222: The Collaborate Episode
A GREAT time was had by all at our inaugural PodCastaway Retreat with these amazing humans! Saying goodbye was bittersweet, but the retreat weekend was only the beginning of Team 10K helping these new podcasters amplify their voices in the world of podcasting! And our Discord group has kept us right there by their sides for feedback and assistance ever since they left!
THIS WEEK: Lulu & Alison attend Podcast Movement Evolutions in Los Angeles!
And producer, Andrea will be attending virtually although she’ll physically be in Los Angeles for other work! So close, yet so far!
Lulu is obsessed with the fact that Alison is now leading the 10K Dollar Day episodes! Gotta love the changes 222 in 2022 can bring! It’s almost like the Santa Ana winds!
Alison is obsessed with editing music videos! And man, is she great at doing them! She has the iPhone 13, and she’s mastered it! Those students of hers are pretty darned lucky!
This week, Lulu has 2 obsessions and if anything, Team 10K is consistent with their ‘road trip’ style of snacking! And that will always include Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Puffs!
Lulu wishes that she would remember to wear her blue light glasses more often while using the computer. And, of course…they have to be fashionable as well!
Really getting into working out with weights, Alison now realizes she has to get some sneakers other than her fav chunky style ones. Her trainer has Converse, so she wishes for some of those to wear as she ‘pumps it up!’
I’m so happy that Alison chose me to team up with her on her 10K day this week! With the magic word being COLLABORATE, I got to choose the place and some fun options during the day. This is a fantasy trip I’ve had since college. And some of you know how very long ago that is, so shhh! In Art History class, I fell deeply in love with all the cathedral and abbey architecture with all the flying buttresses and gargoyles, but one that stuck in my head was Mont St. Michel in Normandy, France.
How much more magical can you get than the abbey itself being on a tidal island, protected during high tides from would-be assailants during the Hundred Years’ War? I had almost forgotten about this place until I first watched the old Impressions of France movie at Epcot! They had the most stunning aerial footage of Mont St. Michel and so much more of France that the ‘romantic thought’ of visiting the magical place crept right back into my heart. Mont St. Michel makes its dusky debut in that movie at the 10:35 marker. And even more emotion is evoked in me with the musical accompaniment of Saint-Saëns - The Carnival of the Animals - VII. Aquarium which Alan Menken used as his ‘temp track’ to set the mood while composing Disney’s Beauty & the Beast prologue. And that right there was a marriage of two things I loved…Mont St. Michel and Beauty & the Beast!
We stayed at the Auberge Saint Pierre, taking only a small amount of luggage as there is a total of 350 steps to the highest point in the abbey! Alison and I grabbed a quick brekky before getting on our ‘Maringote', a horse-drawn carriage to discover all the wonders of the island. This ride is inexpensive so we, both being big animal lovers, tipped the driver $200 so they can get some treats for their horses.
Next was a Get Your Guide Tour, including a small-group tour of Mont St. Michel AND a cider tasting! Yum! So we rented out all 6 spots for the tour and that cost more than our stay at the abbey! Both preferring to be chauffeured, we rented a Rolls Royce Phantom from Chauffeurs Paris to take us to our lunch spot, Restaurant Gill for an 8 course dégustation (tasting) menu, including amuse-bouches, a vegetable plate, 2 entrées, 2 mains, the cheese trolley (YESSS!) and 2 desserts, as well as mignardises (bite-sized dessert) at the end.
Nothing better to walk off a glorious lunch than our guided tour of a Mont St. Michel Pilgrimage route by a licensed guide from My Licensed Guide. The pilgrimage journey is known as the Wonder of the West. Of course, all the knowledge a guide can relay is interesting, but the main reason for a guide being there is to avoid QUICKSAND! Yipes!
After the 2 hour tour, we head back to wash up before our late supper at Jean-Luc Tartarin, a restaurant with 2 Michelin stars and 4 Gault & Millau hats! Alison and I both got a gift box to dine upon, mine being the more expensive of the two. That’s the Prestige Box ($609.34), that includes:
A Flute of champagne
Some appetizers...
An 8-course tasting menu
The food and wine pairing
Flat or sparkling mineral water
A coffee
Alison got the Flavours Box ($401.03) that includes:
A Flute of champagne
Some appetizers...
A flavor menu of the month including:
entrée
fish
meat
dessert
The food and wine pairing
Flat or sparkling mineral water
One coffee per person
And never one to pass up a good theme, Alison matched my recent role of Reverend Mother in Nunsense with the fact that we were staying at an abbey! So, she flew Lulu over to join us for an epic sunset photoshoot in some authentic-looking 7-pc. nun habits from Etsy with Joel And Justyna, local professional photographers. Color me happy!
These besties just can’t stop thinking alike! Lulu chose what seems to be an equally magical option, the Rocaberti Writing Retreat at Château de Marouatte in the countryside near Périgueux, France. Miles Copeland III, well-known as the manager of The Police, Sting, and many other music legends, is the owner of this medieval castle with battlements, a moat, and guard towers set in the unspoiled countryside. Ahh, bliss!
He began by using it for songwriting collaboration retreats, but now it is home to many kinds of writing retreats. Lulu chose the screenwriting retreat that includes:
— small group mentoring sessions
— expert instruction
— all meals and drinks
— 5 nights lodging
— RT transport b/w airport
and so much more.
Personally, I would love to read the magical screenplay Lulu writes with the inspiration in that environment of antiques, art, tapestries, suits of armor and serene countryside! At our recent PodCastaway Retreat, we definitely resonated with their same philosophy…”At Marouatte, a happy stomach means happy artists!” 10K Ramen closet…that’s all I gotta say! The Périgord region, where the castle sits, is famous for its food, duck, foie gras, walnuts, and truffles are a local specialty. They also have exquisite wine from Bergerac, and all dietary needs are catered for by the castle's resident chef.
I’m SO living vicariously through this day as I’ve always longed to attend a writing retreat. And this location sounds delectable in all ways! They limit class size for optimal access to the mentors, provide stimulating content & constructive criticism as well as…COLLABORATION!
I’m right there with Lulu on the being excited about back-to-school supplies! And this is definitely a 10K style of shopping cart! No black and white composition books here, folks! No, she needed the Gucci Notebook, Reversible cork bulletin board with aluminum frame WITH wheels, adorable Floral Push Pins, and a set of EverBlend Ultra Art Markers. Now, these next two items are on MY wishlist for sure! Since it’s a screenwriting retreat, she needed the amazing software, Final Draft 12 and my constant WISHLIST item, the ReMarkable Paper Tablet! I mean, c’mon! Who wouldn’t want to write their notes and digitally save and organize them at the same time!? Dear Universe, PLEASE send me a brand new one of these!!
Now, since she’ll be an official international writer after the retreat, she needs a new headshot for her inside sleeve and bio. And for that she’s chosen to get a Wolf & Badger red blazer. And, just so she has something to carry her supplies in, she’s gotten the Gucci Off the Grid Backpack. Stylish AND studious! That’s our Lulu!
Lulu is super excited and HAPPY about 10K’s future!! We have a LOT brewing and it’s exciting for us all!
Alison is happy about getting back to drinking a Flat White Coffee. Now, although she thinks what makes it special is a pump of ‘rosetto’, we have to understand that in her mind it’s probably a coffee equivalent of Rosé or Prosecco. And I, for one, applaud that! But, it’s actually Ristresso that makes it special.
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
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