11 days near Dinan, France

by brian

Stephen, who owns a rental house in Vire, agreed to bring us back to Dinan. Having a free ride, instead of trying to sort out the bus situation, was a fantastic break but it also meant we would be helping Stephen prepare his rental for the new arrivals. Annie busied herself with vacuuming, while I cleaned windows and cleared cobwebs. We then ate something and waited for the new guests to arrive. Stephen gave a truncated explanation about the house's amenities to an English family, and after a brief drama involving one of the guests locking herself in a bathroom, we were off.

We arrived in Dinan after midnight and were greeted by 5 dogs who were out of their minds with excitement. The little howler, Jacob- a half beagle/ half yellow Labrador- followed us upstairs to make sure we found the right room.

Ann's house is located in the middle of a small community of very tall, slender farmhouses about 10 km from Dinan. She knows all of her neighbors, especially the nearest ones as she regularly hears from them about the noise made by her dogs and chickens. Though she has a very successful tomato patch the focus of our energies would not be on farming. This was to be more of a homestay situation. Ann was planning a party, and though she wouldn't tell either of us or anyone who rang asking her what was the occasion, we found out from Stephen that it was to be her birthday. Our job was to help with the preparations.

Annie's first job was to get to work on shining up a respectable amount of antique brassware; mostly knick knacks and old kitsch. We both helped out clearing out the kitchen cupboards and restocking the food pantry. Once Stephen was available, he and I started putting together the new Ikea kitchen furniture.

There were a number of perks to staying with Ann and Stephen. This was the first time a host had let us do our own shopping. On the second day we went with Ann to the store and loaded up the shopping cart with whatever we wanted. We were both excited about the prospect of being able to cook for ourselves and not have to take other people's diets in mind. We made soup, stir fry, pasta, pesto and many of our favorite dishes that we'd been missing. I was able to try Ann's meat dishes and she enjoyed a tasty peach/ apricot crumble that Annie dreamed up.

Another big bonus was the freedom of movement. As with our last farmstay there were many scenic places to take an after-dinner walk around the community. To complement that, however, Ann had a scooter and a pair of bicycles that she had purchased, primarily for the use of helpxers. On the bikes we took numerous trips along a canal that ran into Dinan and also the opposite direction- further out into the country, we had a beer at a local pub and saw live music, and rode through farm land. We used the scooter mostly for shopping and for errands.













Ann's house also had a pool and it received regular use. Ann's pre-adolescent neighbor, Cloe splashed around on her pool toys regularly and the rest of us read, sun-bathed and dipped in when the sun was too hot.

Over time we became aware of the tension beginning to build as the big party drew near. The barking of the dogs seemed to make Ann and Stephen more tense which seemed to increase the intensity of the barking. I often found myself in our room or by the pool avoiding the tension and the fresh aromas created by the 5 dogs- who spent much of their time inside. Be that as it may, Ann went out of her way to make sure we were comfortable and well-fed- which we were- and that we didn't work too hard. Both Ann and Stephen were always very cordial and polite; and we very much enjoyed our stay there.

In the final days Stephen and I erected a massive tent which would house the tables set up to feed 26 people. The rain and wind made cameo appearances to test the tent's durability. Ann and Stephen dropped us at the bus station in a little town called Evran and we made our way to Rennes where we would begin our 18.5 hour bus marathon to Amsterdam.

To read about our adventure in Vire, click HERE.

La Brindelliere: three weeks in Normandy, France

by annie

On the outskirts of a village called Gathemo, and a 10-minute drive from Vire, sits our helpx host site, La Brindelliere. I arrived a week before Brian and worked alongside an Australian couple, Eli and Denny. It was a nice calm after bustling through cities for the last few weeks. In addition to housing our hosts, Kevin and Jennie, this is home to 2 pigs, 1 dog, 6 cats, countless grown chickens and ducks, 6 "pre-teen" chickens, 10 baby chicks, 2 turkeys, a few counous (half chicken/half turkey), 4 guinea fowl, a handful of rabbits and hares, and a pond full of trout, coy, flounder and other fish. Apologies to anyone that I forgot to mention.

Jennie and Kevin moved here from England 3 years ago, after remodeling what was a German outpost during WWII. The look-out was bombed by American troops, yet they've been able to incorporate new structure with old structure in a way that stays true to the traditional build.

Work at La Brindelliere varied, but usually concluded before lunchtime each day. Sometimes we would attack blackberry bushes with long hooks, other days I would plant and harvest veggies in the garden. Of course my favorite tasks always involved driving the four-wheeler or sit-on lawn mower.

