house sitting – Page 5

Greece Is The Word

Published on February 10, 2020February 22, 2020 by kiwisdofly25 Comments

Sitting here at Athens airport waiting on the flight to Rome, I am filled with conflicting emotion. We have really fallen for Greece, both the islands of Leros and Crete, our two wonderful islands in the sun with the most friendly people. But we can’t be too sad because we are off to another adventure, with new people, food and paces to explore.

Crete has been a lot of fun! We have to remember that it is winter here so it can be a bit slower than it is in the summer months, though the weather is still very agreeable. We had sunshine most days and the island looked so wonderful and bright, temps got up to 19° C so very pleasant indeed.

We flew into Chania and stayed for 5 nights. We had a room right on the water-front, the location was amazing with a little deck looking out to sea. The evenings were a bit cool to sit out there for long, but we did our best!

Chania has an old Venetian port and a walled city. The old town was so cute with its narrow streets and wonky buildings. But the most amazing thing we found was the mountains behind. We met a lovely lady in Leros who said, don’t forget to look behind you when you are in Chania, the mountains are amazing. She didn’t tell us that they would be covered in snow and be quite so spectacular, she wanted that to be a surprise, and a surprise it was! You could be forgiven to think you were somewhere like Switzerland, the sight caught our breath every time we looked behind us! You felt like you could almost reach out and touch them!

We did a lot of walking in Chania, but that is easy, everything is in walking distance. And if it is not then the bus system is very efficient. Though we did always seem to be the last people on the bus! Again, a lot of English is spoken so that makes a huge difference.

We took a bus out to Souda Bay one afternoon and then walked the 2 km to the war graves cemetery. During the battle of Crete in 1941, 1000’s of brave New Zealand, Australian and British soldiers were killed. It was a very emotional place, we both felt bewildered when we saw the shear number of silver fern gravestones. Of the 1527 graves, 446 were New Zealanders, that is almost a third. This is the biggest war cemetery we have seen. We were there until twilight, it was very moving.

Leaving the cemetery we found a small local restaurant, not so much English here! We were shown the food which had been cooked and chose what we wanted, delicious beef with tomato sauce. Such friendly, hospitable people. That is a big part of what we love about Greece, the people!! Just amazing.

We took a trip out to Maleme which was the location of a huge battle during the war. The air strip there was a target to control and the battle went for days. We walked through the olive groves and came to the German war cemetery, we were glad to pay respect to these fallen soldiers too, they also had heavy losses.

A trip out to Galatas, Where New Zealand soldiers made a stand and held the Germans off while the Allies could escape. So well the kiwis were thought of, that the locals named a street after them! We have read so many stories of bravery by our boys. It is so important to remember the sacrifices these family’s made for us to live in the world we live today.

One particular story really touched me, of a soldier from the Maori Battalion. After 7 days of fighting near Souda Bay, they were exhausted and hungry, the Germans were approaching from the west. As they made contact, Private Aupouri ran out from his defence position wielding a Bren gun like a Taiaha (Traditional Maori spear) And did the Haka! (Traditional Maori war dance) at this they all rose up, NZ and Australian, yelling defiantly and charged as one. The Germans fled, overwhelmed by the ferocity of the attack! For 1000m they pushed them back through the olive grove to open ground then withdrew back to their defence position at “42nd street” This temporarily delayed the advance and allowed 1000’s of Allies more time to get across the White mountain range to the evacuation point on the south of the island. Very sad to note that Aupouri survived the charge but was later killed in Egypt.

I am certain there are many many more stories of tremendous bravery, on all sides, stories that will never be told, very sad.

Did you know …. The Greeks have been Mariners for around 6000 years! Unbelievable!

Heraklion was a great surprise, what a lovely city! Big modern city but very much still village like. Many narrow streets with cobble paths but also lots of open spaces, squares and parks. There is a great atmosphere, so many cafes and restaurants and lots of people socialising, and believe it or not, usually drinking coffee day and night! They love iced coffee or frappe as they call it. Heraklion also has a Venetian harbour with a harbour wall which stretches out 2.5kms, which we did walk one afternoon. There are many monuments and historical buildings.

There doesn’t seem to be as many buildings in bad repair as in Chania, maybe just more re-building done. There are a lot of derelict buildings in Chania. We also noticed that in Leros and read that a lot of the houses that were destroyed during the war were never re-built.

The archaeological museum in Heraklion and the Knossos palace are worth a visit. The Minoan people of around 2500 – 1600BC were believed to be the first great civilisation of Europe, a really advanced race and it is not really known what happened to them. They have found so much evidence of their existence which is fascinating. Mythology and history do overlap a bit and in the museum there is a family tree of the God Zeus. The ruins of Knossos Palace is incredible, the work that has been done from the late 1800’s through to today, to uncover all the artifices and foundations of this amazing settlement is incredible. There is a theory that around 1600BC, a massive earthquake shook the island of Santorini which caused a tsunami which was large enough to wipe out all the Minoan cities throughout the region, but this is not proven. It is even suggested that this civilisation was in fact Plato’s Atlantis……

227 of the 6000 Greek islands are inhabited! Google says “a truly unique phenomenon!”
We have been to two!

