We are Pauline and Simon, a couple of freelance photographers and journalists from Franche-Comté (eastern France, near the Swiss border), who became creators of video, photographic and editorial communication content after a tour of Europe in a motorhome in 2017.
Before setting off on his European Tour, Simon worked as a freelance photojournalist. Pauline, after years as a freelance journalist for various magazines and newspapers, was employed in the communications department of a local authority in Franche-Comté.
We met through a local newspaper (Le Pays) for which we both worked as press correspondents in the sports section.
Touring Europe as a couple, in a motorhome
We wanted to combine our passion for travel with our professions. So we came up with the idea of a 14-month tour of Europe. We wanted to experience a year on the road while sharing our discovery of the Old Continent with as many people as possible through our website and social networks. You can find the results of this experience and some of the reports on our website.
We also worked with two media organisations, writing columns every Sunday in L'Est Républicain and another on the radio on France Bleu Belfort. We had to find the right balance between travelling, enjoying this freedom as a couple, and our professional activity.
Our motorhome, a Hymer Swing 494
Our ‘Swinguy’ (as we've renamed it) is small but strong! It's a Hymer Swing 494, 4.90 metres long and 2.20 metres wide, 90 HP, bought second-hand for 15,500 euros in 2015. Although we sometimes test other van-type vehicles on our trips, it's the size that appealed to us.
It's easy to drive, and can be parked anywhere because it fits in a parking space reserved for cars. It has everything you need for a minimum of comfort: shower, toilet, fridge, hob, forced-air heating.
We've fitted it out a little more so that it's fully operational and serves as our home as well as our office. What did we perhaps miss? More electrical autonomy and greater driveability (more power and off-road capability). It's very important to choose the right vehicle for travelling for so long!
From journalists to youtubers
Looking back, we realise that the medium and form chosen at the time - the website and the report - were not necessarily appropriate. We wanted to meet people, tell them about their daily lives, their jobs and events. We had set ourselves up as ‘reporters’, as we knew how to do, with a view that was intended to be objective and devoid of comment on our feelings. Our vision has evolved.
A few years ago, we no longer saw ourselves in the media and information. A race for news and buzz, subjects that were too short and often polemically slanted. The reasons for these choices lie in the economic crisis of the press and media, for which we citizens also bear our share of responsibility.
We still have enormous respect for the profession of journalist, in the noblest sense, but we have decided to move on. Most of us like to be informed, but we also like to be entertained. We've decided to continue down the path of information and travel by having the courage to embody our words, having sensed the public's need to establish a direct and trusting relationship with those who inform them.
Our Youtube channel: ‘Péripléties’, our trips and tips in a motorhome
In 2017, a year after our European tour, we launched our Youtube channel to share our travels and reports on motorhoming and the life of itinerant travellers. You'll find videos on several themes: our road-trips, vehicle presentations and comparisons, portraits of vanlifeurs, tutorials, etc. Like this blog, it's complementary! The more entertaining format doesn't prevent us from telling interesting stories, meeting people and reporting!
Bloggers, Youtubers, influencers... What do we do for a living?!
Before calling ourselves Bloggers, Youtubers, Influencers and all these new professions whose mechanisms and work escapes most people, we are FIRST AND foremost creators of editorial content, photos, videos and social networkers.
We essentially work for a living, creating video, photo and editorial content for companies, local authorities and tourism agencies. We have acquired and developed these skills over the years, guided by our passion and hard work.
Advertising, brand partnerships
At the same time, we develop content for our own YouTube channel, our blog and our social networks. We get some income from advertising and affiliations. But we also rely on partnerships or sponsorship with brands to create the content we make available to you.
These partnerships are never chosen at random; they are all linked to the travel industry, and you should know that there's a lot of relationship-building work behind them. So much time is taken to ensure that the collaboration is well-founded and that our freedom of tone is guaranteed. Many brands understand that it's in their interest to leave us our subjectivity, but those who aren't ready for transparency don't approach us!
We're not full-timers, but...
Although we've known it for over a year, we've given up full-time Vanlife to find a balance between travel and work. We go away for long months, which are also periods of creative writing, photography and video!