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Bedtime Journeys

Audio Craft Media
  • 5.0 (2)
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Drift off to sleep with gentle travel stories that transport you to beautiful destinations around the world. Each day we explore a new location through soothing narration designed to help you relax and dream.

  1. 09/24/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Saint-Émilion's Gentle Underground Slumber

    Step into the enchanted world of Saint-Emilion, a medieval wine village that exists in multiple dimensions simultaneously. What you see on the surface—honey-colored limestone buildings and cobblestone streets—is merely the beginning of an extraordinary journey through layers of history, spirituality, and winemaking tradition. Beneath this UNESCO World Heritage site lies an entirely different universe: 200 kilometers of limestone quarries and tunnels, Europe's largest underground church carved from a single massive rock, and wine cellars where tomorrow's vintages age in perfect darkness. As one local winemaker poetically observes, "Each barrel dreams of the bottle it will become." Our exploration begins with the monolithic church, where 15,000 cubic meters of limestone were removed by medieval hands using nothing but hammers and chisels. This sacred space—with its perfect acoustics and carved decorations still visible after eight centuries—embodies the patience and faith that permeate Saint-Emilion's character. From religious architecture to the "Cathedral of Wine," we descend into prestigious cellars where constant 13°C temperatures create the perfect environment for aging wine without any modern climate control. Nature, it seems, was making wine cellars long before humans figured out we needed them. In these vast chambers, vine roots penetrate through 12 meters of limestone ceiling like nature's own chandeliers, physically connecting the sunshine above with the cool darkness below. We discover delicious continuity in the town's famous macaroons, still made using the exact recipe created by Ursuline nuns in 1620. Just four ingredients—Spanish sweet almonds, bitter almonds, fresh egg whites, and sugar—transformed through four centuries of technique into a perfect cookie that pairs surprisingly well with the local wines. As evening falls, we witness the romantic transformation of the Cordeliers Cloister ruins, where birds nest in stone crevices once filled with Gregorian chants, and end our journey atop the Tour du Roi, where the Jurade Wine Brotherhood has made ceremonial proclamations for 800 years. Saint-Emilion isn't just a place—it's a philosophy made manifest, a belief that good things take time, that beauty matters, that tradition and innovation can coexist harmoniously. Join us as we explore this remarkable village where every stone has been smoothed by centuries of gentle attention.

    50 min

  2. 09/23/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Dreamtime in Uzès' Golden Stone Streets

    Journey with me to Uzès, France's first duchy, where golden limestone buildings glow like honey beneath the southern sun and time seems to move at the pace of seasons rather than seconds. Perched on a limestone promontory between Languedoc and Provence, this medieval gem has preserved its ancient character with remarkable integrity. As we wander through streets that have remained largely unchanged since the Middle Ages, the warm stone radiates different colors throughout the day – buttery soft in morning light, honey-toned at midday, and transformed into liquid gold as evening approaches. At the heart of Uzès lies Place aux Herbes, a vast cobbled square surrounded by Gothic arcades where markets have been held continuously since 1241. Here, beneath centuries-old plane trees, locals still gather twice weekly to buy vegetables arranged like edible art, olive varieties that range from bright green to deepest black, and honey collected from bees that feast on the wild herbs of the Garigue. The 19th-century fountain at the center creates what locals describe as a gentle "chuckling" that has provided the soundtrack to daily life for generations. The town's skyline is dominated by three impressive towers representing medieval power – the Duke's Bermond Tower, the King's Tower, and the Bishop's Tower. From these heights, Uzès reveals itself as a living mosaic of terracotta rooftops, hidden courtyards, and private gardens. The Fenestrel Tower, France's only circular bell tower, rises like a stone finger pointing skyward, its unique architecture creating perfect acoustics for bells that have marked time for centuries. In delightful contrast to all this ancient grandeur, Uzès houses the world's only Haribo Candy Museum, where the serious business of creating gummy bears is treated with the same respect as fine wine production. Nearby, the Pichon pottery workshop continues traditions dating back to Roman times, demonstrating how simple clay can be transformed through skill and patience into objects of lasting beauty. As darkness falls, the town doesn't so much illuminate as glow, the limestone having absorbed sunshine all day now radiating it back as gentle warmth. Join me for this peaceful journey through a place where beauty isn't found in grand gestures but in the patient accumulation of centuries of care, where daily life unfolds against a backdrop of extraordinary beauty. Close your eyes and let the sounds of fountains, the scent of medieval herbs, and the warmth of ancient stones carry you into dreams of golden light and timeless grace.

