Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
24 Nov 2024
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Details
Description
Chris and Maggie live in a 1970's villa, outside a small town (population 1700). The house sits alone in the centre of the old chateau park, completely walled. The house is comfortable, on two floors, with a kitchen upstairs and downstairs. There is also a home cinema. The house benefits from full central heating from a heat pump and there are solar panels on the roof.
The garden is well established, with old trees, some lawn and some fruit trees. There is also a swimming pool. A kitchen garden - potager - supplies us with a lot of our fruit and vegetables, some of which are grown in a large poly-tunnel. The garden requires maintenance but is not too difficult to manage.
There is a railway 15 kms away with direct trains to Toulouse and Narbonne, where you can pick up the TGV. We are both sociable people, taking great enjoyment from cooking and eating, good conversation. We keep up with friends throughout the world using the internet and we both have a wide range of interests.
We are internationalist in outlook and our family members speak a wide variety of languages - English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. We also have friends who speak eastern European languages.
There is a separate living space in the house available for workawayers. It's comfortable and private, suitable for two people and a child.
We are particularly interested in hosting Spanish workawayers because we want to improve our Spanish language skills!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
As we explain in our profile, we are ourselves well travelled, in Europe, central America, Africa (where Chris was once a volunteer), India, East Asia, including China, Australia and New Zealand. Our outlook is international - as British nationals, we are deeply disheartened by the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the community of European nations. In the past we have hosted people from Estonia, Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK. Anyone who comes here will find a couple more than willing to share their own stories and experiences of travel, pass on advice and even suggest people they might link up with when they move on. We also have modern circus in the family and have hosted jugglers, acrobats and clowns in the past. They are always welcome here but bring your own big top.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We'd like to host people who enjoy gardening, maybe decorating and doing some maintenance tasks and are happy to join in generally with the life of the house.
We are both very keen cooks and have a well equipped kitchen downstairs and a smaller one upstairs. We are always interested in learning new styles of food. We would welcome volunteers with good cooking ability and a strong interest in food, particularly our regional ingredients.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
We are comfortable in English and French. We also speak intermediate Spanish, learned on our travels in central America, particularly Nicaragua, where we used to have a charity supporting women and children.
Accommodation
We can offer two separate, double bedrooms with their own bathroom. The house has central heating. There is cable TV and a high standard of comfort. The house is non-smoking inside.
What else ...
The countryside around Olonzac is beautiful. Our house is surrounded by vineyards. The village itself is based on a Roman settlement but little from that period remains, so the village is mostly medieval to modern. There are shops, a cafe and restaurant and on Tuesdays there is an extensive market for local produce. Four kms away is the Montagne Noire and we are 50 minutes by car from the Mediterranean. The Canal du Midi is three kms away. The towns of Narbonne and Beziers are well worth visiting. From Lezignan, 15 minutes by car away, there is a regular train service to Toulouse and Narbonne. We have a selection of guidebooks and leaflets to lend.
We normally suggest that volunteers come for two or three weeks only. We are not able to host people for long periods.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Our fibre internet connection is fast.
Space for parking camper vans
There is parking nearby for a camper van.
Can possibly accept pets
We have a very old cat so would prefer our workawayers not to have dogs or cats.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
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