeah, that shit sucks. It's awful. But all that to say, being here, it's not that kind of intensity. It's not that kind of weather intensity. But I will also say that I've turned into kind of a little bitch. After moving to Texas. 'cause now I'm like, 

Speaker 3: oh, [00:06:00] it's kind of cold today.

I need a scarf and I gotta put my hat on because I'm freezing. And you're like, it's 40 degrees outside, Jordan, you're fine. It's like, 

Speaker: I'm so cold. I mean, I feel like living in Austin, anything that was under 50 degrees, like you just get used to it. It's just, it's too cold. So, no, you're right. We, we became super, super duper babies.

But what I will say is that. The cold, the actual, like, obviously like temperatures and everything aren't as brutal as many other places that No, it's 

Speaker 3: not bad, you 

Speaker: know? But what I would say is the, the emotional part of living through a winter. And just the way that the traditions are around the south of France for how like they sort of deal with winter is something that, especially as an American wrapping your head around is like very different because it's, it's a lot of, it just almost feels in a way lonelier.

[00:07:00] I have friends who live in different parts of, you know, France and Spain and Italy and it's, it can be very similar where. Because a lot of places close up, which we'll get more into, or you know, there's just not as many people, there's not as many tourists, there's just not as much activity going on. So many things feel shut down and it just feels like, where are we?

And like, where's the activity? And all those things. So that's, yeah, it's 

Speaker 2: so dark. And it's dark and 

Speaker: yeah. All the things dark, late 

Speaker 2: in the morning, dark early at night. 

Speaker: I think that there truly is like more of an emotional shift when summer turns into fall and then fall ends and it's like, Christmas is so great here.

It's very festive. But then I just personally find that January and February can be a little bit more brutal. I think like one of the things that's really hard is that, and I've talked about this a little bit, but the reality is, is that like. I really, really [00:08:00] appreciate knowing what central heating feels like because it like living here, you kind of have to make the choice of.

One, are you going to kind of be cold a lot and not turn on all of your radiant heaters, or are you gonna make everything nice and cozy, but then end up with a ridiculously high bill in the wintertime? 

Speaker 2: It's crazy. Huh? 

Speaker: Like, like electricity and gas. That is something that compared to the us. Is extremely high.

When we used to live in Austin, even on, you know, during the winter when there would be like colder months, or I should even say actually months where we had to have our AC on, blasting, blasting throughout the whole house, 24 7. We thought that a bill for $300 was high. That was like the highest it ever got.

Yeah. 

Speaker 2: That's the perspective 

Speaker: We right [00:09:00] now, 

Speaker 2: like, damn, that ain't shit. 

Speaker: Yeah. We barely turn on, we pretty much only turn on the radiant heaters in the rooms that we're using at the time that we're using them. And our bill this last month was still what, four? Four 50? 

Speaker 2: Yeah. So there are. A lot of apartments I think, that have a thermostat and their radiators are connected.

Ours, it's still not, 

Speaker: it's still not the same. 

Speaker 2: No, no, no, no. It's definitely, it's the same thing, like you're not talking about like air, like warm air blowing. Into the rooms that just feel nice and toasty. You're talking about like, this side of the room is still kind of like off, and then that side of the room is like a little too hot and you're like, what the fuck?

Speaker: Yeah. So's I don't know how to work 

Speaker 2: these things. 

Speaker: So it's, that's definitely something that has been just part of our lives. It's just, it, you know, we know every winter it's gonna be that way and, and, you know, we, you learn to bundle up. 

Speaker 2: This one's, this one's felt. Colder. 

Speaker: It ha it has [00:10:00] been a colder winter and for sure I 

Speaker 2: like, I don't, I don't know what it was like, so I got rayons, Rayos, I don't know how the fuck you say it, but basically like circulation in my fingers and my toes.

