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Immersive Travel Is Delicious w/ Rhythm & Roam Podcast · The Delicious Culture with Jon Francois

0:00
People ask me if I speak French and I'm just
0:01
like, je suis bibliothèque fromage. Like, that's
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what I say every time. I am cheese library. That
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was French. Je suis or, you know. He said, I
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am a library cheese. Yeah, exactly. Hey, delishies,
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grab a plate and taste the delicious culture.
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I'm your host, John Francois. We are feasting
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on food, pop culture and lifestyle with two of
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the three hosts of the wonderful podcast Rhythm
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and Rome. We have Paul and Tricia with us. And
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since they have a travel related podcast, it's
0:36
so appropriate that like we're all over the place.
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So I'm in Vermont, Paul, you're in Texas. No,
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I'm sorry, Paul, you're in Paris as in Paris,
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France. And Trisha's in Texas. Can you guys explain
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why you are there? Oh, Trisha, do you want to
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ladies first or? I certainly can. Well, I so
0:59
as of October of this year, it'll make it 30
1:02
years that I've been in Texas this run. I kind
1:05
of came here after college. I went to University
1:08
of Connecticut and left. beforehand, before graduating.
1:13
So I ended up coming here, I think, 95, oh no,
1:16
December of 94 and never left. I met my husband.
1:20
We have three great kids here. So we raised them,
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you know, we raised them here in the area and
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we just haven't left. I want to leave, but I
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can't. Yeah. Well, you know, just before you
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joined us, Trisha, me and Paul were talking about
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how I am a Connecticut native. So I'm certainly
1:42
familiar with UConn and UConn culture. Boo! I
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attended UConn's lesser respected cousin Eastern
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Connecticut State University. That's so funny.
1:58
Look, I have no problem with Eastern. I had some
2:00
really good friends that went to Eastern. They
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used to go to Eastern for a party at UConn. It's
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great. I had roommates that were that exact same
2:08
way. Literally every weekend, it would seem like
2:11
a desert on the ECSU campus. And that was mostly
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because people like my roommates were like, oh
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yeah, UConn's the party school. That's where
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more exciting things happen. That's where we
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were. My cousin went to Southern Connecticut.
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Yeah, my sister Natalie, my sister Natalie went
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to Southern Connecticut State University in New
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Haven. Yeah, absolutely. And there's a lot of
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partying going on there. Yeah, two of my best
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friends, you know, I still, from college, I was
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still there. You know, one lives in New Haven.
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Now the other one is originally from Rhode Island,
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but she also went to UConn, graduated from UConn,
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but now she lives in Massachusetts. So, yeah.
2:45
Gotcha. So, Paul, you had mentioned you had a
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house in Middletown, Connecticut. Is that correct?
2:50
I did. But I sold it. It was in Middletown, Connecticut.
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I got family in Connecticut, mainly in New Haven,
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Trumbull area, as well as also in the Middletown
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area, too, as well. Gotcha. But mostly New York
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and stuff like that, too, as well. Where do you
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have roots now? In Paris or somewhere else? No.
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Well, I got here to Paris through work. So, you
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know, my job, bless their heart, brought me over
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work transfer and promotion and all that other
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good stuff. from New York City, where I started
3:31
the job and then got a transfer to Luxembourg
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City and then got another transfer like two years
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later after living in Luxembourg City. And they
3:39
were asking, they're like, Hey, we need you to
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move to either Paris or Athens, Greece. And I
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was like, wow, God, it's like choosing from Idaho
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to Montana. Like the decisions are so horrible.
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But no, I ended up hearing. Been here ever since
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kind of thing too as well. But what do you do
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for work, Paul? Well, I worked in finance. I
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worked at JP Morgan. So and now I am more trying
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to get into the entrepreneurship space now kind
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of thing too as well. I figured I'd given enough
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and I want more of the pie now. What about you,
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Tricia? What do you do for work? So I am a associate
4:18
broker, a real estate broker here in in Texas,
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licensed in Texas. And actually, I have recently,
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well, I should say. Oh, we lost her. Tricia left
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us. She's like, oh, I don't know. Oh, man. Well,
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we'll hopefully have Tricia come back and join
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us at some point. Oh, my God. I hope that didn't
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that. I was like, oh, what happened? I told you,
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it's the Wi -Fi. So somebody's monitoring somebody's
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monitoring somewhere like I feel like because
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we're like Vermont Paris, Texas Maybe there's
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like something in the internet universe. That's
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like no, this is too much I know they're like,
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wait a minute. What is going on? What is really
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going on here? So many different time zones.
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I can't handle it What about your work requires
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you to travel to the the luxuriousness of cities
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like parents or in Athens, Greece. So I was so
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let me until Trisha gets back and I can give
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the lay of the land kind of thing. So prior to
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me doing corporate, I was I retired as an officer
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in the United States Army. And that's how we
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kind of got got the three of us together. Besides
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loving to travel and stuff like that. I knew
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Trisha from, you know, days in junior high and
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high school. So I knew her for a long time. And
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then Benesha Uh, Ben, uh, I knew Ben F from the
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time that I was in the military. So we both are
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retired military officers in the army kind of
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thing. So that's how our connections worked out.
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And then, you know, last duty assignments and
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all that other stuff is where Ben F and I was,
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uh, um, you know, together and stuff like that
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and working and so on and did communications
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and all that. And I did my undergrad, you're
6:14
going to hate this, because I did my undergrad
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at University of Miami, the Hurricanes. Oh, why
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would I hate it? I don't care. Why would I hate
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that you go to University of Miami? Well, I figured
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because you're a UConn fan and we were Big East
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at one point or another, because I ran track
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and I used to have to dog the UConn Huskies a
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lot of times. I never went to UConn. I don't
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give a crap about sports. Oh, OK, good. So, so
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I mean, if my grandfather was still alive, maybe
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because like he was very into Yukon women's basketball
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games. So if there's some rivalry between women's
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basketball and Miami, then, then sure. All right,
6:49
Tricia, you had some internet connection issues
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and now you're back. Yes. That's okay. So go
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back to where you left off if you can. Yeah.
6:59
So basically what I was saying is I'm a real
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estate broker here in Texas and have been for
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23 years. So most of my time here. And I just
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recently actually went back to school to get
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my graduate in digital marketing professional
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communication. So Rackham Tech. No. Yeah. Awesome.
7:17
I love that. How would you guys describe your
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podcast? Because I know that you make it clear
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that you're not going to just be a run of the
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mill travel podcast where it's like, oh yeah,
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we're going to Paris. We're going to eat a baguette.
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This is how a baguette tastes. We're going to
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Texas. We're going to have some barbecue. Here's
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the barbecue. So what makes your travel podcast
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distinct from others? Paul. So the way I, how
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I look at it or the way we look at it is I think
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it makes it distinct from us because not only
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that we do love travel, but we also talk about
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culture and misconception along the way of all
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this travel. Like for example, for myself, I've
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traveled to already 60 different countries so
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far. And I don't know if I'm getting to all of
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them because not all of them are great places,
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but And I think what really makes it really,
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really stand out even more is because we are
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people of color as well. And we're also trying
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to give, you know, people that look like us the
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opportunity to say, hey, look, there are way
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bigger places out there that you can go and see,
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and it's okay to be, you know, not looking like...
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the others, but the important thing is is immersing
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yourself into different culture because I think
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it really helps to open our minds to different
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things. And Lord knows if we all did this, you
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know, just imagine how beautiful the world would
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be today with people loving each other and not
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having so much, you know, animosity. Our experience
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really is what we're hoping to do is dispel the
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fact that we have all these differences, that
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we have more similarities than we do. But more
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importantly, that when you travel, there's more
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to get out of it than just seeing your Instagram
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spots or the, yes, the famous spots, but it's
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about immersing yourself with the culture. being
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able to connect with others so that you truly
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get the experience that you should when you travel.