    59 min

  3. 09/22/2025

    Drifting to Sleep in Colorful Collioure

    There's something rather magical about a place that inspired artists to completely reinvent how we see color. In 1905, Henri Matisse arrived in Collioure and found light so extraordinary that he started painting pink waves and orange masts—and somehow it all made perfect sense. The locals say the light here "suppresses shadows," and when you experience this fishing village where the Pyrenees Mountains dip their toes into the Mediterranean Sea, you understand exactly what they mean. Join me as we wander through narrow streets painted in boat colors, where houses cascade down the hillside in shades of apricot, rose, and butter yellow—the practical becoming beautiful in that perfectly French way. We'll explore the honey-colored Château Royale rising directly from the sea, its walls containing eight centuries of architectural evolution from Roman foundations to star-shaped fortifications. We'll visit Notre-Dame-des-Anges, the church with a lighthouse for a bell tower that can't decide if it serves sailors or souls, and whose pink dome glows in the morning light. Our journey takes us to Anchois Roque, where families have been preserving anchovies the exact same way for 150 years—arranging them in crown shapes inside wooden barrels, layering them with coarse salt, and pressing them with 20-kilogram weights that create the most soothing settling sounds you've ever heard. We'll climb terraced vineyards so steep that everything must be done by hand, where 6,000 kilometers of dry stone walls have been built over centuries without mortar, held in place by gravity and skill. And as evening falls, we'll join the traditional Sardana dance where circles expand to include everyone, hands reaching out to strangers who become, for the duration of the dance, part of something larger. Ready to continue this journey through France's most peaceful treasures? Subscribe to our premium service for exclusive access to our upcoming adventures through Uzès with its truffle markets, Saint-Émilion's underground wine caves, and so much more beyond tonight's free episode. Support the show

    54 min

  4. 09/21/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Córdoba Whispers Sweet Dreams

    In the heart of Andalusia lies Cordoba, the only place on Earth where you can walk from a Roman bridge into an Islamic mosque containing a Christian cathedral, all while wandering through a Jewish quarter. Welcome to our seventh and final evening in Spain, where we discover a city that operates on "siesta time" even when it's not actually siesta. Wander with me through the Mesquita, an architectural marvel where 856 marble columns create endless rows of red and white striped arches that seem to multiply into infinity. These columns, recycled from Roman and Visigothic buildings, now support something entirely new yet somehow timeless. The architects who designed it understood something profound about creating peaceful spaces—that repetition can be meditative, that patterns can calm the mind, that sometimes the best way to inspire awe is through gentle multiplication rather than singular grandeur. Feel the intimate tranquility of the Jewish Quarter's narrow streets, barely wide enough for two people to pass, creating corridors where footsteps echo softly off whitewashed walls. Discover hidden courtyards blooming with geraniums and jasmine, their fragrances drifting through the evening air. Cross the 2,000-year-old Roman Bridge as twilight transforms the Guadalquivir River into hammered bronze, and explore the Alcazar gardens where water channels create a constant soundtrack of gentle flows. Cordoba was once Europe's intellectual capital, home to 300 mosques, countless libraries, and street lighting seven centuries before London thought to illuminate its streets. The Caliph's library contained 400,000 books when most European collections numbered in the dozens. Yet what makes this city truly special isn't its impressive statistics—it's the profound sense of peace that has survived through centuries of cultural exchange. As night falls, join locals in Plaza de la Corredera for the traditional paseo, where families stroll, musicians play simply for the joy of it, and community unfolds against a backdrop of warm, glowing arcades. Here, we learn Cordoba's greatest gift: the ability to make you forget about time, to pull you into a rhythm that humans followed for centuries before clocks and schedules took over. Subscribe to continue our journey as we leave Spain behind and begin exploring the hidden wonders of France, where new adventures await.