Like they get like white or yellow. Yeah. If, if it's even like if kind of chilly outside, so like my shit goes numb here all the time, but like, I'm walking You poor guy. I'm, I know, I'm walking around like the, the twins room has heat. But since, uh, since Sophie and I both work from home and we recently upgraded Sophie's work situation to having a nice little desk where she can work, which is hilarious of a little side story here about, you know, how we prioritize stuff.

It's great. Um, I am now banished to the freezing cold front room, which is a beautiful room, but it's freezing fucking cold like I've spent. Days on end, like wearing my jacket and a scarf and a hat. 

Speaker: I mean, the only way that room is warm is if you live, you're cranking 

Speaker 2: three of the radiators, three 

Speaker: radiator.

And [00:11:00] it is, that is ung ungodly expensive, right? So, so, so just, it's just something to know. And what was so funny is I just, I just saw this influencer that I follow, and she actually is moving from Paris to London, but she was saying like, everywhere that you move, it's sort of like. It, it, you know, brings in a part of you and it takes a piece like away from you where it's sort of like, you know, she's just saying like, when she lived in Paris, like there was nothing that she loved more than her beautiful, expansive ceilings and like, you know, gorgeous fireplaces.

But the thing that like killed her the most was the lack of central heating. And I'm like. Lady 

Speaker 2: relatable. I 

Speaker: couldn't relate more like I love our apartment, I love the history and, and the beauty of it, but, but the practicality in the winter, it's just, and, and I, and I don't think it's like, unless you're in a very, very modern building, which in X it's like you're not [00:12:00] gonna be in the city center, you're gonna be way on the outskirts.

It's just, it doesn't exist in that way. 

Speaker 2: And you know, like people invest in things differently. And like, I use the word invest loosely, but like. There. The markets, like there's multiple stands that just sell these like fleece blankets and they're really cheap too. We have like a bunch of these, like 10 euro, like white fleece blankets.

That, you know, you just stack up and you get really cozy also, which to me, when I, I was actually talking to a colleague about it who lives in London, and she was telling me last winter about the the hot water rubber. Yes. Like what, whatever you call them, you fill 'em with hot water, you know, and you stick 'em in the bottom of your bed.

And she was telling me she's got one that's like three feet long. So she'd fill it up with like piping hot water, [00:13:00] put it in the bottom of her bed, and by the time she goes to get into bed, like it's super warm and toasty rather than it's cold outside. And then you slip your legs into cold sheets. And so like, I've been carrying this thing around and I'm like, listen, I'd rather just have like the heat, but you know, you kind of adapt and adjust with things like that.

I put some hot water in there and put it on my lap or put my feet on it for a while and it totally works and it feels great. But also I'm sitting there, I'm like, I know too much. I grew up with, with central heating and air. So, you know, I think that's the problem. 

Speaker: Um, 

Speaker 2: in like a spoiled brat. 

Speaker: The other thing that I think is really, I think it surprises people.

It's kind of like this in some ways. It's funny, the three questions I get asked the most that I have to like, I feel like not, I mean educate is the right word, but just like tell people what's going on is [00:14:00] the, the fact that lavender fields are only around for about three to four weeks, and then they peak every year.

The fact that you have to have a car to really get around in most of Provence because trains don't go to all these little villages. And then the third is just the fact that. If people do want to come in the winter, like I've had people write me about traveling and you know, what's available in the winter, and I unfortunately have to tell them like it's, it's not that it's impossible and especially if you do like a more quiet vibe, then it can be a great time to come.

I mean, obviously it's super low season. You would get a great rate on hotels and airfare and all of those things, but. Yeah, but places are 

Speaker 2: closed a lot. You know, I do feel bad 'cause you've had to let people down. Like it's, you're like, I hate to disappoint you, but like this is the reality. Like there's this shit you can't access.

You have to come at the shoulder seasons. 