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And that is that synergy and the wonder and,
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you know, what it is to be able to connect with
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someone that you may not necessarily know the
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language. So... Can both of you discuss a place
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that could not be more far from where you are
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in terms of, like, what you look like? Say, okay,
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you know, you're going there as a person of color.
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Oh, my goodness, these people... look nothing
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like me. And also the culture could not be more
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different than what I grew up with. Maybe you
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have some misconceptions going into that different
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culture and those differently skin colored people.
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Can you talk about, can you give an example of
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like a country or continent that you visited,
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uh, where it was like that and, and hopefully
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you came out from the other side positively?
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Oh, I, I mean, I have a lot of them, but I can
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give you, I can give you, um, my two to be exact.
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So the first, first place that I've ever did
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like a solo travel by myself, don't ask me why
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I did it, but I said, I want to go to Stockholm,
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Sweden. And this was early 2000s and early 2000s
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Stockholm, Sweden does not look like Stockholm,
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Sweden today. Early 2000s Stockholm, Sweden was,
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I was probably the only, the only one in certain
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spots. But the one that really, really made me
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- Like the only person of color, you mean? Like
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it was like literally white - Yeah, like literally
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the only black person in most places that I was.
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But I think the one that stood out even more,
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where I actually felt maybe a little bit uncomfortable,
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was when I went to Estonia. Beautiful country.
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Beautiful, beautiful. But it was so - Where's
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that on the globe, if I may ask? Close to Russia.
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Oh, all right. It's East Europe. East Europe,
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yeah. Yeah, East Europe, yeah. Yeah. So, so,
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uh, Estonia is, you know, like Estonia, Lithuania,
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you got all those Eastern countries and stuff
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like that. Yeah. Yeah. But, but when I went there
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and I went with, you know, some friends of mine,
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but it was interesting because of the fact that,
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you know, I was literally the only one in this
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way again, was early 2000s before internet breakout
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scene and stuff like this too as well. Um, but
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it was, it was more that I went into it with.
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the stereotype, you know, where I'm like, oh
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my God, something is going to happen to me instead
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of me just slightly just keeping my guard up,
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but slightly understanding and immersing myself.
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And once I did that, I had a better time and,
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and, and enjoying things. Cause it was more of
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a shock to them as much as it was a shock to
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my system too, as well, when I was out there
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and I was like, yeah, because I mean, No, they
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looked at me. They didn't just look at me. They
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like literally. Yeah. Was like. Like you were
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another species. Yeah. They were like, what is
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going on here? And it was just only me. It felt
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like, I'm sure there was other, you know, black
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people there, but that time and that space and
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that hour, I was literally the only one. Cause
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people, you can feel when somebody's looking
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at you and that's what it felt like. And it was,
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it was, it was, and again, This was like a couple
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of minutes. And then I kind of was like, okay,
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I think I'm let's go eat. So I can like move
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into a better spot than the town square where,
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you know, it doesn't look like I'm like the main
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attraction or something like this. But I learned
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a lot from that, you know, and I learned that,
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I mean, I learned that that America has its biases,
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meaning People, I feel like they were looking
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at me because they were curious, but they weren't
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looking at me as if, and I'm gonna, don't get,
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don't, you know, hopefully nobody from the state
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be mad at me, but it ain't the same kind of look
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that I get if I'm in Mississippi or Alabama,
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certain places. So it was a look of like, oh
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my God, I've never seen. You know, and then it
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was more of like interest versus more of like
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I'm looking at you because you shouldn't be here
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So that's the difference and and and I immediately
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felt like that and I did I felt like I was seen
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first as a human Before oh my god, you know What
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are you doing here? You know get out of here
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kind of thing. So Anything distinct about their
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culture, whether it be their food or their arts
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and entertainment scene from either Sweden or
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Estonia that really carried with you when you
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left? Yeah. Well, they eat a lot of potatoes.
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Okay. Sorry. It's a lot of hearty food in the
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wintertime, because I went into wintertime on
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both of them. To keep themselves warm and full,
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I imagine. Exactly. And the vodka is real live
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in Estonia. First class. Sweden. When they say
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Swedish meatballs, it is very true and is very
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good. So I highly recommend people. And the Swedes
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are the most nicest people I've ever met. And
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they speak better English than, embarrassingly,
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some of us who English is our first language.
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Really? How so? Like, they just know, like, more
14:32
interesting English words? Like, how do they
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speak English better than us? No, from the beginning,
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when they were kids, and I found this out just
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by talking to, like, you know, the bartender
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or something. This is what I mean by immersing
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myself. Like, literally, they're all... They
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all learn English from little baby, you know,
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going up through school, and they continue it
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throughout. A lot of the TV stations are in English,
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too, as well, as well as Swedish, but... Yeah,
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they all, and the reason why I say they speak
15:00
better English than some of us is because we
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speak with a slang. Like, this lady was pronouncing,
15:06
like, the actual, what the word is, and it was
15:09
always getting me mad. Because I was like, I
15:12
know that's the word, but stop saying that. Say
15:17
it with the slang. Especially being born and
15:19
raised here in New England, we certainly have,
15:20
like, a sort of lazy slur on some of the ways
15:24
we pronounce our words. Exactly. I totally believe
15:27
that. I don't think I've ever had a Swedish meatball.
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What does it taste like? They're good. How is
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that? They're awesome. It's weird. It looks like
15:39
a meatball, duh. Of course. It's like a creamy,
15:44
almost like mushroom. It's a creamy sauce. Exactly.
15:48
But the difference is that they put some kind
15:51
of weird wild berry. They serve it with, I don't
15:56
know if it's like, cranberry but it's little
15:58
you know those little tiny red I don't know what
16:00
they're called but they're like berry thing and
16:03
it's it's like all over it and I'm just like
16:06
it's supposed to give like a tangy taste to it
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but it's really good it's tangy sweet yeah yeah
16:12
so yeah I mean eat it if you've never had it
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I mean, I'm sure, Tricia, you had it before,
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but it's really, really good. Yeah. So, Tricia,
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how about you? What's a place that just became
16:23
so different from you as a racial identity, as
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a culture, like, and how did you learn from that?
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And for me, I mean, for me, it's, I mean, I've
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been to a lot of the, I've been to a lot of the
16:35
European countries, so I didn't necessarily feel
16:38
out of place, per se. I will say that there were
16:43
awkward moments in certain instances. And just
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one that was striking to me was probably in Austria.
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I was there. Yeah, Austria, I was in Seafeld.
17:03
That is actually where we were staying. And I
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don't think that they saw very many people uh
17:11
brown folks that were around there so it was
17:13
just like a grocery store thing super nice very
17:16
sweet very open people um but that was it was
17:20
just awkward going shopping and go you know in
17:22
the store because you definitely feel the stairs
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um especially if you're wearing um you know protective
17:28
hairstyle like braids or something like It's
17:30
not something that's necessarily always seen.
17:34
So those experiences, shopping in the store,
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asking questions, I guess not necessarily thinking
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I'm going to speak the way I'm going to, like
17:44
my vernacular, how I'm going to speak, but I
17:47
get that here in the United States. So dealing
17:50
with that is really not a big deal for me. I
17:54
get some places like that in the South. Right,
17:56
right, right, right. What about over there in
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Austria? I'm curious about their culture as well,
18:03
in terms of, I don't know, what they eat, how
18:04
they live. Yeah, it's super, super clean. It's
18:09
actually probably one of my favorite. parts thus
18:11
far that I've seen in the country. It's just
18:12
so clean. The air is amazing. Even in the summertime,
18:17
July time, it is so crisp and you can just smell
18:22
outside. It's just, I don't know how to describe
18:25
it. It's very, very just clean. That's the only
18:29
thing I can think of. Great beer, beer, beer.