We found Greece to be The land of wonderful clear air, beautiful friendly people and deliciously fresh food! We look forward to coming back!

When In Rome….

Published on January 25, 2020April 2, 2022 by kiwisdofly22 Comments

A huge part of what I love about travelling is experiencing the different cuisines. I have become a lot braver in recent years and have started ordering things which I have no idea what they will be when they get to the table. The other night at Moranos, our favourite cafe bar, I asked the waitress what Soutzoukakia was. She had limited English and wasn’t able to explain, but she did say that it was “beautiful” so if it is beautiful then surely worthy of a try. It was really good! Meatballs – long sausage shaped meatballs, with the most amazing thick sweet tangy tomato sauce.

With us being in house sitting mode, we can’t pretend that we are on holiday constantly – Oh wouldn’t that be great though? Unfortunately the funds wouldn’t stretch to that luxury! So trips to the supermarket each week is the normal for us – just like home. But it is not a hardship! It’s like a tourist attraction for us, the humble trip to the supermarket! We just love looking at all the different things on the shelf, the fresh produce department, the meats, cheese, bread, spices, even the canned goods! The beautiful mouth-watering cakes and then the weird and wonderful things that we can’t even start to guess at what they could be! Sometimes it’s hard to work out what things actually are, and good ole google translate comes in handy. We love seeing things which are common for us but are in a different language. In France we were quite regularly “Missing In Action” – just at the Intermarche AGAIN!

It is funny how we seem to slot into using the food which is usual in the country we are in. While in France, we always had cheese and bread. Almost every meal had a cheese and bread component, even though I felt I was cooking similar to home. Now in Greece we are favouring the locally eaten produce. I am fascinated because this has not been a conscious decision, it seems to have just happened. So here in Greece we are living on pita bread and hummus, tomatoes, feta and olive oil, and drinking Ouzo (anise flavoured aperitif). The fresh produce here is outstanding and so reasonably priced. Tomatoes like you have never tasted before! We bought butter the first week and have hardly touched it, yet in France we were going through it like crazy – nothing beats a fresh baguette with butter, so simple yet so divine! I suppose it all depends on what is available.

In Asia we ate out almost all the time, it is so cheap that it was almost not worth cooking at home, and boy can they get the flavours right, so much better than anything I could cook at home! But this didnt stop our trips to the supermarket. Probably the most fascinating grocery shelves we have seen. Oh and the food markets in Asia – WOW, so much to see and smell! Little lady sitting cross legged on the bench chopping meat, with the biggest cleaver, in front of her while babies sleep behind her, chickens with heads, chickens with no heads, live, unrecognisable seafood in buckets swimming on top of each other, little girls selling plates of dried crickets and grasshoppery looking bugs! Its a feast of all the senses.

Some of the house sits we have done in Asia have had quite primitive cooking facilities, so eating out has been a good option. But at USD$1.50 for 2 fried eggs on toast with coffee, or $2 for a bowl of stir fried veg, who wouldn’t. It is such a social thing too, the motorbike kitchens all gather in the same area and start cooking, you sit on tiny child sized plastic chairs, or on mats on the ground, and all sit around eating and laughing and being together. So cool!!

Eating on the street in Cambodia

Brazil! Brazil was the carnivores dream! Meat meat and more meat! All you can eat meat! Yumm. 600g streak. Pork roasted, stewed, chops, ribs ….. burgers and more burgers. We did miss the fresh veg and salad there but hey! When in rome! Delicious! And we drank Cachaca! (fermented sugarcane juice – blows your head off)

Italy next….what’s the bet we end up cooking a lot of pasta!! And will no doubt drink Limoncello!

Eating is really one of life’s greatest pleasures, and discovering the various cuisines from different countries is a huge part of our journey. Bon Appetit!,

And best of all – the Home Grown, from the Chateau garden in France

Its a War Zone!

Published on January 16, 2020January 7, 2024 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

It literally is! or at least was – Leros was heavily attacked and defended during WWII. This is a fact that neither of us knew until we arrived here. The Battle of Leros in 1943 was one of great significance in the war and there is so much evidence right in front of our eyes. Chris is really good at all the details, and spends a lot of time researching. What he is finding is there are details of battles and fortifications, but they talk about locations which must have been locally named at the time as it is almost impossible to find the places on our modern day maps. Everywhere you go though, there is something. There is hardly anywhere on this island that is untouched. This is the second most bombed island of the Greek Islands after Crete.

The Battle of Leros was a bit of a disaster, just like Crete. The Italians occupied Leros from 1912 and surrendered in September 1943 to the British. Between September – November, 190 German air raids took place and caused major destruction. The British and Italian defended but had no air support so were bombed to smithereens. Between our place at Gourna Bay and Alinda, in the small gap of 1.5km, is where, we believe, the German paratroopers landed, and with their sea support, effectively cut the island in half. Six days later the British surrender.