Speaker: Truly. I mean, to really get them, we always say shoulder seasons like April, may. [00:15:00] Like late September to early November, like best, best time to come. But what I'll say is, I mean there's, when we talk about all these little villages, like Gord, you know, all these sweet little villages that are around that people like that are picturesque, that people love to go to, they are like.

Ghost towns, like everything shuts down. There's not a restaurant pretty much open, like, I mean it's, it's very like the thing that you know is I think not apparent is that Provence can be depending on where your eyes vary, very seasonal. And so truly in order to access all these places, like you really have to come at a different time.

It's not to say you can't enjoy, like if you were to come in the winter. I think if, if that was your only option, I would say like, go to Paris. Paris is, well, go to the Alps, 

Speaker 2: man. Go to the mountains. Yeah, exactly. To the Alps. I'm thinking like, 

Speaker: of course, you 

Speaker 2: know, you think of like European snow bunnies that are coming to, you know exactly the US whatever, and you're like, yeah, go to Switzerland.

Go to [00:16:00] like the, the French side of. 

Speaker: You know 

Speaker 2: the mountains access is, go to see all these things 

Speaker: like, yeah, go again. 'cause it's, everything's seasonal. So for them it's seasonal up there. But go to Paris. You know, X is a little bit different because it is a bigger city. So I think if you stick to like some of the bigger cities there, there will be more open.

However I say this with a caveat of even. So many of our friends that have businesses, like they will still take a conge for two to three weeks, especially in February. Like February is, I feel like by far, like the most, besides August, like the most closed down month of the year. And it's just, it's just not, it's just not as fun, you know?

'cause it's like everything's closed down. So it's just, it's just kind of knowing, again, there's still so many beautiful things you can access, but it's, it's just knowing that ahead of time, either as someone who's coming to visit or especially as someone who's coming to live, I think that can be like a very kind of [00:17:00] like shocking thing if you don't know.

Speaker 2: Yeah. It just reminded me, I had a buddy come last year and he was like, yeah, I'm gonna be there around like. Late February, and I was like, oh, all right, well I guess you can go and do these three things. And again, like there's a bajillion things to do, but like there's 

Speaker: more. But again, it's, and it's also about like, 'cause we told him to go stay at Chateau de Lago, which, you know, they're open all year round.

So, I mean, again, it's, it is depending on where you go, but it's just what I'm trying to say is if you want access to everything that Provence has to offer. You will not find that in the winter. It just doesn't exist. So just, just, just know that. The other thing too is that especially I think kind of your social life and your expat reality is that there's, it's really interesting actually, like.

I find that there's obviously quieter [00:18:00] streets and there's fewer events going on, but for me as an expat, I actually find that it's a time that before kind of everyone, like again another school break with all the kids that happens. Like the last Your 

Speaker 3: favorite? Yeah, 

Speaker: the last two weeks of February. But before that, I've actually found that this is an easier time.

To meet up with other expats who are just like working and who aren't necessarily part of the French culture. 'cause it's obviously way more of a French culture and, and French workplace habit or tradition to, to, you know, take off for weeks at a time and to get out of the cold and to go somewhere. Warm, but a lot of the expats here are staying, and so I find that it's because it's a little bit more quiet, it's an easier time to go grab a coffee or do things that I couldn't do when I was super busy, like during so many other times of the year, whether we're traveling or you know, all the things.

So, so that's been kind of, I think cool in that way to experience that. So again, it's just, it's just [00:19:00] kind of knowing like the trade offs in. All the things you experience in a different way living here. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. And again, XX is a little bit different, right? Like we were just in APT and Oh yeah. I mean, APT is like, you know, it's, it's a super cute town.

It's where your mom lives. But I mean, it was like. Ghost town? No. Like, it was like even quieter than that because I, I walked around a little bit, you know, in the like afternoon, evening, a little bit in the morning, and like both, it was just like, there was nothing open there. Like the B chari, like the bakeries were not open.