18:32
Amazing, amazing beer, amazing drinks, amazing
18:35
cocktails, great food, very healthy. and good
18:39
food that you'll get there. And one that was
18:45
very welcoming. I did not feel ostracized at
18:50
all. It's just that you couldn't - No pun intended.
18:52
You know the stairs, yeah. Are ostriches a big
18:55
thing in Austria? No, no, no, no. It's because
18:59
of the similarities in words. Oh, the similarities,
19:01
yeah. Ostrists thought, yeah, never mind, I'm
19:05
so slow. Yeah, all good, all good. Can't you
19:09
just grow your eyes, like all these lame bad
19:11
jokes? No. All right, but anyway, go ahead. So
19:16
yes, I mean, very much, I mean, the culture is
19:19
very much in how I grew up because with me, my
19:22
family is from Belize. So I, which is Central
19:26
America and very much. The place where we stayed
19:30
was a hotel, but it was one where it's very natural
19:34
for you to stay in someone's home. So it's basically
19:37
a four -story home. They rent rooms on the first,
19:41
second, and third floor, and then the fourth
19:43
floor is where the family lives. So it's a very
19:47
family -oriented type... And I lived like that
19:51
in a brownstone in New York with my grandmother,
19:53
my grandmother on the bottom floor, my mom on
19:54
the second floor, my aunt on the third. So very,
19:57
very similar in that aspect and being able to
20:00
say, run a business out of your home. So I felt
20:03
very comfortable. And like I said, the food was
20:06
amazing because it's home cooked. It's prepared,
20:08
you know, right there by the family. What's a
20:12
particular Austrian dish that stood out? You
20:14
know, I wish I could tell you, I wish I could
20:16
tell you what... I don't know that I necessarily
20:19
had, well, definitely a goulash for sure, because
20:22
it was a soup or a goulash. But honestly, what
20:25
stuck out to me was the burger that they made.
20:27
I don't know if what or how they thought of what
20:33
that should look like, but it was probably the
20:35
best burger I've ever had in my life. And it
20:37
was huge. I mean, like huge, like fat and huge.
20:43
So coming from Texas. I know about that, but
20:46
that was larger, which is incredible. It was
20:48
delectable. It was wonderful. It needed no ketchup.
20:53
But yes, a big bowl of goulash was what was served
20:56
ahead of time. I love me some goulash. It's very
21:00
hearty. It's very thick. Very, very hearty. I
21:03
can barely eat that burger because of it, but
21:05
that's why I came to the meal. Wait, wait, so
21:07
I'm sorry. The name goulash, is that... It's
21:11
like a stew. Stew yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, so
21:16
the goulash in a burger You got to try it man,
21:21
you got to try it. It's so good And I have to
21:24
go to Austria or can I go to like a local grocery
21:26
store and try something like that? It won't be
21:28
as good, but I'm sure it's going to be a good
21:30
day. Yeah, it won't be anywhere near as good,
21:32
but I would say go look it up. You might be able
21:34
to find something. Yeah. And if I could get into
21:37
our conversation, Trisha, why did you move from
21:39
Connecticut to Texas? Was it for work or was
21:41
it just you were looking for a different? Yeah,
21:43
I had left school and actually my mother had
21:46
ended up moving here. So when I left Connecticut,
21:48
it was just the natural step. Plus I had family
21:50
here already. that were already here. So it was
21:54
just kind of a natural step. My mother had gotten
21:59
a divorce, got divorced from my father and she
22:02
was just looking for a new start. So that's kind
22:04
of how it all ended up, how we all ended up here.
22:07
What part of Texas are you in? I'm actually just
22:09
outside of Houston. Okay. I'm in Tambal. I am
22:14
curious. You said you wish you were not there
22:18
anymore. Did I hear that correctly? Correct.
22:20
Correct, yes. I'm ready to live abroad. I'm ready
22:24
to do a Paul and make a stop and make a move
22:28
to have a sit in Europe. I've always wanted that.
22:32
So, yeah. Okay. All right, so that's the reason
22:36
why you're just tired of Texas living. Well,
22:39
I'm an empty nester now. Myself and my husband
22:41
were empty nesters, so we have that opportunity
22:44
to be able to do that with not having to worry
22:47
about children. So how many kids do you have
22:50
and where are they right now? So I have three.
22:53
One of them does live here in Houston. The other
22:57
one lives in Denver. not my son, and then my
22:59
youngest lives in Austin, Texas. Love it. What
23:02
about you, Paul? Do you have any children? Bite
23:04
your tongue. No, I don't have any kids. And no,
23:09
I have lots of nieces and nephews and that's
23:13
perfectly... Because if I have kids right now,
23:16
that I know of, no, I'm joking. If I have kids,
23:19
they're expensive. They are. And... You know,
23:23
I won't be able to travel like I do whenever
23:25
I want and where I wanted to go and immerse myself,
23:30
immerse myself the way I needed to immerse myself.
23:33
Like right now, in a couple of hours, I will
23:36
be heading on a flight somewhere. So I wouldn't
23:39
be able to do that if I was able to whatever,
23:41
you know. And he's been that way forever. Now
23:45
I don't know a little tidbit about Paul and I.
23:47
We are actually high school classmates. We were
23:53
in the same - We played what? What we do? We
23:55
were in band together. We were in band. Oh. What
23:59
instruments did you play? And this was in Connecticut
24:02
that you both - No, this was high school in New
24:04
York. Oh, I'm sorry, New York. Because we're
24:07
both New Yorkers. Yeah, we're both New Yorkers.
24:09
Yeah. I played the tuba and I was section leader,
24:13
so I was very good. That's okay. And I played
24:17
the flute and the piccolo and I was band president.
24:20
Wait, so what's, tell me the specific difference
24:23
between band president and section leader. Like,
24:26
what are the duties for each? I was president
24:28
for the whole band. Yeah, she was like, as you
24:31
like to brag. Yeah, and I was just section leader
24:35
for my own eight tuba players. For his section
24:37
of how many tubas you do have? Eight tubas. Eight
24:41
tuba players. And I was band president over,
24:43
at any given time, 400 kids. Yeah, yeah. I love
24:47
that. The flute, the piccolo and the tuba, did
24:51
you guys get respect? Are they underestimated?
24:54
We were good. We won championships. We were like,
25:00
we were the shit. We were too legit. Yeah, yeah,
25:05
yeah, yeah, yeah. We were good. We were good.
25:07
We were East Coast champions, man. We were East
25:09
Coast champions, so we have to put that out there.
25:13
Have you carried over your musical instrument
25:15
talents in any way as you've been traveling throughout
25:17
your adult years? Well, Trisha, you have more
25:20
than I did. I can still play my instrument, but
25:22
Trisha got family members now that are doing
25:24
it. Yeah, I passed on my musical talents to my
25:29
son, my son and my daughter. Both of them were
25:31
in the band when they went through high school.
25:33
and they were in championship bands as well.
25:36
My son is a musician. He actually, he graduated
25:40
from high school, playing his instrument, going
25:43
into performance or performance and education,
25:47
music education, and ended up, he graduated from
25:50
Texas Tech with his undergraduate and then moved
25:52
to Denver to go, to do his master's in performance.
25:56
So he currently is a musician there in Denver
26:00
and doing it up, playing it up. Ganging it up.