Up in the North there is a site where you can easily see the trenches as well as the bunkers. It is so rocky and harsh, I try to imagine what it was like back then when they were under attack. Its hard going walking over the rough ground and I imagine the soldiers, fully kitted up, diving for cover. This area probably looked the same back then and I feel that what I see, they must have seen, its very airy. But now, you can see the bomb craters, evidence of how it was, it must have been so terrifying.

On the West past Lakki there are many many tunnels still accessible. A lot are shelters for the goats now. They all link up and are part of a huge bunker system. There are still ruins of barracks and warehouses. Up there is the remains of one the last 2 parabolic listening walls in Europe.

Right in the middle of the island there is a site with abandoned buildings and you can clearly see the mess room, bunk rooms with lockers. There are basketball courts and social areas. We think it was occupied by Italians, it must have been like a whole town up there!

On every high point there are more bunkers and gun emplacements/batteries. If the concrete housing has gone, you can still see the circle of bolts which held the gun down. Some are completely smashed up and others are very well preserved. Even in the towns, just along the normal everyday road, there are bunkers. We are always amazed when we see another one, we have lost count of how many we have seen!

Lakki harbour is the deepest in southern Europe and this is where Mussolini set up the Italian Royal Navy base. The harbour was heavily fortified with double booms across the narrow entrance and batteries defending it on each side. I have read about submarine nets around too. The sea all around the island is littered with wrecks of ships and airplanes, it really is a living museum. So many lost their lives here. We believe there were over 80 Kiwi special forces deployed here but only half have been accounted for. We have been to the war graves cemetery but no sign of our brave Kiwi boys.

We spend a lot of time wandering around these sites. The Italians were building these bunkers for many years before the war even started, they had occupied Leros for 30 years and knew that someone would be along at some point to try to take it off them – and they did. Quite often there will be a chapel built near where bunkers are, it is nice to be able to go in and light a candle for the fallen soldiers. There are many war relics still to be found all over this island. We are finding various pieces of metal and wonder what they are from, most likely shrapnel. Chris is doing a bit of snorkelling and comes up with bits a pieces most dives. A lot of bullets, some have been fired, some not. The whole of Leros was bombed to bits. Its fascinating and very tragic.

Leros has a very long and complicated history, an incredibly interesting place. Nowadays she is a sleepy, peaceful island with beautiful people. Today, 8000 permanent residents, 1943 there were 25000 people on the island, it’s hard to imagine what it was like.

Did you know

The story of the famous novel “Guns of Navarone” is based on the Battle of Leros, and Leros island’s coastal artillery guns — among the largest naval artillery guns used during World War II — that were built and used by the Italians until Italy capitulated in 1943 and subsequently used by the Germans until their defeat.

This is our Island in the Sun

Published on January 8, 2020January 16, 2020 by kiwisdofly24 Comments

Well not quite! This is Leros Island in the Dodecanese group of Greece Islands and it is winter! January and the temperatures are around 11-15 daytime dropping to the lowest so far of 7 at night, so not really too bad. A lot of rain though and very windy. We watch from our house the 7 wind turbines as they turn and think of all the electricity they are producing for this tiny island. 54 km/sq, 15 km long and only 1.5 km across at the narrowest point with only 8000 permanent residents. It is about a third of the size of Vieques, where we house sat for 5 months in 2017. We seem to be attracted to islands! This is our 4^th island housesit!

Like sitting on top of the world! My beautiful daughter Leigh-Ann came to visit

The terrain is very hilly, though if you Google Leros you will be told that it is a relatively flat island perfect for cycling and walking! Hmmm, we get a different view, but, the highest point is only 320m. I am thinking that because it is so small, makes it very steep to get up to those high points.

The island is steeped in history, from the ruins of the temple of the Goddess Artemis, which dates back to 3rd-4th c BC to WWII bunkers and war remnants everywhere we go. We are very lucky to have a car so have taken full advantage to orientate ourselves with the island and are now getting out on foot to explore even more. I am so taken with the little chapels everywhere, they are immaculately kept and are all open and inviting. There is an opportunity to light a candle which brings a lovely feeling of peace. Quite often we are finding that at each site of these lovely chapels, there are also some WWII bunkers or tunnels. Even just along some of the roads we see evidence of the second most bombed Greek island after Crete.

So hiking around the many peaks of Leros is really interesting. Something to see on every corner. And the scenery is stunning. Though it is winter and we have had a few hearty storms and overcast days, we have also had a few days of stunning blue sky and Leros just comes alive! It is very green in places, but we find this is from the weed Oxalis which is everywhere, and very barren in others. Some of the hills look like they are from the moon or the desert, so rocky and very harsh. Perfect for the 1000’s of goats, each with a bell!, I love hearing the goats everywhere, to me its the sound of Greece. From most of the peaks you can see every corner of the island, 360° views, therefore, seeing all coasts at the same time.

