Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
23 Jan 2024
Reply rate
64.4 %
Usually responds within 12 days
Feedback
21
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
We are now good until January and will post our next openings as soon as we know our dates xx
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Hi there!
We are Hermine and Paul, a French-Irish couple who moved to the Matarrana region in August 2020 after living in Valencia and before that Bavaria, Germany.
We visited and lived in many different places before coming to Spain. Former Workawayers ourselves, we helped people in Spain, Italy, Germany, USA, Morocco… We enjoyed our time very much and are now happy to be hosts! We quit our jobs in 2019 and bought a 4 floor old town house in the cute village of La Fresneda (Teruel, Aragon) that we are almost done renovating.
We live there with our 3 rescue kitties (Tokio, Minky and Bombon) and the occasional foster kitten(s) from the local animal shelter where Hermine volunteers (currently Bilbo the black kitten)
The closest towns are Valderrobres, Alcaniz (Aragon), Tortosa and Tarragona (Cataluna). Barcelona airport is about 3 hours drive away. There is even a bus from our village La Fresneda to Barcelona. There are many hiking/cycling paths around, and the Natural Park of Els Ports (Beceite) is very close to us. Great area for hill walking, trail running or mountain biking!
THE HELP WE NEED:
We used to look for help with renovation projects, but now that the house is refurbished we are going to start travelling again... and will need loving petsitters for our cats!
The job is very simple:
Twice a day (when you wake up and then sometime between 17 and 20)
- Feed cats
- Refill water bowls
- Clean litter trays.
That's it!
And of course, pet them and play with them whenever you feel like it.
Bonus points if you water the few plants we have on the balcony.
WHAT WE PROVIDE:
A newly renovated house all for yourself! 2 double bedrooms (+ 2 single beds in the living room), bathroom with a nice hot shower, fully equipped kitchen with gas cooker and gas oven (and enough gas bottles for your stay), a balcony where you can have breakfast in the sun, a wood burning stove for the cool evenings, a washing machine, fast internet connection that enables work from home, Zoom calls and streaming. You are also welcome to borrow our 2 bikes and to use our car (Renault Kangoo) if you don't have your own. You will be able to use whatever food/condiments you find in the kitchen and will only need to buy the fresh products.
There's a little market in the village on Wednesdays, small Dia and Consum supermarkets in Valderrobres (15mins drive), a big Lidl and Alcampo in Alcaniz (25mins drive).
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
We are open to all profiles, no matter the age, race, background, language, gender, nationality, etc! We usually prefer hosting couples but it is not mandatory, we have had brilliant single helpers :) You only need to be a catloving person and speak some basic English or French or German or Spanish so that we can communicate with you while we're away.
WHEN:
We regularly go away for various lengths of time, anything between a week and a month at the moment. A week in September, another in November, probably a bit longer around Christmas time, and then again in Spring. We will update our profile every time we have a new opening.
Any questions, don't hesitate to contact us!
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Hermine & Paul
(and the cats)Types of help and learning opportunities
Animal CareHelp around the houseUN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are both open minded and eager to learn about other people's culture, way of life, language, cooking, experiences - even though we won't spend a lot of time together. You can use your stay to improve your Spanish with the friendly locals. There is always a lot happening in the village!
Help
See above:
Looking after our cats and try to keep our plants alive :)Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Italian: BeginnerAccommodation
The workawayers will have the whole house for themselves. It is on 4 floors:
Ground floor: toilets, washing machine, storage space
First floor: kitchen, balcony, living room, bathroom with shower and toilets
Second floor: 2 double bedrooms
Third floor: big attic (almost completely renovated)What else ...
You will have A LOT of free time that you could use to go hiking in the area (we can't recommend the national park of El Ports enough), go cycling, explore the medieval towns nearby, spend a day at the beach (less than a couple hours away), chill out at home, go for drinks and tapas in the local restaurants... In the summer months there is also a public swimming pool in the village (a few minutes walk away) that you can use for a small fee.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have fibre internet and it's been working quite well. We have Zoom calls and stream Netflix on a regular basis without problems.
Space for parking camper vans
There is public parking in the village where you can park your campervan.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
About an hour a day every day
Feedback (11)
Moreover, their house is super cozy and well-equipped. We had no problem with working… read more
They're very nice people, the communication was easy and they did an great job. Our house was clean when we returned, and all our cats loved them! We didn't spend much time together unfortunately, but enough to see that they are reliable,… read more
They are great to have around. They are interesting, smart, chilled out, open and very funny people. They are very sociable but… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
Moreover, their house is super cozy and well-equipped. We had no problem with working… read more
They're very nice people, the communication was easy and they did an great job. Our house was clean when we returned, and all our cats loved them! We didn't spend much time together unfortunately, but enough to see that they are reliable,… read more
They are great to have around. They are interesting, smart, chilled out, open and very funny people. They are very sociable but… read more
Firstly, thank you both for trusting us with your fur babies, your house and your car! We miss your cats so much! Bombon,… read more
We didn't get to meet them in person, but the communication with them was great and they did an amazing job. They took really good care of our house and plants, and I know our kitties were very well treated too.
We came back to a house that was… read more
The kitties absolutely loved her - she went above and beyond to make sure they were ok and did a lot more than what we… read more
The different facets of their… read more
We asked him to help us with some DIY on the first week (building and fitting shelves made of pallets in our shed).… read more
(If you like cats you are… read more
Amirlan impressed us with her brilliant work ethic, practicality and, last but not least, amazing cooking. She's hardworking, proactive and learns fast. Jack was not always as practical but would tackle every new task with enthusiasm and energy, even… read more
Both are easy going and nice to be around. They have a very positive mindset and are hard working.
They helped us in many tasks, from dry stone wall building in the heat, planting seeds, setting up a watering system in the vegetable garden, harvesting… read more
Sterre and Lucky were absolutely amazing workawayers. They achieved a lot in a couple weeks and we are very grateful they chose to stay at our place.
They are super reliable and can work autonomously - we asked them to rebuild a workshop on their own, using local material like wood and bamboo (caña)… read more
They made us feel welcomed from the beginning and are very kind and open people. They shared lots of stories about their many travel and workaway experiences, and how they broke out of the system, which we really enjoyed… read more
She's very easy going, nice to chat with and has a good sense of humour :)
It was no issue at all for her to adapt to our off grid lifestyle (saving water as much as possible, reducing use of electricity after nightfall...) She is also a hard worker and helped us so much… read more