Jennie and Kevin spoiled us with delicious vegetarian food, excursions to the beach and Mont St. Michel and a spacious bedroom with private bath. I witnessed baby chicks cracking out of their shells, I caught a trout from the pond, and I learned that pigs are vegetarian :) Each morning I poached fresh eggs from the chickens and ducks, completing breakfast with homemade bread and one of Jennie's yummy homemade jams (think lemon curd and rhubarb ginger). Of all the helpx places we've been so far, this has been the best example of "living off the land" in terms of food supply. It wasn't uncommon to eat a meal made solely from vegetables picked out of the garden.

Mont St. Michel is an ancient monastery built on top of rocks above the sea. An old village, now jam-packed with tourists, winds upwards towards the monastery. Since it's an UNESCO world heritage site, some of the magic is lost in the sea of people fighting their way up a narrow, cobbled street lined with souvenir shops and exorbitantly priced restaurants. It's otherwise quite quaint, but best admired from a distance.

We spent many evenings walking around the neighborhood, the nearby forest, or a big lake. We quickly noticed that cows will gladly interrupt their grazing to stare as we walked by. I picked up the habit of waving at them, usually with the effect of continued stares.

Our friends Christine and Jonathan were helping in nearby Brittany and managed to visit us for a day. We went into Vire and climbed to the top of the old clock tower that used to be part of the city's old wall perimeter. Then we made our way to a pub for catching up and lots of laughing. We took an after-dinner walk, stopping to dance for the cows and pet the sweetest, blind St. Bernard ever. We bid them goodbye with exciting plans to meet up in Ireland for celebrating Christine and Brian's upcoming birthdays.

During our last week at La Brindelliere, we met more new helpers, celebrated Jenny's mom's birthday and went canoing. Three weeks went by quickly, a sign that we had a good time.

Click here for pics:

Vire, France

We transitioned seamlessly to our next helpx hosts, an English couple in Brittany that came highly recommended by Christine and Jonathan. We'll be here for about 10 days before taking a ridiculously long bus ride to Amsterdam (16.5 hours to be exact).

And if you missed my Paris post, click HERE.

Paris

by annie

I took a posh elevator to the 19^th floor of an apartment building a few minutes walk from the Eiffel Tower. My couchsurf host, Rolland, greeted me mid-shower in a towel and shampoo saturated hair, and led me to his grandparents' flat. They were on vacation and I would have the massive apartment to myself for the next two days. When leaning out of the window, I could see the Eiffel Tower, where I met Christine and Jonathan the following afternoon for a picnic. There, it was people-watching at its best as adults and children ran from pigeons, stood in a 2 hour cue for a ride to the top or engaged in long family arguments.

Instead of waiting in line there, we took in views of Paris from the Sacre Coeur. We then visited the Arc de Triomphe, took in some free music in a park and then made our way towards "little India" for fantastic food. The next day, we picnicked and napped in the sprawling gardens of the Versailles Palace. I met my second couchsurf host, Noel, in South Paris and spent the evening on foot, walking to the Luxemburg gardens, the Pantheon and the Latin Quarter.

In the morning, Noel fed me freshly baked croissants and orange juice before taking me around Paris on his vintage Vespa. He taught me how to avoid fares and long lines at monuments- just sneak in the exit! And so we did at Notre Dame and the towers of the Sacre Coeur, before having a drink in the Montmartre neighborhood. We stopped in a sweet cafe, eating a slow meal of salmon and veggies in sesame sauce in the open full length window. I loved watching the world go by in the street as we munched on lunch and tried our best at deep conversation in Noel's second language.

Later that evening, I met up with Christine and Jonathan to relive Indian cuisine perfection. We ate masala dosai, creamy eggplant and curried vegetables before heading to the Seine for a romantic walk (complete with cheap sparkling wine, drunk tourists and rats scurrying in the corners). Seeing the monuments lit at dusk, reflected in the river with dark blue cloudscapes seemed un-improvable... that is, until the Eifel Tower started sparkling.

Other Paris highlights include the Mona Lisa, live accordion music on the subway and seeing Tour de France arrive in Paris on its final day. It's true what everyone says about Paris being romantic and utterly charming. The streets are beautiful, the monuments impressive and the vibe surprisingly slow for a city its size.

Paris

Brian and I recently reunited on a helpx homestead in Normandy. We'll be here another week before going to a helpx site in Brittany. More to follow!

If you missed my Berlin adventures, click HERE.