You can see the whole island from some points

The stunning Castle of Panagia in the East, seems to overlook the whole island. At night she is lit up and almost looks to be floating above Platanos. I believe it is not clear when the castle was first built but there are indications that she existed in 1087. You can walk the 365 steps through the winding streets and onto the hill to get to her. On the way you pass the lovely Prophet Elias Church. The vista is breath taking! The castle was used by the Italians as barracks and a lookout post during WWII. We have been up a couple of times, the view from the top is quite incredible, but unfortunately with it being winter, it is closed to go inside.

Castle of Panagia and traditional windmills

Right opposite the castle are the traditional windmills. They are so picturesque and you will find them on a lot of google searches of Leros and also souvenirs. Many around the island have been restored and some are now guest houses, but were used primarily to grind grain. It is hard to find information on some of these things, its as if it is just here…. No explanation or reason….it just is.

The Church Agios Isidoros is another Leros icon. She is pretty special! She has her own island and you have to get your timing right to get out to her. The path is very slippery and the waves crash over it most of the time. Again, so picturesque! And especially stunning when the sun comes out. We can see her from our “home” in Gourna Bay.

There are a few museums on the island which we would love to see but again they are closed as it is winter. This is a common theme on the Greek Islands. This goes with the many restaurants as well, a lot will only be open in summer.

Leronians are so friendly! We are so lucky that most people speak a good amount of English, we did think we were in for a tough time with Greek as the local language, but not so. Everyone here has a Hello or “Kalimera” and big smiles, nothing is too much trouble. We are slowly getting used to the “Mediterranean” thing when eating out, being fed more and more food, extra food besides what you have ordered if you have ordered any, that you don’t have to pay for! Its incredible, we can go to the café at the bottom of the drive and buy a beer and get a platter of food, then get a couple of wines and get another platter of food, then finish with an oyzo and get more food, without paying for one bite. We go in for a sundowner and come out fully stuffed thinking “well that was dinner” We feel a little embarrassed but on talking to others, it is just the way of things in Greece. The people are just so hospitable. And you always get a cake or biscuit with a coffee, it is so lovely.

Such a lovely place! Great people, great food, we kinda like this little island in the sun!

Λέρος, ευχαριστούμε που μας έχεις

Leros, thank you for having us

We are off to Greece!

Published on December 24, 2019 by kiwisdofly22 Comments

We are off to our next house sit location – Island of Leros, Greece. It will be very sad saying goodbye to France and our wonderful hosts Marie-Laure and Arnaud. Our time in France has been an incredible experience, we have been exposed to so many new things and learnt so much, and best of all, made wonderful new friends. We will definitely be back!

So off to Greece! We fly out of Charles De Gaulle so booked a train with enough time for check in etc but the French rail workers have decided to go on strike right at this moment. This strike is looking like it wont be resolved any time soon. The train is too much of a risk so we cancel that and book a private bus. On the day of travel (Wednesday), the strike is still in full force and it is causing havoc on the roads in and around Paris. This was one report …

On the roads in and around the city traffic is likely to be bad again, recent days have seen traffic jams of up to 600 km at rush hour in the greater Paris area.
And anyone driving in France is advised to be aware that blockades are continuing at seven of France’s eight oil depots, meaning that many petrol stations are running dry.
In the air things have improved with fewer cancellations and most services running, however there is likely to be some knock-on effects after 20 percent of services were cancelled on Tuesday. Passengers are advised to check with their airline.
Reported night before travel

This will be an interesting and a bit stressful trip. We have 3.5 hours from arrival on the bus to take off, so even if we get held up for 2 hours we should still have time.

As we travel, we watch the GPS closely and things are going good. We get to 7 km from CDG and have not been held up, so we know that even if the worst happens, we can walk from here and still make the flight! But we didn’t need to worry, we count the kilometres down. We had no hold ups and got to the airport exactly on time! So early in fact, that we couldn’t check in our bags! Oh well, better this than the alternative. What a relief!

Hanging out at Athens airport – all a bit tired!

We get to Athens at midnight and meet up with the two Mexican girls we had met in France. Vale and Laura have been at the airport since 6 this evening. We couldn’t believe it when we met 2 months ago that we would be at Athens airport on the same night, so this meeting was pre-arranged. It was so good to catch up with these two lovely girls!

By about 3am we were feeling exhausted so went to find a place to sleep. Athens airport is not the best for overnighting in. There are almost no seats without arms in the middle. There were plenty of people staying all night though so quite noisy too. We said goodbye to the girls (they were flying back to Mexico at 0600) and found a place a bit out of the way and tried to sleep. By 0500 we gave up and found coffee and a pie! Yes a pie – though be it spinach and cheese rather than mince and cheese – a pie no less, haven’t had one of those for months!