    59 min

  5. 09/20/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Dreaming by San Sebastián's Perfect Bay

    The gentle curve of La Concha Bay unfolds like a seashell against the Cantabrian Sea, embraced by twin mountains that shelter this seaside masterpiece. San Sebastian—or Donostia in the ancient Basque language—reveals itself as Spain's most elegant coastal gem during our evening exploration. Walking along the iconic white iron balustrade that lines the promenade, we discover a city where Belle Époque elegance meets a culture older than recorded history. The Basque people have inhabited these lands since time immemorial, their language predating all other European tongues—older than Latin, older than Greek, a linguistic mystery that was "already here when everyone else showed up." As twilight bathes the city in golden light, we ascend Monte Urgul's ancient paths to discover 12th-century fortifications and breathtaking panoramas. We wander through the atmospheric Old Town, where numbered balconies around Plaza de la Constitución reveal its surprising past as a bullring. The local tradition of chiquiteo—gentle bar-hopping with precisely ten minutes per establishment—offers a rhythmic way to experience pintxos culture without rushing. The original wooden carriages of Monte Igueldo's 1912 funicular railway transport us not just up a mountainside but back in time. At sunset, we witness the bay transform into liquid gold from this perfect vantage point. Later, Eduardo Chillida's powerful Wind Combs sculptures create a meditative dialogue between steel and sea, while peaceful gardens showcase trees from five continents and peacocks that roam freely through manicured landscapes. As night embraces San Sebastian, the beach becomes a mirror for city lights, each wave arriving with a whisper and retreating with a sigh. This is a place that understands the art of living well, where life moves at the perfect pace—not rushed, not stagnant, but flowing like the tide itself. Join us for an evening of shell breathing and peaceful contemplation in one of Europe's most captivating coastal treasures.

    53 min

  6. 09/19/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Toledo Whispers You to Sleep

    Ever wondered what happens when different cultures stop fighting and start creating together? Toledo, Spain holds the answer. Rising from a granite hill almost completely encircled by the winding Tagus River, Toledo presents a skyline unchanged since El Greco painted it in the 1600s. But beyond its stunning physical beauty lies an even more remarkable story of human cooperation. For nearly eight centuries (711-1492), Toledo hosted what might be Europe's most successful multicultural experiment. Muslims, Jews, and Christians didn't merely tolerate each other—they actively collaborated, creating a golden age of intellectual and artistic achievement that preserved much of ancient knowledge for the modern world. The Toledo School of Translators brought scholars from all three faiths together, working side-by-side to translate Greek philosophy, Arabic mathematics, and Hebrew poetry. This wasn't just preservation; it was innovation born from the cross-pollination of diverse perspectives. Walking Toledo's narrow streets today, this legacy remains visible everywhere. The synagogue of Santa María la Blanca features Islamic-style horseshoe arches with Jewish pine cone symbols. The tiny Mezquita Cristo de la Luz preserves authentic Moorish architecture with nine different vaults supported by recycled Visigothic columns. The Gothic Cathedral houses El Greco masterpieces that capture the city's mystical quality through impossible light and elongated figures. These aren't just buildings—they're physical embodiments of cultural collaboration. Toledo's traditional crafts continue this legacy. In small workshops, artisans still practice Damascene metalwork with gold threads hammered into blackened steel, forge legendary Toledo steel swords known throughout medieval Europe, and create ceramics with distinctive green glazes traced to Moorish traditions. As evening falls, Toledo transforms magically—limestone walls absorb the golden light and seem to glow from within, while monuments illuminate against the darkening sky. This nightly metamorphosis perfectly captures the city's essence: a place where history remains alive, where ancient wisdom about human coexistence still whispers through winding alleys. In our increasingly divided world, Toledo reminds us what humans can achieve when we approach differences with curiosity rather than fear. Join us as we explore this remarkable city that stands as testament to our capacity for creating something beautiful together.

