As 2022 draws to an end, it’s only natural to stop, turn back, and take a look at what happened throughout the year. And given that many of you are invested in this project in various ways, I figured I’d share the highlights 🙂
So… it has been a non-stop year at The Earful Tower, that much is for sure. It’s been a record year in every conceivable metric, with 700,000 podcast downloads, 500,000 website hits, and 900 Patreon members. A huge merci to all who read, clicked, listened, subscribed, and followed.
As for the podcast, we featured dozens of first-time guests, including everyone from bookshop boat captains and Edith Piaf singers, to my own Dad telling his Paris tales from decades ago.
And in a broader sense, here are ten 2022 highlights for The Earful Tower and its community – in no particular order.
1. We all raised €5,000+ for Ukraine
What good is a channel if it can’t do some good? We had an original goal of €1,000 for the Red Cross International Committee and it ended up surpassing €5,000. Thanks again to all who chipped in for a good cause.
2. We published Grace the Giraffe in Paris!
In November we released our third children’s book Grace the Giraffe in Paris. It’s based on a true story and our favourite tale so far. If you’ve not yet heard the story of Grace, click here for more.
3. We got postcards from *almost* every US state
This year I set out to get a postcard from every US state – just for fun. Listeners answered the call and the ladies at the PO Box didn’t know what hit them! By the year’s end, we received cards from 43 states. The missing ones: Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Having said this, I haven’t checked he PO box for a few weeks… maybe we made it after all… or maybe you can help:
The Earful Tower
34 Ave des Champs-Elysées,
75008, Paris, France
4. We launched a tour company
Well, it was more of a soft launch, really. I’ve been doing private Earful Tower walking tours myself for a while, but this year we built a team to showcase the city’s hidden gems and local secrets. So far we’re operating in the Marais, Montmartre, the seventh arrondissement, and on the islands – and you’ll hear more about it all in 2023.
5. We spent 24 hours in all the Paris arrondissements
Lina and I set out to find the very best of all 20 arrondissements this year through our Paris Countdown series. We stayed 24 hours in each district and filled our days testing out everything from cafes, restaurants and bars to museums and activities. Photographer Augusta Sagnelli followed along, snapping our adventures, and Pres Maxson, our Earful musician, created a soundtrack for each arrondissement.
This was by far the biggest undertaking of the year for us, and resulted in an epic PDF guide to the city you can get here.
6. I became a Patreon ambassador for Europe
Who knows what it really means, but in 2022 Patreon got in touch and said The Earful Tower had an “incredible community” and made me an ambassador to Europe. The Patreon membership page also turned five years old in December, and it’s a real delight to have 900 members on board. These memberships are instrumental in continuing to improve and expand this channel. Join the members here and meet other Francophiles from this “incredible community”.
7. We went on an Australian book tour
A true highlight of 2022 was taking Lina and my son Otis to my home country, Australia, to introduce our new children’s book to crowds in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and more. What a treat to meet so many of you. We have a US trip on the cards next. Click here for a blog post with many more photos and details about the tour.
8. We hosted a blowout Christmas party
To finish off the year we held a spectacular Christmas Party at Le Cercle Suédois. The crowd of 100 people was a mix of Patreon members and past podcast guests from the show. We had authors, artists, musicians, photographers, YouTubers, tour guides, cafe owners, bakers, and chateau residents. It was a party to remember with the live jazz from Alex Freiman and Cesar Poirier, and a surprise musical act from Gosia as Edith Piaf, accompanied on piano by our beloved Earful musician, Pres Maxson.
You can see more photos from the event here.
9. We got our books in the Louvre museum
Talk about a career highlight! If you go into the Louvre gift shop right now, the first thing you will see is our children’s book trilogy on display. It doesn’t seem real, but it’s true! Here’s the full story of how it happened.
Wondering where else you can find our books? Click here.
10. We got 20K followers on Instagram
And lastly, The Earful Tower’s Instagram @theearfultower reached 20,000 followers in December. This is mind-boggling to me. And I love it. The Instagram page is surely the most active community, so be sure to follow along there for much more Paris. (No offence to the Facebook page, which is also a bustling community, but not quite as big).
Thanks again to all who’ve been involved, looking forward to seeing what 2023 holds!
![The Earful Tower's 2024 Guide to Paris [PDF]](https://i0.wp.com/theearfultower.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Earful-Tower-2024-Guide-Website-Image.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1)
Congratulations Lina and Oliver – great to read of your achievements during 2022 in beautiful Paris. Best wishes for many happy times in 2023.