We get to Leros at 11am and were met by Michael, our next house owner. He takes us for a “tiki tour” of the island and introduces us to a few people, a couple of cafes and the laundromat etc. This place looks amazing, I think we are going to like it here! We get home and are introduced to our temporary furry family and our home for the next 6 weeks.

Out for dinner for a typical Greek meal and a trial of the local wine, Retsina, oh yes, this is going to be good! Grab a few groceries and home to bed. Its been a big day!

Big adventures to come as we get out to explore this beautiful island.

My Favourite Travel Picture Challenge

Published on December 5, 2019 by kiwisdofly22 Comments

I was nominated by a lovely lady, Rachael, to post on facebook, 1 of my favourite travel photos every day for 10 days. A photo which has had an impact on me, post it with no explanation and nominate another person for the challenge. It was great fun going through my photos and trying to pick the favourites. As I am traveling still, I dont have many years of photos with me, but I was creative with my searches and came up with these, with explanations!

Day 1.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We house sat in Phnom Penh for 1 month November 2017. Cambodian men dont seem to mind peeing anywhere! Usually it is up against a wall, so this was a bit out of the ordinary, but a common occurrence this all the same. I chose this as a bit of a cheeky shot for Jacqui who we met there. She noticed it too and said she would make it a game each day and count how many she saw in a day! Not sure what the most in 1 day was, but given what I saw, it would have been many – Jacqui was my first nomination. Check out her blog Jacq The Tripper http://www.jacquirawson.org/

Day 2

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

A holiday in Vietnam August 2016. This is an incredibly vibrant city. Venture out on the city streets and its BOOM! Sensory overload! There is noise, colour, smells. There are motorbikes everywhere fully overloaded, zooming in and out of the traffic, total organised chaos! I loved these two, taking time out from their busy day in amongst the chaos. Always amazes me how much they can fit onboard, awesome!

Day 3

Cadouin, France

This is a new shot, only taken in November 2019 while house sitting in France. I spent a day with a dear friend from long ago, Tricia, and she took me to this stunning village. This could be my favourite photo of France, I fell in love with the Dordogne, the pretty villages and friendly people and this reminds me of a wonderful day, I feel peaceful when I look at it

Day 4

Ghent, Belgium

A holiday in Belgium July 2013. I have to confess I did not take this photo, Chris did. He had a trip to Belgium on a Kiwi Fruit boat and convinced me to come out and meet him. He sent me this photo to show how nice it was, so I went with 3 days notice. He took me back to this very spot a week later, we sat in the same chairs, under the same castle and drank Goliath, that was the beginning of a fantastic holiday!

Day 5

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

We house sat for 5 months in Puerto Rico during 2017. Friends were traveling through Puerto Rico from Cuba onto a cruise ship. We left our island of Vieques and met them for 2 nights. We were so taken with Old San Juan. It is a beautiful old town. The people are super friendly, beautiful buildings, cobble streets, ceramic tiles, wonderful colours, GREAT music! Fantastic mini break!

Day 6

Rabbit Island, Cambodia

Chris and I house sat in Kampot, Cambodia for a month in December 2017. My dear friend Karen came to join us for Christmas. We left Chris looking after the pets and had 3 days on Rabbit Island. We stayed in a hut on the beach, it was freezing! We couldn’t believe how cold it was. These two cuties lived on the island, they were adorable, sharing a pair of jandals, too cute not to take a photo. We left the island a day early and booked into a good hotel in Kep, great fun!

Day 7

Waterford, Maine, USA

October 2017, after house sitting in Puerto Rico we ended up in Maine, almost by accident – we are so glad we did! Maine in the fall! STUNNING, the colours of the tree fall was out of this world. We spent 10 days with our wonderful Vieques Home Owners, Bob and Lou. We never expected to go to the States at all, and this part of our adventures has become a favourite and we are looking forward to going back one day. We met and got to know some wonderful people through this part of our journey, great memories!

Day 8

Lost, Scotland

OMG I dug this one out of the archives, yes there is a place called Lost in Scotland! I lived in Scotland for 8 years from 1990. My old school friend Sheryl came to visit in, around, 1992 or 93, she was staying in London at the time. I think we found this totally by chance. No GPS or cell phones in those days! Great fun and wonderful lifetime friendship which goes back to primary school. This photo screams to me – 90’s Kiwi OE! LOVE IT!

Day 9

Ha’apai, Tonga

And there has to be a sunset! We have seen some stunning sunsets in different parts of the world, but this one is up there with the best! Chris sailed up to Tonga from NZ in May 2010. I met him off the boat in the Ha’apai island group for a weeks holiday. We were having a drink at the bar when someone said “man you should see the sunset!” We all rushed out and this is what we saw. I promise there is no filter or adjustment to this shot, this is exactly what it was like. Stunning!