26:03
I love that. Where would you like to... What
26:05
instrument? What instrument? Tell her what instrument.
26:07
Yeah, yeah, please. Oh, sorry. Trombone. Trombone.
26:10
Okay. And the trombone and the tuba, if I'm not
26:12
mistaken, aren't they similar in terms of like
26:14
a sort of like bigger bassier sound? Well, trombone
26:18
is... Well, you're gonna... Everybody gonna hate
26:22
me for saying this, but... Tuba players or Tuba
26:24
is the soul of the band You can't have a band
26:31
without the soul and we provide the soul Just
26:39
look at any HBCU schools or anything like that
26:43
When you hear the bass, it ain't coming from
26:46
the drums. It's coming from those bad boys. Okay,
26:51
whatever. Trisha, what do you think is the soul
26:53
of the band? It sounds like you disagree. Well,
26:57
the soul of the band is definitely the flutes.
26:58
I mean, we're definitely holding it down. Yeah,
27:04
you wouldn't have all the pretty dressing and
27:06
all the wonderful things. You're talking about
27:08
bass. You're talking about bass. I'm talking
27:10
about you. Where's me asking the soul of the
27:12
band? So there. Yeah, we are the soul of the
27:15
band. Whatever. You may have bass, but you're
27:18
not the soul. She's making that girl. What's
27:20
that lady that does the flute and rap at the
27:23
same time? Lizzo? You don't even know. You don't
27:25
even have the right fingering. You don't even
27:27
have the right fingering. Like I thought the
27:32
flute was played now. I thought so too, but I'm
27:35
like You guys think y 'all doing? We have Trombone
27:44
Trombone has the slide and the tuba has the three
27:48
the three keys three three valves Isn't the piccolo
27:53
played in a similar way as the flute? Doesn't
27:55
it also do this or no? Yeah, it's just shorter.
27:58
You barely can fit it. You can't fit it. It's
28:01
so tiny. Okay, so let me tell you, who was more
28:05
comfortable marching in Torment of the Roses
28:06
playing? That's true. That's the only thing they
28:08
have is they can put it in their pocket. Thank
28:13
you very much. That is true. I used the lug of
28:16
big old tuba home with me to practice and it
28:20
was the worst. 26 .1 miles you carried that tuba.
28:23
Jesus Christ. I admit. There must be a case specifically
28:28
made for the tuba. It must be like a weighty
28:30
case that you have to like carry. There is and
28:33
I used it to carry that sucker because you know.
28:36
the band teacher would be like, everybody take
28:38
their instrument home and practice. Yeah. And
28:40
I'm sitting there with this big old instrument
28:42
and my mom is like, where are you going to put
28:44
that? Yeah. It's like this huge, and where are
28:48
you going to practice with that? Because all
28:50
of a sudden this big ass instrument. And I'm
28:53
like, boom, boom in my mom's house. How many
28:56
pounds would you say a tuba is? It's heavy. It
28:58
could get heavy. I mean, it's not because it's.
29:01
What do you call it? Hollow brass or whatever
29:04
like that, but it gets heavy, especially the
29:06
size of the sousaphone. I say it's about because
29:11
when you're holding it, you got to hold it like
29:13
this. Yeah. And I would say about 20 pounds,
29:16
15. Okay. Maybe. Okay. I mean, after a while.
29:21
holding it like this for five miles marching.
29:26
And we've done some parades. We've done some
29:29
parades. We did the Tournament of Roses parade.
29:32
What was that, Paul? That's five miles. I don't
29:35
remember what it was. The 100th Tournament of
29:38
Roses. Tournament of Roses parade. And then we've
29:41
also done countless Macy's. Yep. Yep. Memorial
29:44
days and stuff. Where were you guys like shown
29:48
nationally on TV at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day?
29:51
Yes, nationally in California. You can see us.
29:57
What years did you appear at the Macy's Parade
30:00
for Thanksgiving? What year was that? 1980? No,
30:04
1990 was the year I was there. And then 1989
30:08
was my freshman. 1989 was my year. Yeah. So you
30:11
were on the tuba, Paul, and you were on the flute,
30:15
Trisha. And the 1990 -ish Macy's Thanksgiving
30:20
Day Parade. And the same thing with the Rose
30:24
Bowl, like go to the Rose Bowl in 1989 and you'll
30:27
see. You'll see we're in the stands. We're all
30:30
up in there. Do you guys have solos out there?
30:33
And the exhibition. Yeah, I think there's an
30:35
exhibition performance that we did as well that
30:37
was all recorded. Do you guys have some more
30:41
shots? And at Disney and at Knott's Berry Farm
30:43
and Benevolent Times, probably. There was a camera
30:48
shot where you could see me, but you see the
30:52
kind of like the side back of my head as the
30:55
pink pan. But you knew it was me because the
30:57
way you will know is because I was the only black
31:00
guy in that whole tuba section. Not to mention
31:03
the haircut. Did you have hair then? I had a
31:07
high top fade. We had berets we had we had a
31:13
red berets because we couldn't We had these London
31:16
looking hats, but we had red berets, and the
31:21
red berets was for the tuba players, so we felt
31:23
like we were special, so we had the berets. It
31:26
only forecasted where he was going to end up,
31:29
which was France, right? I know. I was just about
31:31
to say that, Tricia. I was like, see, it kind
31:33
of like forecasted I wore the beret. Clearly,
31:36
I knew I was coming to Paris. Did you have the
31:39
berets, Tricia, during those berets, or did you
31:41
have a different hairstyle? For me, oh, gosh.
31:44
Yeah, we always wore one French braid just right
31:46
down the middle. So that was everyone's hairdo.
31:50
And I was responsible for braiding everyone's
31:52
hair because I braided hair at the time. And
31:55
we had to wear gloves, but you guys cut the gloves.
31:57
I did all our drop knickers. I did all our flute
31:59
players. I did everybody. Everybody had the same
32:01
braid down the back. By the way, I also have
32:06
the name of your guys this podcast rhythm and
32:08
Rome. How did that title come about? I mean,
32:12
I yeah, I know Yeah, just conversation just conversation
32:17
really we were kind of throwing out concepts
32:19
of what of what our show was and And I think
32:23
it just really felt Paul, I think you and I loved
32:26
it because of rhythm, because we're such music
32:27
heads. So that was kind of our deal. And we were
32:30
like, well, we got to make sure we incorporate
32:31
music. So rhythm and, you know, we're always
32:34
roaming. We're always roaming somewhere, but
32:36
we didn't want to use the word roam. Oh, OK,
32:40
that can work. We like that. So that's really
32:42
how it was. It was just a massive discussion
32:44
about, you know, what our show was about and
32:46
who we were as that. And what that was and then
32:51
just and it wasn't necessarily the the music
32:53
theme because we're we're really we're called
32:56
your travel culture Podcast but it had to do
32:59
with the rhythm of your soul or your rhythm or
33:01
your beat of who you were And that's really what
33:04
we were connecting with and the rhythm around
33:06
the globe when you travel really Yeah, and so
33:09
just just that and then you know the aspect of
33:12
traveling and roaming different places original
33:15
workshop titles for the podcast before you settled
33:18
on Rhythm in Rome? Can you tell me some of the
33:20
suggestions? Yeah, I think we probably still
33:22
have some out there. I want to hear. I don't
33:27
even know. Yeah, because we were just kind of
33:31
like just like like Tricia said, going through
33:34
a bunch of names and stuff like that. And then.
33:37
I think one of them was like Wanderlust or something.
33:39
I was like, I hate anything with the word wonder.
