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Hello all,
Well it has been too long since I last wrote a blog, which is terrible, I know. We have been travelling for almost a year now, so it will be hard to write about all the places in detail. This blog will sum up a few of our experiences whilst we were in France and then I will do one for each area we have stayed in so far.
Since leaving the UK on the 17th of August 2015, we have travelled to some beautiful places in Europe.
We spent 10 weeks making our way through France. We fell in love with the stunning French countryside and the fabulous and witty French people. Many English believe that the French don't like them, but that isn't true, they are just a little guarded at first, but once you make an effort and attempt to speak a little of their language, you soon realise that they are such interesting and loving people.
We spent 3 wonderful nights in Paris. We did a lot of touristy things like visit Notre Dam, the Lourve etc. It was a great experience but was too hot and we were eager to start our first workaway experience.
* Note: Workaway is a cultural exchange site. It enables travellers to work for hosts all over the world in exchange for bed and board. it means you can travel for longer without spending too much money and you get to be part of the local life, working great jobs and meeting interesting and diverse people.
Our first workaway job was in Brittany with a wonderful host called Sandra. Brittany was stunning but rainy, just like being back home :) We had our own little holiday cottage, which was homely and comfortable. One of our jobs was to feed the chickens, ducks, geese and sheep. We loved feeding the sheep, in particuar Minty and Arthur, who both fed from our hands and were the cutest animals. One night there was a huge storm, the sky was the darkest grey and thunder rumbled in the near distance. Before long heavy rain fell. We decided that we needed to go and bring the chickens in. We left the cottage, the air felt thick, almost claustrophobic. We had been walking for a few minutes, when lightening struck the ground just to the left of us and the loudest thunder clap ripped through the air. I screamed, panicked and scared. We ran to the animals after that and ran back to the safety of the cottage. It was such an experience, frightening but also exhilarating, we felt nature's power.
After staying in Brittany for ten days, we travelled to our new host's 17th century farm house, near a village called Rieupeyroux in the South West of France. We often called in at a local bar , whilst the Rugby world cup was on. The young French men loved that Graeme was English and cheered on anyone who was playing against England, but it was all done in good jest and they kept laughing and saying "sorry" to Graeme. I fell in love with the owner, a warm lady who couldnt speak English. Everyday we communicated as best as we could and she laughed and clapped everytime I learnt a new French word. She became emotional when it was time to leave. I will never forget her, she left an inprint on my heart.
The four weeks we stayed there were fantastic, our host was crazy but very generous, he supplied us with an endless stream of red wine and cooked the finest foods. We got to meet and work with many workawayers from all different countries, which educated us so much about varied cultures. Everyday our host took us to some breath taking places after work.
It was soon time to travel to our next destination, a place called Saint-clar, Northwest to Toulouse. We stayed with a fun loving, British family called the Feasley's. Their property was stunning and they even had their own wood. Our accommodation was a converted pigeoneer, a stunning building but a haven for mice, wasps, smelly bugs and hornets. We hardly slept as we were freaked out by the constant buzzing of insects.
One of our jobs was to take the spare car and drive to the nearby countryside and walk the three adorable dogs, Lola, Jangles and Rossco. We did this for an hour everyday and this was our favourite part of the day. The scenery was some of the most stunning I've seen, rolling green fields for miles, next to yellow corn fields and a silence that relaxed the soul. The whole experience was serene and we finished the walk everyday feeling completely relaxed and filled with a great sense of happiness.
I believe that it was during our time in France that we finally felt released from the constraints of our old lives. The stress, anxiety and the feeling of being trapped left us, we finally gained the freedom that we hadcraved for so long, we were nomads, we are nomads and we are free.
* Note: We thank you France and the French people for every single wonderful experience that you offered us. We will be eternally grateful. We are so sorry for all the suffering you have recently had to endure and hope that this madness ends soon. You are a great nation and we love you.
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