Day 10

Hahei, New Zealand

Cant have travel photos without a photo of travel at home. New Zealand is a wonderful country and when we came back after a year of travel in 2018, we saw our own country with fresh eyes. We may not have the history of Europe or the speed of Asia, but New Zealand has the most wonderful people, stunning scenery and our own very special history, not so very ancient, but very special all the same, all wrapped up in a time package a long way from anywhere else. I am so proud to be a Kiwi. This photo is my home – it says “home” to me

A Day in the Dordogne

Published on November 23, 2019November 26, 2019 by kiwisdofly22 Comments

So I am sitting here at the Gare or train station at Lebourne. I am 1.5 hours from home. I have just spent 2 nights with a dear friend Tricia and her husband Berjen, at their “home away from home” in Beaumont de Perigord. It is fascinating being here with lots of people around speaking French, people watching…… but I can’t eavesdrop on any conversations, it’s a true reminder that I am in fact, in France!

Just had a very interesting encounter with a young woman who was sitting beside me at the station, she was talking on her phone. When she hung up she jumped up and down and was clearly excited and started talking to me, telling me her obviously great news and all I could do was smile and say “I am sorry, I don’t speak French”. She didn’t get put off by my non-responsive response and explained some more, so, not to disappoint I said “yaaaa! So cool!!! ” she said “oui” then hugged me! Then offered me a cookie and then Bounced off – quite bizarre, but I feel very honoured to have been part of it! So cute!

Tricia and I, we met through a wonderful mutual friend, Karen, in 1992

The Dordogne is a beautiful area. The afternoon I arrived I went for a walk around the village of Beaumont. I don’t think I will ever tire of these beautiful villages with buildings dating back hundreds of years. The narrow streets and cobblestones, the ornate shutters on every window, the solid wooden doors with iron work or carvings, massive door handles and locks or tiny doors for the smaller people of the time. A lot of the villages in this region are Bastide villages, they all have a covered in central place in the square where villagers meet to socialise, dates back to medieval times 13^th and 14^th century, it’s so lovely.

Such a pretty village, Beaumont du Perigord

The next day Tricia took me for a tour around the area, oh WOW, such a beautiful part of the world. A lot hillier than where we are staying further north. Each village we went to was amazing and had its own special magic.

First was Cadouin. A huge Abbey right in the middle of town. How and why they built the churches and Abbeys this size for the amount of people around is staggering. Impressive door-way, as they often are, sure makes a statement. We went inside and felt the peace. The floor in parts was pushed up as if an earthquake, this building would have seen a thing or two in its 900 years life!!!!!

Next, Le Bugue, great little village on the river Vezere which comes off the Dordogne. There was a market just closing up in the square by the river when we arrived. Fresh fish, veg, cheese, meat, bread – oh boy! The French really know how to do their markets. You could go to a market every day of the week if you travelled just a few kilometres, there is always somewhere having a market – its great! Another really cute place. Tricia said each time we moved to the next one, “oh you will like the next one its beautiful” I was quietly thinking to myself that it doesn’t get any better than this!

Our next place, Les Eyzies, was something else, so different from anything I have seen so far, the terrain and rock formations were indescribable. This was an area of the Troglodyte, the people before people! How amazing is that. In March 1868, a geologist discovered the first five skeletons of Cro-Magnons, the earliest known examples of Homo sapiens. People would build houses into the rocks, and that was their homes. We walked along a small road as far as we could to see the rocks right up close. They are all different colours and completely over hanging the homes beneath, it’s a wonder they never fall down.

And then the jewel in the crown of our day, Beynac, with more of the quaint stone houses, shutters, iron railings, beautiful lamps, but this village is built as if a fortress, extending back and up a slope, up up up she goes to an awesome castle! We find the track and head up on foot. This would have been the main road up to the castle back in the day, narrow, winding and rough cobbles. Many houses on each side of the road, all so cute and very well maintained. Tricia said that these are mostly holiday rentals now days and being the off season would mostly be empty. We certainly felt that we had the place to ourselves! The view from up the top is outstanding. I can see 3 other chateaux, the beautiful Dordogne river winding past, green padlocks and the beautiful church belonging to the Castle. We look inside the castle, wow, you can just imagine the Knights coming in in their armour after battle. The kitchen table had slots at each end for them to put their swords safely into while having a meal, amazing!

Last village for the day, Belves. We have come here to see where Tricia and Berjen used to come for holidays. Another village built onto a hill, so stunning to see, impressive Abbey at one end overlooking and protecting, even if just spiritually, the whole village (see to photo) Signs saying XIc ,11th century throughout the village. I am in awe of the age and the fact that this was right here 100’s of years ago, it never ceases to amaze me! It’s been an incredible day, thank you Tricia!

What a trip, a great catch up with an old friend, as well as the stunning Dordogne! There was so much fun and laughter of old times and new, many bottles of wine and loads of cheese, olives and pizza – yes pizza! The sun came out to show the place off at its best. AND I didn’t miss the train, or even get on the wrong train! Arrrrr, I DO love France!

