They’re two of the dining capitals of the world and they’re explored (and beautifully photographed) by Alexandra Carroll in her books, New York: An Inspired Wander Through Manhattan and the Brooklyn Boroughs and Paris: An Inspired Wander Through the City of Lights.

So it’s no surprise that we talk about memorable bagels and croissants in this podcast. Or the fact Alex had to eat a lot of cheese to get the job done. Or remarkable venues we’ve experienced: from Clown Bar, with its surprising history, to Dans Le Noir, a restaurant staffed by blind people that serves people completely in the dark. Also covered in our chat: the New York trend for drinking broth like coffee!

Alex also shares some of the easy-to-overlook gems in both cities (including a museum located in an elevator shaft in Tribeca) and how she went about producing both books.

We also talk about how she was my first editor (as Alex Craig) and how she effectively bankrolled my first trip to Paris, as I bought an airfare to the French capital as her employee.

And we touch on her incredible record as a book publisher – she was involved in the launch of Hannah Kent’s bestselling book, Burial Rites, which is going to be turned into a movie featuring Jennifer Lawrence.

You can listen to this episode on iTunes or download it via RSS or directly. You can even find it on Stitcher nowadays. And thanks to everyone who has taken the time to write a review in the iTunes Store (aka Apple Podcasts) or championed this podcast – it really means a lot, especially when finding spare hours between work deadlines to edit a podcast has become pretty trickly lately (hence the two-month gap between episodes).

PS This interview may throw accelerant on any travel plans you already had in mind – I must admit, I definitely Googled Paris airfare prices a few times while working on this ep!

PPS Make sure to follow Alex on Instagram – her photos are truly amazing: instagram.com/thetravelwhisperer.

Photography courtesy of Alexandra Carroll/Alex Craig.