33:41
Anything that has to do with Wanderlust, I hated
33:44
it. Yeah, it just sounds like you're from the
33:46
70s and stuck in the 70s. Yeah. It just sounds
33:50
magical. Was that? Yeah, it's reminding me of
33:57
the 2012 movie Wanderlust, but you're saying
34:00
Wanderlust. Yes, Wanderlust. Wanderlust, yes,
34:04
and stuff like this. But yeah, and then, you
34:06
know, because... What are some other titles we
34:08
could come up with? I know we had lists and we
34:12
wrote everything down, so I would have to actually
34:14
go back on our drive and see what we had. It
34:18
was interesting. It was fun. It was fun to do
34:21
and stuff like, and it's the same with, I don't
34:23
know, like... You start to go to different places
34:26
and that's how you start to think of like, okay,
34:29
we know we wanted to do this and we know we wanted
34:30
to, you know, talk about travel, but not only
34:36
just travel, because we're not a travel agency
34:39
or whatever, but we want to talk it from our
34:42
experiences of what we do. And we're not a podcast,
34:47
you know, we mentioned about, you know, us three
34:50
being people of color, you know, Trisha believes
34:55
American me, my family is from Jamaica, as well
35:02
as the UK and me, you know, and stuff like this
35:05
too, as well. And then, uh, and then Benef is,
35:08
uh, is Afghan and black. So I was like, Hey,
35:13
we got. Some kind of rhythm going on here. We
35:16
got some kind of roaming around all over in different
35:19
spots and stuff like this too, as well, you know?
35:22
So that's pretty much how we ended up on that,
35:24
yeah. Yeah. Oh, I forgot one of them. I just
35:28
saw the list. I just happened to pull back up
35:30
the list again. Go ahead. We had Melanin Explorers,
35:34
the Soul Travelers. I love that. The Soul Travelers,
35:38
the Black Passport Chronicles. Sounds like a
35:43
superhero. I almost think that was probably a
35:46
good one. Okay, so we have Melanin Explorers,
35:48
and what was the second one after that? Well,
35:50
there was the Melanin Explorers, the Soul Travelers,
35:52
and then there was the Black Passport Chronicles.
35:54
I think we were kind of leaning towards that.
35:56
It's like the Black Panthers. It's like Black
35:57
Panthers, the movie. Yeah. And then, oh, Culture
36:02
Clash. The Culture Clash Collective. That was
36:05
Collective's. That was our other one, too. Oh,
36:07
gosh. Yeah. But then, and then finally... You
36:09
know, Rhythm in Rome was the very last one that
36:11
popped in. We're like, boom! There it is, right
36:14
there. Fantastic. The Melanin Explorers one,
36:17
for whatever reason, reminded me of Dora and
36:19
the Explorer. So if you got twisted a little
36:22
bit, like Melanin and the Explorer, like, yeah.
36:26
Or Melanin and the Explorer, since it's more
36:29
than one of them, you know. That's fantastic.
36:32
It was fun. It was fun looking it up. Yeah, that's
36:35
great. So, I have three delicious questions for
36:39
you guys that I ask all my guests. So, we will
36:42
start with you, Paul. What is a delicious meal
36:46
you've had lately? What is a delicious meal I
36:48
had lately? Damn. I've had a lot. Being in frames,
36:54
there's a lot of delicious meals. Most recent
36:56
that you can think of that was that that's so
36:58
memorable that you would love to talk about it.
37:00
Well, hell, I just go with what I had yesterday.
37:03
Sure. At my local cafe here in literally right
37:09
across the street from me. Embarrassed. It was
37:11
it was steak and frites. But the way they do
37:16
it is, you know, cause everybody get to be a
37:18
chef somewhere and whatever. The French have,
37:23
there's chefs everywhere. So they do things differently.
37:26
And the way they do it is like, it's not like
37:31
little tiny pieces of steak. It's real steak.
37:33
Like it's, you know, it's a decent portion of
37:36
steak, but it looks so pretty. And Tricia, you'll
37:40
get this when you come here. Their sauce is what
37:44
makes the steak really good. And then the hot
37:46
fries is with it. The sauce has some kind of
37:48
spicy mustard ish thing in it, but it was just
37:52
so good. And then the way it's served on the
37:55
plate, it's like art piece because it's like
37:58
the steak is perfect. There's no gravy like spilled
38:00
over. And then the French fries are like really,
38:04
really hot and so good looking. And then there's
38:07
a little pretty salad that's there and stuff
38:10
like that. But the I guess the juice of the steak
38:14
is like in a little, okay, yes, that. And it's
38:18
a little like thing. And everything has to be
38:21
fancy here. That's why I'm like, you know, placing
38:23
everything the way it needs to be. Because everything
38:26
has a certain element to everything. But when
38:29
you, but when you forget that you're from New
38:32
York and you just, oh hell, and you pour everything
38:35
the way it's supposed to be poured in, that sucker
38:37
was succulent and it was so juicy and it was
38:39
so like. Everything. It was so much. That's like
38:47
that typical French food kind of thing where
38:51
you can just sit and just sit with a glass of
38:55
red wine and nice steak. It was scrumptious.
38:59
Now you got me hungry now. Well, don't leave
39:04
yet. We still got to hear. No, I want to eat
39:07
again is my point. Well, Trisha, what about you?
39:11
What's your delicious meal that you've had? Yeah.
39:13
So, yeah, the delicious meal that I had is just
39:20
this past Saturday, actually. One of my favorites,
39:23
one of our favorite restaurants that we were
39:24
celebrating my husband's birthday because, well,
39:26
actually both of our birthdays because our birthdays
39:28
are very close to each other. And I had, I started
39:32
off with some oysters. And they were East Coast
39:36
oysters. I love East Coast oysters because of
39:39
the finish, the nice buttery finish that's with
39:42
that. Just a little bit of, just a little citrus
39:45
finish as well. And then my main course was Yellowtail,
39:51
which was with a little red jalapeno on it, just
39:55
right. and some basil across that, and it was
39:58
amazing. And then for dessert, I had a flourless
40:03
chocolate cake. It was incredible, with chocolate
40:07
syrup on top and fresh berries. A flourless chocolate
40:10
cake? I didn't do my dessert. Yeah, wait, wait,
40:14
wait. Before we get to that, Paul, what's a flourless
40:17
chocolate cake? I have never heard of that. No
40:19
flour. Oh, yeah. So it takes about 20 minutes.
40:24
Sorry, I was thinking of flowers in the garden.
40:30
No, flourless. F -L -O -U -R. Okay. So flour
40:35
seems to be an important ingredient in normal
40:37
chocolate cake. So how does flourless chocolate
40:40
cake taste in person? Yes, it does. It tastes
40:43
amazing. It tastes light, very light, very delectable
40:47
and actually quite moist, believe it or not.
40:50
So, and it is, it still rises. You don't have
40:53
an issue with that, but it's supposed to be healthier.
40:57
So I was like, yeah, dark chocolate. Let's do
40:59
it. It's one of my favorite desserts that they
41:03
serve. Now, I imagine oysters, aren't they like
41:08
a slimy thing that you'd sip from a shell? Is
41:10
that what it is? Yes. And it's still alive. It's
41:14
still alive. It's still, well, not when they
41:19
shuck it. Until you put the lemon on it. No,
41:21
it's on there, yes. Drizzle some lemon on there.
41:23
I personally like to have mine with horseradish
41:25
and the champagne sauce, which is fantastic.
41:29
And yeah, and I finish off with a nice glass
41:31
of Prosecco. So. The wine that you have right
41:34
now on camera. Paul has the reaction that my
41:38
wife has. Just hearing the word oyster is like,
41:41
I'm gagging right now. My wife also wants to
41:43
vomit at the idea of oysters. But hey, look,
41:46
if that's what you like, Trisha, that's what
41:47
you like. I love it. Love that. I tried them
41:52
all. Because I just imagine it's like drinking
41:54
a skill. You've never eaten it right. No, I don't.