I couldn't get coffee. I was walking around at like 9:00 AM. Couldn't find anything. Yeah. And I'm like, you know, again, it, it just, we speak a lot from the perspective of being an ex where it is a university town, so there's gonna be a lot that is open because there's [00:20:00] tourist stuff here, there's, you know, student stuff here.

So there's like a lot of things that are like up and running constantly. Right. Like it has that kind of vibe. But when you do go to towns that like are not, don't have a university in them, aren't the bigger towns don't have like very specific tourist attractions other than the town itself apt. To me, the town itself is the tourist attraction.

Like it's a really charming town, right? Like it's in the mountains. And it again, like I know they have like an incredible Saturday market. 

Speaker: Yeah. 

Speaker 2: But like that's just like the Saturday market. We're talking like if you're gonna go to abt and a lot of people do, again, I'm gonna pop up to ABT and check out the area.

Check out the Lu. Huh. And it's like when you are going to places like that and the quietness that kind of falls on those types of towns. [00:21:00] That is like your like blanket of snow, type of quiet. Like, so like, I mean, walking around Apt when I was, when we were there, you like.

It was cool because you get that like walking down this like gorgeous cobblestone street in the middle of these buildings and these like couple tall, like kind of bell towers are up. Like it's beautiful and like you don't have to watch out for people, you can just look at everything. But man, it is a different vibe.

Like it is, you know, you're just like, shit, I guess. I mean, I literally like, let me put it into perspective. I went out, I needed to get a little like morning breakfast snack. All I could find was like a little mini mart that was open and I got a bag of like processed croissants that were all individually wrapped 

Speaker: that I didn't croissants 

Speaker 2: touch that when I say croissants, I mean they were white bread shaped into the, [00:22:00] formed into the shape of a croissant.

Like they were not croissants. Like that's what I walked away with. That's all that was. Available and I can find, yeah, guys, 

Speaker: sometimes you can buy bad bread in France. It's not all good by the way. I mean, 

Speaker 2: you get processed bread anywhere. You get processed bread. Luckily, most of the time I ain't gotta do that.

Speaker: But yeah, it is. It's, it's got, it's just, it's just a different vibe and, and again, it, it depending on who you are, like I have friends who like, love it because they love to kind of like just cocoon and go to the markets when they need to and just really like plan out and kind of just. Be more low key kind of work with the seasons and work the way that winter.

You know, winter's supposed to be a time war for rest if you're going with the seasons, but for, I think for Jordan and I, 

Speaker 2: do I give off the impression that I'm a quiet tech away and get cozy? No, I have rambunctious twins. And when those two go out with me and we're like having a dance party or like [00:23:00] screaming in the street because they just do that with me, it's so amplified 'cause everything else is quiet and I'm like, maybe I'm a little gonna lock it up.

And 

Speaker: speaking of two, something that I would say is if you are traveling with kids, or especially if you are, you know, planning to live in France with kids during the winter. Just knowing that, I mean, we, we've been having weeks and weeks of rain where like the kids can't get outside or it's really, really cold.

And so again, it's just like planning for that kind of thing. Like, you know, they might have some fun interactive things they can do inside, or, you know, they have like some, you know, fun little kid museum displays, things like that, that we will still go on in x in the winter, but like. It's a lot of, let's just say we've probably been watching too many movies with the kids, but it is what it is.

So 

Speaker 2: not possible. 

Speaker: We're doing, we're doing the best we can. We have, but something that I did really want to talk about that I feel like is a really [00:24:00] like positive part of winter and is also very cool to experience is the markets, which I know we've talked about, you know, many a time, but just wanted to kind of touch again briefly on.

Like how cool it is to experience all the seasons and all the different food through the market. So like at least in X and, and in many other villages, you know, 'cause this is just still a huge part of the livelihood for the farmers. The markets are still going on and they don't really stop. So in X, we still have the markets on, I mean the big markets, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and then the small market like every day of the week.

