What can I say, this workaway collaboration experience with Amanda was simply perfect and amazing, and now that she has left I would love for her to come back and continue to help me, as soon as possible, because she really is an incredible and willing person.
Starting from the very beginning, she arrived by car and was punctual and respectful of
… read more the house from the very beginning, and above all we had a great dialogue from the very beginning, also with many passions in common including music, good food (especially my pizza Margherita, but also bucatini with vegetables, béchamel and feta, and especially linguine with pesto!) and of course nature, which Amanda enjoyed very much both in my plot and from my terrace, which filled me with joy.
But besides having a lot of fun together, we also worked quite hard, despite the cold weather this autumn, and Amanda was very good, because even though she's a young girl she's really very determined and diligent in her work, and never complains. She helped me clear the whole access path to the house, even using the pickaxe and the shovel, she helped me gather wood for the winter, to make the fire, and she was really good and always worked really hard, and then she also quickly has learnt how to use the weed-hoe and removed all the weeds from the path to the house. In addition to this, she helped me clear plastic from a large area of my land, where I would like to make a chill-out zone, and she also cut wood with shears so that I could use it to reinforce the fence on my land, in a totally eco-friendly way. Lastly, she helped me gather large stones to make dry stone walls, and was very supportive all the time.
In short, an irreplaceable help and a tireless companion throughout her stay! The highlight was being able to enjoy the sunset every day together, when around five o'clock we stopped working in the garden and could enjoy the colours of nature and the beautiful view of the sea from my terrace among the olive trees. She was also very good at washing the dishes almost every day, even though I never asked her to, and it was very nice to enjoy so many delicious dinners together, in front of my always burning fireplace, always listening to lots of music that we would put on first one and then the other. We enjoyed making appetisers, first and second courses, and because we worked a lot, we always arrived hungry at dinner and could enjoy this exquisite time, eating typical Italian dinners, in front of the fire that warmed us.
To sum up, it was an exclusively positive experience, both as a workawayer but also as a new friendship. In fact, we got on very well and Amanda even decided to extend her stay with me, which I was very pleased about because I also wanted her to stay a few more days. So we also had the chance to enjoy our friendship for longer and to explore together the beauty of this region and this beautiful area that is the Tuscan Maremma: we went together first to Grosseto, where we had an aperitif together in the central square of the city, in a very nice place, and then the next day, after working in the morning on my land, we went to a party, in a theatre where I organise various courses (yoga, theatre, Spanish and creative writing), so it was nice to share with Amanda this event that for me was both a party but also a work event, with live music and a wonderful dinner all together in the theatre, in a typically Tuscan and spontaneous festive atmosphere.
And last but not least, on the last day, which was her day off, we went together first to the beach at Follonica, which is very beautiful even in the autumn, and then I showed her some of the coves on the sea off the island of Elba, for example Cala di Portiglioni, Cala Felice, and also Cala di Terra Rossa, and it was really wonderful to be able to share a day as friends and also a bit of a tourist with Amanda, who is a pleasant person with whom I never tire of talking and with whom you can share many special experiences. We ended the day by going to Scarlino, a medieval village near Gavorrano, and we also saw the ancient 13th century fortress, which is very beautiful. In short, as the song says, it was just a perfect day!
It's really a pleasure for me to be able to introduce this beautiful area to workawayers from various parts of Europe and the world, and with Amanda in particular I was always really at ease, both as a workaway collaboration and as a sincere friendship, indeed I must admit that it was absolutely the best workaway experience I've had so far and that I could ever imagine! Above all expectations, truly a positive experience.
So I highly recommend Amanda as a workawayer, to anyone who might be interested in her collaboration, because she really is a great girl and a tireless and sensitive worker, with an endless love for nature and animals. A great help to me, and a wonderful person, who loves nature with all her heart.
Dear Amanda, I hope you will come back soon to visit and help me here on the farm, so you can see how the work is progressing here, especially in the soil!
I will think of you every time I walk down the path of my garden because you really helped me so much to get it in the best possible shape, and it was an immense pleasure for me to meet you, and I hope we can remain friends over time.
Thank you again for everything and I look forward to seeing you soon!
With great esteem and many fond memories,
I-renzo
Life at a Farmstay
Animal Care
Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Art Projects
Helping with Computers/ Internet
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Babysitting and creative play
Languages