41:58
They tried to teach me back in New York City
42:01
at the oyster bar right in Grand Central Station.
42:04
I was like, okay, I'll try it. And it's just,
42:07
I could not get past the sliminess. And I was
42:10
like, no, can't. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.
42:13
It was a texture thing for you. It's definitely
42:16
texture. But it is amazing. It is so tasty. And
42:20
I don't just take it and slurp it. I actually
42:23
chew mine. So yeah, whatever. I need to taste
42:25
it. So yeah, it's good. Sorry. To each their
42:30
own. Paul, you wanted to talk about your dessert.
42:32
What was your dessert? No, I forgot. I'm like,
42:34
how could I forget the dessert? The dessert I
42:37
had is... Was it chocolate? Was it chocolate
42:40
mousse? Mousse. La la la la. I'm gonna have that
42:44
every night. I mean, to an American, people are
42:47
like, mousse ain't nothing but, you know, jello
42:50
pudding. You know, like chocolate pudding or
42:52
something. I'm like, no the hell it ain't. I
42:56
cannot wait. I'm actually going to go visit Paul
43:00
and we're going to have chocolate mousse every
43:01
night. Chocolate mousse is just the bomb. And
43:04
by its name, M -O -U -S -S -E, like the way it's
43:08
pronounced, that's originally a French dessert,
43:10
isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. It's originally from France.
43:14
Yeah. You can't, like I've had, and honestly,
43:18
I don't understand. Whatever the the difference
43:22
it there's difference in moose like I remember
43:24
with one of my French Friends who took me to
43:29
have this, you know moose and they're they're
43:31
like, oh no. No, this is not that good I'm like,
43:34
tastes like mousse to me. And I'm like, no, no,
43:37
no, no. I mean, everything was rated. Yeah. It
43:42
was like, you got to have the right type of texture
43:45
and all this other stuff. And I'm like, I don't
43:48
care. It just tastes good to me. It's very, very
43:52
good. And the chocolatey. Back in Connecticut,
43:56
I think every year for the past 10 years over
43:57
the holiday season, my cousin Annie makes a chocolate
44:00
mousse pie, which is essentially... Yeah, yeah,
44:04
the pudding quality of chocolate mousse and whipped
44:07
cream and whatnot, and then you put a pie crust
44:08
around it. And we always have a fun time every
44:11
year just judging it and comparing it to the
44:14
previous year's chocolate mousse pie. It's such
44:17
a great thing. I don't know why he started the
44:19
tradition, but it's just a wonderful thing. Sounds
44:21
like you guys should be in France. Cause you
44:23
love a judge. That's what I'm trying to say.
44:25
Well, you know what? I mean. Sounds like it.
44:28
Seriously. Cause like my entire family, like
44:31
we have Haitian blood. So French is a part of
44:34
that. There you go. You got it. There you go.
44:37
Thank you. You gotta come on. Bring it. I know.
44:39
You got it. I know. I know. Do you speak French?
44:42
Do you speak French? I know some basic words,
44:46
but I haven't really like dived into it since
44:48
like high school. Okay. He said. Yeah, you know
44:53
as much as I do. and I still survive, so you're
44:56
fine. Exactly, you'll be fine. What are the percentage
44:59
of English and French speakers in Paris? How
45:01
do you get around speaking to people, Paul? There
45:03
are a lot of people who speak English because
45:06
it's an international city, but in France in
45:09
general, a lot of people speak English, especially
45:12
French people, but they don't like to speak it
45:15
because they have a strong accent and they don't
45:18
think they speak English. Like I said, they judge
45:21
everything and they don't feel like... They're,
45:23
you know, they're judge everything. So they rather
45:26
not you speak English and you speak French to
45:29
them. And I'm like, okay, this is going to take
45:31
a while. So Google Translate is my friend on
45:36
a lot of different things. And Bnef is an excellent
45:40
French speaker. Yeah. Pass the test and everything.
45:44
So she's, I mean, she's fluent, but, you know,
45:47
she doesn't have the confidence in herself to
45:49
speak it as much as she should. I force her to
45:52
do it when she comes to visit a lot. I'm like,
45:55
okay, you are like the helping soul right now.
45:58
So I need you to be here, you know, ordering
46:01
this. I mean, I get, I should, I shouldn't sell
46:03
myself that short. I do get by, meaning I know
46:06
enough. to go and order something and have a
46:10
very elementary conversation. Meaning, don't
46:14
you dare start when I say, you know, bonjour,
46:19
ça va, you know, or désolé, mon ami, it's Trisha.
46:26
That's it. Don't be going over this. The running
46:33
joke that I like to make to poke fun at my limited
46:35
French. Anytime I tell someone my last name,
46:39
Francois, and they wonder if I speak French.
46:41
I was just about to say. That's what I was going
46:43
to say. Your last name is so French. You can't
46:46
get any more French than Francois. Francois.
46:49
I know. It's the most stereotypical name. Literally.
46:53
Seriously. That's like everyone's first name.
46:56
But people ask me if I speak French and I'm just
46:58
like, je suis bibliothèque fromage. Like, that's
47:01
what I say every time. I am cheese library. That
47:04
was French. Je suis or... He said, I am a library
47:09
cheese. Exactly. I am library cheese. That's
47:12
what I always refer to. Yeah. Yeah. You spoke
47:16
French. You did. You spoke it. I spoke something.
47:19
Yeah. Yeah. Tricia, what's your delicious pop
47:26
culture obsession at the moment, Tricia? What
47:28
are you watching or listening to that you would
47:30
like to share with us? So I love British shows.
47:36
I love Australian shows. I like Canadian shows.
47:39
I watch a lot of Brit Box and Acorn, which are
47:44
streaming services that stream nothing but British,
47:49
Australian, Canadian shows and stream them to
47:52
Americans to make us feel like we're part of
47:55
it. But they're very delicious. on there, and
47:59
they've got me hook, line, and sinker. So I absolutely
48:02
love that. I have been completely and utterly
48:10
taken by one show that I'm watching, or I just
48:15
finished watching. I really liked the, oh gosh,
48:19
what was it called? The Other Sister, or whatever
48:22
it was on Brit Box, which I... It was a Jane
48:25
Austen story, so I loved it. I love period pieces,
48:29
and it doesn't matter if it's British. It could
48:32
be Spanish. It could be whatever. It could be
48:35
a telenova. I don't care. I just love anything
48:37
that's period. So yeah, that's the last thing
48:42
that I was watching that I was totally involved
48:45
in, and I couldn't get enough. What was that
48:48
other sister show about, and why did you like
48:50
it so much? Besides that, but just the costuming
48:57
and everything. But this particular story was,
49:00
I forget the actual book or whatever it's based
49:03
on for Jane Austen, but it was a story about
49:06
six sisters or seven sisters and they all got
49:09
married and the last one or second to the last
49:12
one was considered like the ugly duckling, if
49:14
you will. So the mother treated her differently.
49:17
Cinderella. She was so full of life and so many
49:21
different facets to her. And it took her going
49:24
out of her shell and going to London and living
49:26
with her aunt and uncle who appreciated for who
49:30
she was. And it turned out that she was very
49:33
captivating and had, I guess, gotten the eye
49:40
of two suitors. So they were kind of... chasing
49:43
her in a sense. And it wasn't until they started
49:46
paying attention to her that her mother started
49:48
paying attention to her. So it was just interesting
49:51
because she was someone who was very studious
49:54
and very smart and understood poetry and loved
49:59
to study geology and all these wonderful things
50:01
that made her so interesting to everyone else
50:04
except for her family. They didn't see her for
50:06
who she was. So I felt like that a little bit.
