Beautiful Normandy May 7, 2010
Posted by Chris in : Uncategorized , add a commentWe arrived in Flers, Normandy a couple of days ago and were and are stunned by the beauty of the region. Yesterday, we spent a decent part of the day weeding the lavender gardens, a necessary chore to keep them growing at their best. While weeding the gardens, we saw that there are two neighbors with sheep, Tiffany was ecstatic. Near the end of our day, I glanced up and saw, in the field with 1 sheep and 2 lambs, that the adult sheep had a chicken perched on its back.
After we finished work yesterday, we had dinner and were informed that we would probably be cleaning out their pond today; the pond has become filled up with silt and other sediments flowing downstream.
Note: We are having some technical difficulties with inserting images so we will be updating this post with images and further tales as soon as we have that solved.
Two Days Left In Carassai May 2, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Carassai, Uncategorized , add a commentSo Tuesday we should be moving forward to Normandy, France where we will be working at a lavender farm. The trip will take 10 hours over night for a total of 300 euro (the most expensive night we’ve ever spent here, considering it’s like a mobile hotel). We thought about flying there but the inflation is pretty bad (not to mention many of them are fully booked).
We’re pretty excited about the Workaway and this was a good experience for us, not to mention we’ve been talking to these people for about a week now and they seem pretty nice. They run a lavender farm that produces oil that are sold at a local shop.
So today was pretty much a day off. We kind of lounged around and watched Doctor Who. Lunch was Spaghetti Carbonara with bacon, followed by salad and rabbit. It was delicious and we ate lunch with the whole family. It was special because we had rabbit that was raised at their house. Giuseppe was surprised to find his rabbits had multiplied.
We will probably take a walk down to the creek near here later this afternoon, so expect pictures! Ciao for now!
Agroturismo La Cicala April 22, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Carassai, Uncategorized , 1 comment so farYesterday’s travels included an eleven hour train ride and 30 bus ride to get to the small village that the farm we’re working at (the village is called Carassai). The train ride was complicated and cheap (50 euro for the both of us and many train changes) but the views were stunning.
When we got to the farm house we were amazed!
The place is immaculate and the views from around the place are stunning. Guiseppe (pronounced like Joseph) and his wife, Madga, own the farm and 30 hectors of land around it. They grow both Sangiovese grapes (you need 85% Sangiovese grapes to make Chainti wine) and Olives.
Today we worked with the young grapes (about one year old). Pruning and making sure they will grow straight. The work is not too hard and there is a lot of it. Since this would cost us about 80 Euros a night to stay here plus the cost of lunch and dinner, if we were being paid, we would be paid 8 Euros an hour (breakfast is included in the price although with our work, they are obligated to feed us 3 meals a day, and we are only obligated to work for five hours a day each). Also, Guiseppe and Chris are working on his website this afternoon.
So Chris is in love and I thin
k I am too. The place is charming, the views are amazing, the people are very welcoming and generous, and the food is fresh and has a lot of flavor (which is a big change of pace from generally bland food that we could afford). Last night we had Spaghetti with spicy sausage, bread, salad from their garden, and eggs from their chickens.
There is a beach near by that we’re thinking about checking out when we have some free time. It looked nice from the train (white sand, really blue water). We have the farm house to ourselves this week, since there are no guests until next week and our hosts have their own home about a half a mile away. We are definitely going to be spoiled by this place!
From Paris with Love March 16, 2010
Posted by Chris in : Uncategorized , 3commentsWe will be uploading photos and writing a new post for your viewing pleasure soon; we just got into Paris and are about to go to sleep so we will see you guys tomorrow!!
Canon Coolpix December 10, 2009
Posted by Chris in : Uncategorized , add a commentSo we’ve started playing around with the Canon Colpix listed in What We’re Packing and we love it. The battery life is amazing, the photo quality is astounding, basically, the camera is great.