Our Fairy Tale in France

Published on November 15, 2019April 2, 2022 by kiwisdofly26 Comments

We have been here for about 7 weeks now and we are loving every minute! We will be here for 11 weeks all together. This is a really cool house sit, very different from any we have done before. We are at a Chateau in the Loire valley, outside a small village near Chatellerault. We arrived by fast train, the TGV, it travels at about 300 km/hr, though you would never know when you are on it. We flew from Brazil to Portugal, then to Orly, got a bus into central Paris where we got the train south. It was a pretty long day all up, but worth the effort ––

We are now in Europe!!

The Farm House – its like our own little castle

We were picked up by the previous house sitters, who were leaving the next morning. The property has a main house, a gate house and a farm house, along with many other out buildings, an orangery, barns, workshops, garages, wells and caves. We are staying in the farm house. There was a meal waiting for us of traditional Confit de Canard – OMG SO GOOD!! and a very welcoming bed! Our first mission was to take Greg and Nam to the train station in Poitiers the next morning at 0600, they were heading back to Australia. This was no bother for us as our body clocks were so screwed up, we didn’t really know which was up or which was down. In reality it was a real baptism of fire! Driving on the wrong side of the road, in the dark, no idea north from south, jet lagged! HA! Thank you google maps! We drove back very slowly concentrating so hard on keeping to the correct side of the road. We made it in one piece and as the sun comes up we see the beautiful place we have landed ourselves in. WOW this is like a fairy tale, – it’s a castle! A real castle and so beautiful. The weather is great, blue sky and pleasantly warm. I think we are going to be very happy here.

Our hosts are amazing, we have been welcomed in as part of the family. It is a privilege to be here and we feel so lucky to be able to have this opportunity. We are living in rural France, just like a local and are learning so much of the culture and lifestyle, the language and traditions. It is truly amazing, almost too good to be true! We help out on the estate, gardens, painting, collecting wood etc. It is a huge upkeep for a property this size and we are so glad to be able to help out. Of course there is wine and cheese to try on a fairly regular basis, all educational of course!

We were taken for a day at the local farmers market. A small town about 20kms from here has a huge market on the first Monday of the month. It was so much fun! Our lovely host took us which was great because he was able to explain a lot of things. I don’t think there is very much that you cannot get at this market! From pet rabbits to every variety of eating fowl, snails and eels to cakes and wine to lawn mowers and orchard trees. No beer tent like our markets in NZ – but a wine tent. The old boys there chatting, catching up with the last months gossip over a wee Rosé, this happens from 0630 by the way! The atmosphere is so friendly, everyone happy and glad to see everyone else. Crepes, cheese, garlic, sausages, everything you could imagine, its all here in abundance and so fresh and delicious. We got all sorts of wonderful things, 3 trips back to the car to unload! Then best of all back home to cook and sample our purchases for lunch. Our lunch menu today? Oysters, white wine and 1^st cut of wine (yes it’s a thing, not quite a fruit juice, not quite wine, prob about 3%) Boudin noir (French Black Pudding – soft velvety texture, nothing like our black pudding) with corn, fresh soft goats cheese and to finish, a local delicacy, the Tourteau Fromagé Which is a cake made with cheese and has a blackened top – looks like it has been left in the oven for too long. Delicious! How lucky are we to experience this! We are really pinching ourselves.

The history here is staggering! Coming from New Zealand, we don’t have the everyday appreciation of the history that is here in Europe. When you can walk down a cobble street and know that it was here, in this actual spot, 600 or 800 or more years ago – blows my mind. I always wish we could snap our fingers and be back there then – just to have a look and see what life was really like at that moment. But we have the history books, and we have Google, and we still have the buildings and the cobble streets so we can imagine, we can picture in our minds the life here. The things we see on TV, the movies etc, the things we think are just made up for impact are actually normal life here and we are loving being part of it. Buy a baguette every day – yes its normal! EVERYONE does it, Eat cheese at every meal – yes its normal, Have to navigate narrow country roads with blind corners and only room for 1 vehicle – yes just a normal day! We are not on a movie set, this is real and that is why we love it! These experiences are why we travel.

So, each day when we can, we walk to our local village and buy a baguette traditional. Chat to the lovely ladies at the wee café, sometimes have a coffee, then stroll back. We have a bit of a French lesson while there, it is hilarious, most people here do speak a bit of English and between hand gestures and puzzled looks, we seem to get the point across. We were doing pretty well in Brazil with our Portuguese, but French is eluding us a bit, the Portuguese has confused our mono-lingual brains – but we keep trying! Our fridge always has at least 3 different types of cheese and a typical lunch will be that beautifully fresh baguette, butter and cheese. Sometimes a bit of pate but that’s it. So simple yet so satisfyingly delicious. Our Friend Tricia, who lives in Holland, came to stay for a night and we had this discussion… what is it about France that all you need are the simple things? Is it because those simple things are so good? I don’t know, but it is so true. Evening meals are simple too, no plate filled to the brim of a multitude of flavours, just two things, two perfect things paired together to be amazing. Often there is more than one course though.