50:09
I think I have lots of interest in many things.
50:12
and everyone in my family is like, oh, there
50:14
she goes again. That was the relation in that,
50:20
yeah. So I kind of identified with her. I love
50:23
that. Paul, what about you? Unlike Tricia, mine
50:25
is nowhere near any sophistication like that.
50:32
Today, I literally just finished binge watching
50:35
because I've been traveling, so I didn't get
50:37
to catch up. I literally just finished binge
50:41
watching Housewives of Atlanta season. Wow. That
50:45
is different. I sure do. Yes, I do. We went from
50:50
one side to the next, dude. I was even hoping
50:53
that you were going to say Yellowstone or something.
50:57
Housewives of Atlanta. I have to bring, you know,
51:02
when you're far away from home, you got to bring
51:04
home with you. And when I tell you, because when
51:07
I tell you, I feel like I'm at home. I'm just
51:10
like, oh. They just did all that. And then I
51:13
did, to be fair, I just finished also Housewives
51:17
of Rhode Island. Okay. There's, there's, you
51:21
know, not to discriminate. They're good. They're
51:25
both good. And I'm telling you, you, you watch
51:28
one and there's an addiction. It's the same thing
51:31
as Emily in Paris. I watched that only because
51:34
I knew I was moving to Paris and someone told
51:37
me, Oh, you need to watch that. And it's the
51:38
most goofiest, cheesiest, you know, stereotypical
51:42
show, but it was so funny. I could relate, because
51:45
I was like, oh, yeah, I know where that is. That's
51:47
near my house or whatever. But Housewives of
51:50
Atlanta, if you ain't on it, you better go get
51:53
it. We went from the, okay, so it's called the
51:55
Other Bennett Sister, where I just talked about
51:57
Jane Austen, to Housewives. To the Housewives
52:01
of Saskatchewan. I can't watch anything that
52:04
I think I'm going to lose brain cells. I just
52:06
cannot do it. Sometimes you need to lose brain
52:09
cells, and that made me realize... You know what?
52:13
My life ain't that bad. Right. Right. So Emily
52:18
in Paris, I tried twice. I think the first time
52:24
I couldn't get through like the first episode
52:25
or so. The second time, I think I managed to
52:27
get through like the first season and it was
52:29
a decent watch. I just never followed up on it.
52:31
You're right. It is definitely... But was it
52:32
addictive? Was it addictive? It was cheesy. Yeah,
52:35
it was very addictive. I have little guilty pleasures
52:39
too that I watch on Netflix. Like Steel Magnolias
52:42
and... Steel Magnolias, yeah, my wife and I love
52:45
that show, yeah. Steel Magnolias, and what's
52:47
the other one? Virgin River. Yeah, we love that
52:50
show too. And there's this new one that they
52:51
just put out. The crossing, Sullivan's Crossing,
52:54
that's the other one. Yeah, Sullivan's Crossing
52:56
came from the same... Yeah, Sullivan's Crossing
53:00
came from the author who did Virgin River, so
53:03
if you're wondering why it's so similar, that's
53:06
why, yeah. But anyway, very similar, but still
53:09
the characters engross you. So that's that's
53:11
about as that is about as much drama or as you
53:14
know, brain brain cells I can get to get my brain
53:18
cells back. My other guilty pleasure. Actually,
53:21
it's really, really guilty and it's probably
53:23
probably probably really bad because people might
53:25
think I'm cuckoo is I watch 48 hours, 20, 20
53:29
and Dateline. Like, yeah, that is almost like
53:34
a given. I'm always watching those three shows.
53:37
Even if they reruns, like I love because, you
53:41
know, I love to find out how something or why,
53:44
or like a mystery, you know what I mean? And
53:46
then the way they edit it, it makes you be like,
53:49
I bet you it was the mom. I bet you it was the
53:52
dad. Let's watch and find out. And then all of
53:56
a sudden you find out. I'm telling you, like
53:58
I've said this to Tricia and Banef a couple of
54:00
times. I'm like, look, sometimes those shows
54:03
help you. even when you're traveling on what
54:06
you needed to see and how you need to see it
54:08
and looking before you cross kind of thing. And
54:10
I'm like, y 'all can act like, I'm like, I'm
54:13
not going on any ship because I saw Dateline
54:15
and I saw the series they were talking about
54:17
where, you know, all of a sudden it's off the
54:21
boat. Yeah. So you need your true crime fix from
54:24
48 hours, Dateline 2020. You need to find out
54:27
if the mom or the husband did it. It's usually
54:29
the husband. And from real housewives of Atlanta.
54:34
I love murder mysteries as well. Yeah. Oh yeah,
54:37
yeah, yeah, they're great. Yeah, yeah. Every
54:38
now and then I can definitely... Real Housewives
54:39
of Atlanta is for no brain and then the crime
54:43
stuff is for brain. Yes, exactly. But I love
54:46
Murder Mystery as well, but I'm more like a Shetland.
54:49
You know, like I'll watch Shetland where they're
54:50
like off the coast of like, you know, Ireland
54:52
or Scotland or something like that, you know,
54:55
or... Oh, they do that on 48 Hours. They do it
54:58
internationally. Yeah, I'm sure they do when
55:00
they go to the foreign countries, but yeah, I
55:02
travel that way too. I love my mystery murders.
55:06
Look, I learned a lot from that stuff. I'm telling
55:08
you, I know it sounds morbid, but you learn a
55:12
lot. Like I've learned a lot of things like the
55:15
do's and don'ts too, when I'm all around different
55:17
things and stuff like that too as well. Well,
55:20
yeah, yeah. That's my New York paranoia. Yeah.
55:24
Last question for both of you. Tricia, what's
55:26
the delicious thing that's happened in your life
55:27
lately? My life, like I said, I'm on the cusp
55:32
of graduating. That'll be really cool to be able
55:35
to do that. That's something that I've been chasing
55:38
for a long time. To finally be able to walk across
55:41
the stage, it's going to be fantastic. Um, it'll,
55:45
it'll, it'll, it'll be a long time coming. So
55:48
super excited about that. Um, my son is getting
55:50
married in November and my youngest just got
55:53
engaged. So. Nice. Yeah. Very cool. Paul, what
55:57
about you? And my husband and I will be celebrating
55:59
our 30th wedding anniversary come October. Oh,
56:02
doing anything special? 30 years. Congratulations.
56:05
Are you doing anything special for the anniversary?
56:08
Here's something. Here's something that I'm going
56:10
to put myself in an awkward position. We're actually
56:12
going to Utah. We're going to Park City, Utah.
56:17
To ski? Well, the first week in October. So that's
56:21
going to be really interesting to go to a resort
56:23
there where traditionally you may not necessarily
56:26
see it. people like us. Yeah. Skiing. Yeah. Only
56:29
like Utah is like skiing. Yeah. So that's - But
56:33
we both ski. I mean, both of us ski. So - Okay.
56:35
Okay. Wonderful. Well, I hope you guys have a
56:38
good time. Paul, what about you? But there won't
56:39
be much snow. So we'll - I'm hoping we'll hike.
56:42
I'm hoping we'll do a hiking. Yes. So for me,
56:46
is - Is - Yes. Yeah. Okay. For the most part.
56:51
It's pretty dry. There is not - The mountains.