    1h 4m

  7. 09/18/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Counting Fountains Instead of Sheep in Granada

    Have you ever wondered what paradise sounds like? In Granada, it's the gentle splash of fountains that have been playing the same peaceful melodies for seven centuries. Tonight, we wander through a city where medieval Islamic architects perfected the art of tranquility, creating spaces designed not just to impress but to heal the soul. From the honey-colored stones of Plaza Nueva to the mirrored pools of the Alhambra, we discover a place where water isn't just a necessity but a philosophy—a belief that the right sounds can bring us closer to paradise on earth. We follow the Darro River as it whispers through ancient stone channels, creating a soundtrack that's been soothing residents for over a thousand years. In the Court of the Myrtles, we find a pool so still it doubles everything—the elegant arches, the colored tiles, the sky above—as if the architects decided that beauty should always be seen twice. As evening falls, we lose ourselves in the Albaicín's white-washed labyrinth, where every wrong turn leads to another tiny plaza with another fountain making another perfect sound. Cats nap in doorways with the confidence of creatures who know they live in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods on earth, while the scents of jasmine and orange blossoms mix with the inevitable sound of water. Our journey concludes in a traditional Moorish tea house, where mint tea is served searingly sweet and a small fountain bubbles in the corner—because this is Granada, where water is the soundtrack to everything. As we sink into cushions listening to the gentle music of flowing water, we understand that paradise isn't somewhere we go after leaving this world. Sometimes, if we're very quiet and very lucky, we can find little pieces of it right here, right now. Join us as we breathe in the scent of jasmine and listen to fountains that have never once been in a hurry. Subscribe to Bedtime Journeys and let us transport you to places where beauty and tranquility aren't just concepts but lived experiences.

    43 min

  8. 09/17/2025 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Sleepy Seville Wanderings Among Orange Blossoms

    The scent of 40,000 orange trees fills the air as we wander through Seville, the crown jewel of Andalusia where pilots report being able to smell the city before they can see it. This sensory paradise represents something remarkable in European history—a place where Islamic, Christian, and Jewish cultures didn't just coexist but created something together that none could have achieved alone. Seville possesses an almost magical ability to make you slow down without you realizing it's happening. We explore the Real Alcazar, where Moorish architects created gardens so perfect they've been hosting royal guests continuously for over a thousand years. The Patio de las Doncellas showcases 150 different tile patterns hand-painted by artisans who understood that paradise probably looks a lot like this—mathematics made beautiful, geometry transformed into poetry.  We climb the Giralda Tower via gently sloping ramps designed wide enough for mounted horses, then lose ourselves in the "kissing width" streets of Barrio Santa Cruz, where narrow medieval pathways create natural air conditioning and hidden plazas reveal cascading geraniums and trickling fountains. Across the Guadalquivir River, Triana maintains its 2,000-year ceramic tradition, with artisans still using riverbank clay to create the azulejos that decorate buildings throughout Andalusia. The Plaza de España presents what might be the world's most photogenic semicircular building, with 48 provincial alcoves telling Spain's story through vibrant hand-painted tiles. As evening approaches, the city transforms through scent and light—jasmine blooms, cathedral bells echo across ancient streets, and architecture designed not just to shelter or impress, but to please, glows golden in the fading light. What makes Seville extraordinary isn't just its spectacular monuments but its understanding that life's most profound pleasures often come from the simplest things—the play of light through orange leaves, the sound of water in Moorish fountains, the scent of azahar blossoms transforming ordinary streets into fragrant utopias. Join us as we discover a city that has perfected the art of sensory pleasure and teaches us to find extraordinary beauty in ordinary moments.

    1h 11m
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About

Drift off to sleep with gentle travel stories that transport you to beautiful destinations around the world. Each day we explore a new location through soothing narration designed to help you relax and dream.

Information

  • Creator
    Audio Craft Media
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Audio Craft Media LLC
  • Show Website
    Bedtime Journeys
  • Provider
    Audio Craft Media, LLC