Host 3: Arrens-Marsous
Bonjour !
With heavy hearts Denis dropped us off in downtown Saint Antonin Noble Val. His buddy Pierre met us and drove us to Toulouse. I was sad, but excited to see Toulouse and the pink bricks that are often talked about among the French. Unfortunately, to us the bricks looked pretty standard. The city felt a bit dirty and on the way to being broken down and dilapidated looking. However, only once did we feel a little unsafe, and that mostly had to do with the fact that we had our packs with all our stuff with us. But, we were fine.
After 4 hours of walking around and eating at a bakery we met a blablacar that took us to Lourdes. The driver was an 18 year old that was in school to be a chef. He wasn't a great driver, but managed to get us to Lourdes where the views were beginning to become magnificent. In the Carrefour grocery store parking lot he dropped us off in, we had a view of this cliff face very nearby:
Shortly afterwards, our host Simon came and picked us up, but more on him later. He drove us to a couple stores where he needed a few things, and in about 45 minutes we were at our destination. We met our host Suzanne and she led us to our apartment which is one of 5 that are available for people on holiday to pay and stay at. We've got our own kitchen, couch, TV, bathroom, and bed. The accommodations here are phenomenal, which is the one area where Denis and Perrine lacked.
We've only been working two days here, but so far so good. We've stacked a bunch of wood, cleaned an apartment that will be used on Saturday, and opened a ton of beans that they bought. There is also everyday work, like looking after the chickens, taking care of the dishes, setting the table, and clearing it at dinner. We're expected to work 6 hours a day 5 days a week which takes some getting used to after only working about 4 with Denis and Perrine.
As I write this on Thursday night I'm in bed with a head cold. I managed 4 hours of work today but was getting too foggy and weak. At first I suspected I was feeling this way because they have cats and I'm allergic, but it turned into a full blown cold. Now my theory is that my immune system was compromised on my last couple days at Denis and Perrine's. In the south of France is some regions there is a species of mite/chigger that becomes a nuisance around this time of year. There were also many ants that bit me when I was working on firewood with Denis and Tawnie. In total between the mites and ants I probably got 50 bites in the course of 2 or 3 days. I have no idea if my theory is right, or why it even matters I figure out how I became sick, but when you're sick you have plenty of time to think.
Anyways, I'm taking a day off tomorrow to try to get over this cold. I'll try to put up a post about my hosts in-between movies I binge tomorrow. As a sneak peak, I'll tell you that I like them less than Denis and Perrine, but more than our first hosts. Coincidentally, I could say that about 95% of the people I know.
I'll leave you with this picture. It doesn't do the views justice - I'm not happy with the lighting - so I'll do better when I'm feeling better.
With heavy hearts Denis dropped us off in downtown Saint Antonin Noble Val. His buddy Pierre met us and drove us to Toulouse. I was sad, but excited to see Toulouse and the pink bricks that are often talked about among the French. Unfortunately, to us the bricks looked pretty standard. The city felt a bit dirty and on the way to being broken down and dilapidated looking. However, only once did we feel a little unsafe, and that mostly had to do with the fact that we had our packs with all our stuff with us. But, we were fine.
After 4 hours of walking around and eating at a bakery we met a blablacar that took us to Lourdes. The driver was an 18 year old that was in school to be a chef. He wasn't a great driver, but managed to get us to Lourdes where the views were beginning to become magnificent. In the Carrefour grocery store parking lot he dropped us off in, we had a view of this cliff face very nearby:
Shortly afterwards, our host Simon came and picked us up, but more on him later. He drove us to a couple stores where he needed a few things, and in about 45 minutes we were at our destination. We met our host Suzanne and she led us to our apartment which is one of 5 that are available for people on holiday to pay and stay at. We've got our own kitchen, couch, TV, bathroom, and bed. The accommodations here are phenomenal, which is the one area where Denis and Perrine lacked.
We've only been working two days here, but so far so good. We've stacked a bunch of wood, cleaned an apartment that will be used on Saturday, and opened a ton of beans that they bought. There is also everyday work, like looking after the chickens, taking care of the dishes, setting the table, and clearing it at dinner. We're expected to work 6 hours a day 5 days a week which takes some getting used to after only working about 4 with Denis and Perrine.
As I write this on Thursday night I'm in bed with a head cold. I managed 4 hours of work today but was getting too foggy and weak. At first I suspected I was feeling this way because they have cats and I'm allergic, but it turned into a full blown cold. Now my theory is that my immune system was compromised on my last couple days at Denis and Perrine's. In the south of France is some regions there is a species of mite/chigger that becomes a nuisance around this time of year. There were also many ants that bit me when I was working on firewood with Denis and Tawnie. In total between the mites and ants I probably got 50 bites in the course of 2 or 3 days. I have no idea if my theory is right, or why it even matters I figure out how I became sick, but when you're sick you have plenty of time to think.
Anyways, I'm taking a day off tomorrow to try to get over this cold. I'll try to put up a post about my hosts in-between movies I binge tomorrow. As a sneak peak, I'll tell you that I like them less than Denis and Perrine, but more than our first hosts. Coincidentally, I could say that about 95% of the people I know.
I'll leave you with this picture. It doesn't do the views justice - I'm not happy with the lighting - so I'll do better when I'm feeling better.
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