But what we love finding is like, I mean, you know, of course the citrus is incredible, the apples. One thing that I find really interesting is that I like, especially because I'm trying not to eat a lot of sugar. I like to make, it's crazy 

Speaker 2: talk. 

Speaker: Well, it's, I know it's impossible here, but Im trying. Normal is that horrible 

Speaker 2: [00:25:00] influence.

Speaker: Yes. I love to make desserts with dates. Like you can make things like date brownies or, you know, everyone talks about like the snicker dates with the peanut butter and a little chocolate drizzled over things like that, and dates like grocery stores. Do not carry them. Especially, I mean, when, I mean like the ones that we really love, like the big juicy ones that taste like the big ass 

Speaker 2: Mele dates that are like, yeah, 

Speaker: they're, they're like, they're not caramel, fat, 

Speaker 2: tasty.

They 

Speaker: like dates. They're not carried anywhere except in the winter. So it is cool to like. You know, just really kind of revel in what is in season and make as much as you can. I just made date brownies for the kids this week. It was so, it's just, it's kind of just knowing it's not all at your fingertips all the time and to like really enjoy how beautiful the winter produce isn't also just so great that the markets are still happening.

It's a different, [00:26:00] you know, thing to discover, especially if it's like your first winter here, living in France and just knowing like. That's something to look forward to if you are here during the wintertime. So I guess, you know, when it really comes down to what we've seen and kind of your options as someone living full-time in France or maybe part-time in France, depending on what, how you do it.

But I think really like the option one is to really think about are you gonna be someone. That lives here seasonally. So you live in Provence from spring to fall and then leave for the winter months. We definitely see this. There's a lot of Australians we know who do this, which makes total sense.

They're just perpetually living in like, you know, the nice, the nice months of, 

Speaker 2: I mean, that's a hell of a way to do it. I'll say that. Yeah. Damn. 

Speaker: Yeah, I mean, they're pretty much just living in like spring and summer and a little bit of fall all the time. Good. I think, you [00:27:00] know, I think that's, I think if you can do it, I think that's incredible for us.

I think just the fact that we have two kids that are going to a private school, like right now, the cost and logistics of like going back and forth is not probably lame. Yeah. Probably not the most, uh, reasonable for us, but, but we definitely know people who do it and I, I mean, I would say like, gosh, especially for people who are retired.

My parents live in France full-time all year round. They will take vacations generally in February because my mom just like is over it and she needs to be somewhere warm by a beach. Yeah. She's 

Speaker 2: like, your girl needs some sunshine. 

Speaker: Yeah. But for the most part they stay, but, but I think. I mean, if I were to do it as a retiree here, I would definitely like get outta here in, in the winter just because, you know, it's, it's just, it's nicer to be somewhere that's warm and temperate.

But, you know, just having like an escape. The other thing that's fun too, that we, again, we see a lot of people do is if you, [00:28:00] if you don't have to work through all the winter months like us, 'cause that's our reality. We don't have, we don't have big conge breaks.

If you just, if you really, you know, wanna get out of the cold. Have a more lively place that's more seasonal. So some of the fun winter escapes that especially like, 'cause of course my parents, they always find a, a place to go to during February. Like so many other people in France. But you know, Canary Islands have been great.

You know, a lot of places in like Northern Africa people like to escape to because it's so temperate. There's even, of course, like there's so many direct flights to some of the like French islands in the Caribbean, like San Martin, like my parents have done that and they love it. It's like a, I think it's just a direct flight from Paris.

I mean, it's long, but it's, you know, it's easy. And obviously, you know, if you're working, that would be ideal for if you can work remote or if you just have a schedule that aligns with. You [00:29:00] know, the labor laws in France where if you have just like a more flexible schedule. But I mean, if you could do that, I feel like that's just ideal.

Um, sounds 

Speaker 2: ideal. 

