Join us at our beautiful chateau near Toulouse, France

Detalles

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  Descripción

  Hi, welcome to our profile!
  
  In September 2023, we bought a beautiful Château in the south of France, with outbuildings and 7 hectares (about 17 acres) of meadows, trees, ponds, and a swimming pool.
  
  The Château is a private home in a tiny French hamlet, about a 50-minute drive to Toulouse, with views of the Pyrenees in the winter. The area is magnificent. No light pollution makes for nights of stargazing and listening to owls calling from the trees. There is a local small restaurant, a church, and a post office within a 10-minute walk from the Château. From the property, you can go for long walks or bike rides.
  
  We're both in our 60s and happily married. John is a lawyer and active with hiking and guitars. I am a retired business owner, equestrian, and active Pilates practitioner. We have traveled Europe, Asia, and the United States. When you come to stay with us, please tell us your stories, and we will share ours! Our cooking styles are eclectic, focused on local and seasonal produce, health and nutrition.
  
  We're not vegetarian and it is difficult to remember to have nutritious vegetarian options available for our volunteers when our days are so busy. Please consider this before applying to join us. We will accommodate reasonable requests regarding dietary restrictions, but this is a very busy private home undergoing a lot of restoration/renovation work, not a hotel or restaurant.
  
  To get here, it's a short flight or train ride from Toulouse or a 1 1/2 hour bus ride from Toulouse. We can collect you from the closest village (about 15 km away) or train station (30 minutes away), but we highly recommend you come in your car, if you can, so you can have the freedom to go about when you like.
  
  Did I mention we're non-smokers? There is no smoking in the chateau. No vapes, cigarettes, etc. No exception.
  
  We have four dogs: a Yorkshire Terrier, a Frenchie (they just call them bulldogs here), and a pair of German Shepherd puppies, with us at the Chateau. We have three horses, a mini, a Lusitano, and a Welsh Cob, who live in the Château's stalls for the winter, and in pasture the rest of the year. Our horses arrived from California just in time for Christmas 2024!
  
  Our first Workaway team helped us clean out one of our basements and organize household basics. We renovated the stables, finished building out the tack room, and are still building an arena (it's been a year and a half!). With the help of volunteers, we designed and built a formal rose garden and orchard, created a wine cellar, gutted and renovated two bedrooms ensuites, painted walls and doors, repurposed an old laundry room into a WC, built offices and created a new laundry room from an old bedroom. We built a gym! We have wild ducks in our pond, and are considering acquiring chickens.
  
  Do you have a pet? Sorry, we cannot accommodate your pets (do not bring your pet).
  
  We know our DIY skills are not great, and I emphasize that we have paid professionals helping us with big renovation projects; but living in a chateau is a lot of work, and we need help with all kinds of seasonal tasks. If you are interested in volunteering with us, we seek all around basic skills and basic DIY knowledge. Do you have skills we don't? Let's learn from each other.
  
  Lastly, we know age is just a number, but please don't apply to join us unless you are 21 or older. We are a diverse, mostly, mature, group, and not a lot of fun for teens.
  
  Please write to us if you are interested or would like further information. We reply to all enquiries.
  
  We require a short interview (call it a vibe check) before we can invite you to join us.
  
  We will ask you to show us your government ID (driver's license or passport) when you arrive.
  
  We have filled our volunteer calendar and are now interviewing for 2027.
  
  John and Micaela
  
  PS, Our first Workaway, in September 2023, was great! Our volunteers were a pleasure, we learned so much from them, most importantly, they taught us how to host with care and responsibility.
  
  PPS, We do not have paying guests. If we decide to accept paying or personal guests, Workaway volunteers will not be asked to help with our guests or maintain spaces used by our guests.

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  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos

  Jardinería básica

  Proyectos creativos DIY «hazlo tú mismo»

  Cuidado de animales

  Ayuda en una granja

  Cocinar para toda la familia

  Ayuda doméstica

  Mantenimiento básico

  Ayuda informática
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  Intereses

  

  Mascotas

  

  Cultura

  

  Cocina y alimentación

  

  Animales

  

  Fotografía

  

  Idiomas

  

  Naturaleza

  

  Fitness

  

  Senderismo
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  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  We are passionate about life in France, and how locals live and eat. We focus on food that is local and seasonal, although once a week we make it California! Food is important to us, and we like to eat well and share. We will take you to a Monday morning local market to stock up on produce, where you will meet our favorite cheese vendor who generously shares slice after slice of some of the best cheeses in the world!
  