56:54
It should be pretty mild. It shouldn't be too
56:56
cold. It's in the mountains, so. Yeah. Paul,
56:58
go ahead. What's your delicious thing that's
57:00
happened in your life lately? Yeah, so I'm glad
57:03
you asked that one because I just finished, after
57:06
like a year now, I just finished writing my first
57:10
book based on a lot of things that I did from
57:14
my experience, from all the travels that I've
57:17
done. And a lot of it is to deal with, it's not
57:20
a... you know, tips on solo travel, but a lot
57:24
of it is me pushing in a lot of my experience
57:27
as a person of color, as going out there on my
57:31
own. Cause a lot of people tend to find out about
57:33
like. Trying to get that confidence to do whatever
57:36
it is they're needing to do. And people have
57:37
this stereotype about solo travel is really for
57:41
people who are either single or don't have any
57:45
friends or stuff like that. You know, all the
57:47
wrong things. And I just, yeah, I actually felt
57:51
great after finishing it. Embarrassingly, it
57:54
took me almost a year to finish. So I'm happy
57:58
about that. And I'm actually working with an
58:00
independent publisher right now. you know, doing
58:04
the lay of the land and layouts of the book and
58:07
everything like this. And hopefully it will be
58:10
done in August. Was that? I said, hopefully he'll
58:16
have me do the cover for him. You're going to
58:19
have book cover design? That was part of the
58:20
whole deal, man. I already had it all in there.
58:25
No, I had to pay a pretty penny because it was
58:28
all about the editing. It was everything that
58:31
was added into it. So I was just like, you know
58:34
what? Yeah, I'm not. If I'm going to do it, I
58:38
might as well just go all the way. So I'm really
58:41
excited that I actually finished something that
58:43
I said I was going to do when it comes to writing,
58:45
because a lot of times I would write something
58:48
because I love to write, but then I never finish
58:51
it. Right. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. I'm glad
58:55
that I finished it. Yeah. Yeah. That's wonderful.
58:59
And I just never finish. So I'm excited about
59:02
this. We're excited for him. I'm excited for
59:03
you. Yeah. This was great. Paul and Tricia from
59:06
the Rhythm and Roam podcast. Thank you so much
59:08
for joining us. And I'm sorry that your co -host,
59:10
Benaf. Thank you for having us. This was fun.
59:13
I had a lot of fun. Yeah. Next time we'll have
59:15
to have all three of you. You, Benaf, Tricia.
59:19
We should all have a nice quadruple good time
59:21
next time. Yes. Benaf has some chores for you
59:25
too as well. Thanks for having us, Juan. Yeah,
59:30
anytime. And if you need any guests, I would
59:33
love to come on the podcast. You bet. I was just
59:36
about to throw that out there to you as well.
59:38
Definitely will be probably in from us too as
59:41
well. So I appreciate that. I'm not one to invite
59:43
myself, but you know, if you need it. No, no,
59:47
no, no. This is good. I mean, I love your energy.
59:51
Your energy is amazing. So thank you for that.
59:53
Your energy is awesome. Thank you. Likewise.
59:55
Likewise. This was, this was a lot of fun. Um,
59:58
as we close out, can you guys, uh, plug where
1:00:00
people can find your podcasts, where people can
1:00:03
find your socials, your website, just anything
1:00:05
you want to promote. Uh, how about you, Tricia,
1:00:06
to start? Of course, through Spotify, Apple podcasts,
1:00:10
wherever your favorite podcast platform is, you
1:00:12
can find Rhythm in Rome and it's Rhythm in Rome
1:00:15
with an M for sign, right? So Rhythm, M for sign,
1:00:17
Rome. Uh, you also, you can find us, um, at our
1:00:20
website at rhythm and rome .com. And that is
1:00:23
A and D. We also have, you can purchase a copy
1:00:29
from our website, also our book. We have a pocket
1:00:32
guide that talks about misconceptions and our
1:00:34
own theory of travel that can help you kind of
1:00:37
navigate your way through travel. And certainly
1:00:40
for any hangups or misconceptions that you have
1:00:43
and compare and contrast from when you go, from
1:00:45
when you come back and what that experience is
1:00:47
so that you get more out of travel. And then
1:00:49
Paul, why don't you go ahead and tell them the
1:00:51
rest? Well, as we have a pocket guide that we
1:00:56
did create, all three of us, that is also all
1:01:00
located on our website as well, that Trisha just
1:01:03
mentioned. And we also just pilot it and we're
1:01:08
still putting a lot of touches to what we've
1:01:13
piloted, which is our app, which is. And what
1:01:20
it is, is we thought it's a good idea to try
1:01:24
to create something that anyone can use where
1:01:27
you can have at your hand and your fingertips.
1:01:29
Cause a lot of times when we go and travel, we
1:01:31
normally like to just figure out and go to the
1:01:34
main attraction things that people want them
1:01:36
to do while our app ends up doing your itinerary
1:01:39
for you. So you can. However many days, wherever
1:01:44
you're going or whatever like that, it has all
1:01:47
the information from what you wanted to see,
1:01:49
recommendations to safety concerns or, you know,
1:01:55
the appropriate cultural things that you needed
1:01:57
to know when you go to a country and stuff like
1:02:00
this. So you at least, um, are, I guess, yeah,
1:02:04
prepared for the, for whatever country you're
1:02:06
going to visit and stuff like that too, as well.
1:02:08
It's a fun app. You should, you should all check
1:02:10
it out. And then you can find us on social media.
1:02:13
We're on Instagram and Facebook at Rhythm in
1:02:16
Rome, or Rhythm in Rome, BBT, which is our first
1:02:20
initials of our name, P, B, and T. So it's just
1:02:24
Rhythm in Rome, B, P, T. And it's, again, Instagram
1:02:28
and Facebook. But we're also, you can view our
1:02:33
shows on YouTube as well. So under Rhythm in
1:02:35
Rome. I love that. That is great. Thank you for
1:02:38
all of that. And for you listening and watching
1:02:41
The Delicious Culture with Jon François, find
1:02:44
it wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify,
1:02:46
Series XM, Amazon, et cetera. If you like the
1:02:48
podcast, rate and review on Apple and Spotify,
1:02:50
email us with any questions, concerns, comments,
1:02:53
feedback, thedeliciousculture .gmail .com. Follow
1:02:56
us on Instagram and TikTok at The Delicious Culture
1:02:59
and subscribe on YouTube at The Delicious Culture
1:03:02
with Jon François. That is J -O -N -F -R -A -N
1:03:05
-C -O -I -S. All right, let's do this again with
1:03:09
the three of you guys, either on this podcast
1:03:11
or on your podcast. This was wonderful, and I
1:03:16
know it's 723 p .m. here in Vermont. Paul, what
1:03:20
time is it in Paris? One -thirty in the morning.
1:03:23
Oh, my God! You are a night owl. You didn't have
1:03:28
to stay up this late. Thank you so much. I feel
1:03:29
so bad. I am. No, no, no, no. I'm traveling tomorrow
1:03:34
or today, so it doesn't matter. Wow. Do you get
1:03:38
any jet lag or anything like that? Because I
1:03:40
feel like you have to hop on a plane in like
1:03:41
an hour, don't you? You sleep on the plane and
1:03:45
then you sleep where you're going and then you're
1:03:46
fresh and ready to go and do whatever it is that
1:03:49
you've got to do. Oh, that is... I'll be visiting
1:03:51
him in two weeks, so he needs to rest up. That's
1:03:56
right. He's coming here. And Texas is, is, is
1:03:59
sexual time. So I think you're only one hour
1:04:01
behind me, right, Tricia? Correct. 624. You got
1:04:03
it. All right. Perfect. All right. Until next
1:04:06
time. Let this deliciousness spring. Thank you
1:04:09
so much.