Speaker: Yeah. And then another thing though, again just talking like strategically is if you're planning to be here all winter long, like us, except for maybe a couple, couple little short stints somewhere else, but it is really important, we feel like to. Pick a larger city versus a small village like personally.

Again, no hate, no shade, but. I don't know what people do that live in these smaller villages that completely close down unless they're going somewhere else. So seriously, if you want like liveliness and, I mean, I was just, I, I've talked actually to several of you about this that have moved to Provence and thought you wanted to live more in like the, or somewhere that's a little bit [00:30:00] quieter.

And then I think after some time. Would message me asking about X because it is, that's one of the reasons we picked X, is it's just at the end of the day, it's so much nicer to be around a larger city that just things aren't totally closed. There's closures, but things aren't totally closed all over the place, and there's just more of a liveliness and a social life in the winter.

So it's, it's a very, very different experience of like living here versus like living in or something for the wintertime. So just something to think about. And then of course, accepting winter for it being, you know, what it is and planning for it. So just 

Speaker 2: planning, 

Speaker: guys, we're really trying not to be downers.

We're just trying to be realist with you. But 

Speaker 2: look, look, here's the deal, man, like sometimes. There's a lot of really beautiful, fluffy things about, you know, the adventure [00:31:00] and doing something new and doing something hard. And there's hard, real, like hard, you know, and, and things that you have to deal with and sometimes feel like you're just enduring.

And I think that we've gone through. Not to be fucking cheesy, but like seasons of that, like we've kind of gone up and down with like enduring through some shit until we kind of learn, oh, you could have done it like this. You know, because there's times where like, this happened multiple times. 'cause this is, this is our second winter or third winter.

Speaker: Our third winter. 

Speaker 2: Our third winter here. And like we definitely have gotten to like February, March where we've like talked to people. About, oh, what did, like, what have you guys been up to? Or whatever. And we share it and they're like, oh my God, you guys gotta like plan to get out of here and do this in this time.

And like we've totally missed the boat. Right. And like sometimes 

Speaker: it's not even that, I feel like [00:32:00] between the fact that like. Our work schedules, things don't stop in January or February. It just never seems to work for us to like take a vacation. It must be like really planned for it. But then 

Speaker 2: not just traveling.

Yeah, I mean I just like, there's just things that like we had to learn after the season. True when we talked to people and. You're like, oh, we did not do that the right way. We should have done that totally differently. Um, we're 

Speaker: making all these mistakes so you don't have to. 

Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, you know, we're not intending to make all these mistakes so you don't have to, but hey, silver lining, we're just keeping it 100 for you.

You know? But like, I think that like we had gone through a winter of spending way too much money, blasting heat, to be like, oh. We could probably do this a little bit differently. Yeah. The next time. And a lot of it is just like learning stuff and like, you know, because we knew [00:33:00] how to deal with winter, honestly.

We had different gear. Like I still had stuff for the entire time we were in Austin that I had, that I had when I was living in Chicago that I just were mine I brought with me. So when it did get really cold or I was traveling back to Chicago, I still had that stuff. And I think when we moved here, we moved here.

For here, we kind of dumped a lot of stuff that we're like you, we don't need that. We're not gonna use that all the time. You know? And. Ended up having to replace it anyways. 

Speaker: Yeah. 

Speaker 2: Lesson learned. 

Speaker: Yeah, so I think so. I think at the end of the day it's like there are still some beautiful things to like find during this time of year, like living in Provence, but you do have to accept how different the winters are here versus, for instance, like living in the states.

Even though the weather can be shitty, at least like everything's open all the time and still available. So I think that's just a huge part of it. [00:34:00] So it's just kind of thinking about things like, you know, what are you gonna do? How are you gonna budget for heating? How are you gonna plan your winter routines and comforts?

You know, for us, for instance, like something that I do look forward to in the winter now that the kids are getting a little bit older is like, I love, I mean I, I've always loved to cook, but I really do love like the coziness of being with my family in the kitchen and like making soups and. You know, just kind of just all wanting to like huddle together on the bed and like watch movies.