So to say we are loving France is somewhat of an understatement! Together with its beautiful countryside, wonderful people and stunning cuisine, we feel like we have died and gone to heaven! We are in a real life fairy tale, truly Amazing!

Lots more adventures in to come!!

The Story Of The Hurricane – Part 1

Published on October 5, 2019February 18, 2025 by kiwisdofly23 Comments

Chris and I spent 2017 house sitting, 5 months in Puerto Rico and 5 months in South East Asia. House sitting exposes you to many wonderful experiences, the people, the food, cultures, language etc etc Weather is one we don’t think of so much. We have never felt so hot in Puerto Rico for example and later this year we will possibly have snow as we are currently in Europe. It is all part of the experience of traveling around our amazing planet and you have to embrace all of the above. But, we have experienced a severe weather episode, not 1 but 2 hurricanes back to back – Irma and Maria, September 2017 – Puerto Rico. So while we get ourselves settled into life in France, I would like to share our Hurricane story. Pre Irma, Post Irma and Pre Maria, Post Maria then Our Evacuation, I hope you enjoy our story.

Pre-Irma

Vieques, beautiful Island to the East of Puerto Rico Main Island. 34km X 5km.

Written early September 2017. We are good, getting our heads around preparation for Hurricane Irma who is destined to cross our path in a couple of days. The Island is in preparation mode, the ferry service is being suspended on Tuesday and all the ferries will be taken around to San Juan for safe keeping, the airport will probably close as well. We don’t really know what we are in for. We are being advised by locals to be prepared, get food provisions in and collect/buy lots of water. The power will more than likely be turned off, before it gets cut off by the weather – this is less damaging to the system apparently. The supermarkets get stocked up on a Tuesday and often by Monday it is slim pickings in there anyway, so with this mass “buy lots of food” there will be nothing on the shelves. Also heard though, that they start giving frozen/refrigerated stuff away, like ice cream etc, if it looks like the power will go out. Happy days!!

We may get a bit of water in through our back door so we are going to make some sand bags up and Chris is going to dig a trench in preparation. At the moment they don’t know for sure if it will hit us directly. Some of the predicted paths show her coming right at us, some have her tracking North. Even if she tracks north, we will still get some impact being on the fringes. We will be ok here. we are in a really solid house. We know enough people here now too that if it is total devastation, we have places to go and people to take us there. We are certainly not alone.

We have a water collection drum from the roof for the garden, so that will be great. We have stocked up the freezer. We have gas cooking both upstairs and downstairs in the apartment. Our gas tanks are a bit exposed, if they blow away we have the downstairs ones as back up, we have loads of candles and vodka! We think we are ready. So funny though, we are off to the beach today! hard to believe what is coming.

Facebook post:
So we are in the path of hurricane Irma. She will hit in about 18 hours. Cat 5, record wind speed recorded with Jose right up Irma’s bum. 185 mph winds gusting to 225. We are well prepared – as much as hurricane virgins can be! Got the food, water, candles, torches, grab bag for evacuation. Our house is very secure, the power will be turned off, maybe even as soon as tonight. I will try to keep updated here for as long as I can. Xxx

During. This Hurricane was predicted as cat5, and they said it is the biggest in the area ever. So we were very concerned, in fact we are really scared. We have done lot of prep, we had several days to get prepared, so we feel we were in a good place. The wind started at 4am and got stronger and stronger. At times the wind is gusting so strong it makes us hold our breath… stop…. And wait… BREATH!! but it really isn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We have no power, so no news on what is actually happening out there. We have lots of food, we even have a roast chicken cooking, bottle of wine, candle light – its only 3:30 pm!! Giving us something to do to keep our minds off the howling wind outside. We cooked the roast in the oven downstairs as it has a manual temp dial. The one upstairs is all electric controls. We can manually light the hob, but not the oven. So Chris is the brave one! Up and down, in the rain, trying to stay on his feet, carrying trays of roast dinner! Late afternoon, she was getting a bit less intensity, or maybe we were just getting used the sound of the wind. We have been watching the palm trees and they are now blowing in the opposite direction – she must be passing! Blowing East, then North then West. When she swung around to the north we got water in the front doors and were on mop up duty for about an hour then she swung to the west and hammered the other side. We knew then that she was on her way! It was really fascinating seeing the change of wind direction as she progressed.

The house across from us has lost their veranda roof, it is still just hanging there from one corner, very lucky it didn’t go flying. There is no one home which is just as well, one of the uprights went through a window and they will have a lot of weather in there being on the west side.

So that was a Cat 5 hurricane – or was it? We didn’t know it at the time but there was worse to come, and…… is it the hurricane or the aftermath that is more dangerous?

Part 2 – Post Irma and Pre Maria – Next Week

#travel #hurricanemaria #hurricaneirma #survive #cat5 #vieques #puertorico #beautifulisland #hot #beach #survive