So there's definitely some like really cute things. I think that if you, again, it's all about how you create traditions and what you do, but yeah, if you think that you're gonna be like, you know, enjoying the beach or hiking up a mountain right now, maybe not the best time, you could still do it, but better, better in the, uh, spring, summer and fall for sure.

So it's just, yeah, it's just knowing what you're signing up for ahead of time and then. Just, you know, [00:35:00] yeah. Creating things, planning things to, to get you through these, these couple of months that can otherwise be a little, a little brutal. So, yeah, I think that's like pretty much it. But we just felt like it was really important to talk about because we realized that 

Speaker 2: is very relevant right now.

Yeah. 

Speaker: We, since we. Started our podcast nearly a year ago. We're, we're celebrating almost one year that it's something we hadn't touched upon and we thought it was important as a reality of living here to just kind of go over and give any insight. So next week Jordan will be out of town, living footloose and fancy free, enjoying a whole week without the kids.

It's not even that he's gonna miss the kids, he is gonna miss me. But just having his own free time and free will for an entire 

Speaker 2: reason. I, I know, I know that there, there's gonna be a couple key moments for me when I do this kind of stuff. One is gonna [00:36:00] be on the plane and in the airport when I'm just only traveling with like one bag in my backpack.

And that's the only things I have to think about. I spend, yeah. My mornings. Let's, let's do this a little backwards. Say, 'cause we didn't really give like an intro about what we've been up to in the last week and, and a quick update. Like the twins have been so fun, like since they started going back to school.

Yeah. Um, over the, the Christmas break, I think they were just getting like really stir crazy and so are we. And they were just like everybody was. We were kind of into it. You weren't feeling good and they've been so much fun. But like I, and I, I don't know if this started because of that break, but my mornings start almost like, it's not even the alarm clock anymore.

Like I hear London calling for me because I've made it the habit that she can call for me in the morning. And I, it's like I'm too exhausted to know how to like. [00:37:00] Better prepare myself to not turn this into something that she's expecting. So she's, I just hear like dadda, dadda, like from the other room, and all I'm thinking is like, she's got to go to the bathroom and even though there's like a little potty in her room, she's not gonna use it until I come in there and like hold her hand to get out of her bed so she can walk over to it.

And so now I jump up out of bed and I run into the room and like that's how I start my morning. So like my brain is already wired to like just pay attention to these sounds. And so I'm very much gonna enjoy being at the airport. And having in headphones and not have to turn around and look for stuff like those kind of little moments that will be relief.

Speaker: Every parent needs needs this. Every parent needs this, so I'll be, I'll step away 

Speaker 2: a little bit. 

Speaker: I'll be holding down the fort. He'll be super busy, but I'll have an exciting episode for you that talks a lot more about. Dreaming and planning and, and making your goals a reality, AKA, like knowing what to do to [00:38:00] even move abroad, like whatever, whatever that is.

Um, I, 

Speaker 2: you haven't recorded this episode yet, but I am already very excited for it because it's, you just, 

Speaker: it's, it's, it's one of my favorite topics to talk about. So you just 

Speaker 2: understand this kind of stuff and like, it's so easy to like start getting hyped about that kind of thing. Like we've, we've had a lot of fun.

Over the last couple weeks having these conversations and like planning and everything. So that'll be really fun. I will miss being a part of it, but you guys get a little bit of relief from my, 

Speaker: but you'll come back and give us 

Speaker 2: ridiculous shenanigans. Yeah, give 

Speaker: us the real of like just, you know, going back to the US and, and coming back here again.

And always the reverse culture shock that comes with it. So anyways, um, you guys wish Jordan safe travels. Back to the US and please send a little prayer for me being at home with the kids for seven days by myself. Yeah, and [00:39:00] um, on that note, thanks for listening all. Thanks for hanging. See you. Bye. 

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