  You will learn about Napoleon and his work improving the land for the people, about a historic neoclassical chateau built in the late 16th century, and about the French culture of the area (we have two principal families, one was Resistance and the other was Vichy during WWII). I will teach you about life in France from a cultural and insider perspective and how to live in France in step with French customs and food traditions (we also have a dog named Napoleon - we didn't know we were moving to France when he joined our family).
  
  We have a weekly lunch at a local restaurant founded by the current owner's grandmother (the owner is a trained chef with a resume that includes Michelin restaurants nearby). This is a tradition for us.
  
  We share our cooking and organizational skills, acquired over the years from experience and volunteers who came to stay with us. We have been fortunate to host very generous and very kind people.
  
  Do you like animals? We brought our horses from California and are training a mini horse to drive. In the winter, they are stabled, in the summer, they live in our pastures. If you are interested, you will learn how to be confident and gentle with them, to groom them and to be at ease. We have a four dogs, and we make some of our dog food from scratch because one of our dogs has severe food allergies.
  
  My husband is learning French. He's a great student! I'm a native French speaker, happy to help you with your when you ask for it! We are both fluent in English. We would be happy to help you improve your English (or your French).
  
  In California, people shook their heads in disbelief that we would invite total strangers into our home. The truth is, we appreciate the cultural and social exchange with our volunteers. We have been fortunate to attract people we value and who value us. We thank them, loudly, and publicly, in appreciation. We do care and we do appreciate the investment that volunteers make when them come to visit us.

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  Ayuda

  The Château is a private home with many things that have been brought back to life. If you love architecture, design, gardening, and nature and would like to help us maintain and continue to restore the Château and organize it and its gardens, we would love to welcome you!
  
  It is a working chateau. We planted a small orchard, began a formal rose garden, and have built an arena. We need some help with our horses (no riding), garden and fruit trees throughout the year. Current projects include maintaining our gardens and orchards, pasture maintenance, working with our factotum to restore doors and locks and windows, painting rooms and halls, and outfitting the tack room. These jobs may change depending on the seasons and what is necessary.
  
  We need help with the horses and dogs, photography, cooking and general organization. We always have a position for a kitchen captain, and we're preparing two rooms for renovation. This summer we are cleaning the pastures, watering garden plants, and picking fruit (figs, cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, and more) in the orchard.
  
  We need help maintaining our flower and herb garden, weeding our gravel driveway, and working with our dogs (walking, basic commands: sit, down, stay, heel, feeding, grooming). We use eco-friendly methods for weeding and our garden. We need help clearing brush, pruning, meadows, and stalls (check fencing, manure, etc.), and keeping the pool pretty (summer only!). In early September, we will host our 3rd year anniversary and need volunteers to help prepare and host the event.
  
  Previous volunteers helped us install a new floor in the guardian's house (the Gentilhommière), build outdoor stairs, sew curtains, and re-imagine furniture to make the rooms welcoming. Volunteers have helped us with painting, plaster, photography, and organization of the household linens and kitchen. There is a lot to be done throughout, including assisting with laundry, cleaning the stone cellar, and helping with the animals. Lots to do. All the time.
  
  We have two very large 2-year old German Shepherd puppies and we absolutely need help training them. Training the puppies is 15-30 minutes, morning/noon/night with basic commands, drives into town, positive reinforcements, and socializing with people and other dogs twice a week. We also have ducks and need help cleaning out their pond.
  
  If you are keen to learn about caring for animals, seasonal French food, local customs, general French culture, and are interested in having a go at this with a couple of former Californians, we would be happy to have you!
  
  We ask our volunteers to stay from 2 to 4 weeks. More if we really get along well. Your stay involves participation at mealtimes - setting the table and clearing up - and hopefully lots of conversation! We all pitch in here, and it's part of the fun.
  
  Do you have verifiable photography skills? Please bring them! We need photos of the interiors, landscape, and animals and are keen to have our internet site/social media polished up so others can see what we've done (with your help!). We give full photo credit to photographers, amateur and professional.

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  Idiomas

  Idiomas hablados
  Inglés: Fluido
  Español: Fluido
  Francés: Fluido

  Este anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
  My husband and I speak fluent English. I am native fluent in French and Spanish. Our home is a great place to refine your English. If you want to come to work on your French, just let me know, I would be happy to help you with language and cultural learning!
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  Alojamiento

  We are a private home with spacious and clean accommodations. If you are a couple, we will offer you a renovated apartment annexed to the Château in a south-facing corner of the ground floor. It has a private entrance, shower, and WC. It overlooks the park and has a small utility kitchen, or we will offer you a newly renovated room with an ensuite bath/WC. If you are single, we offer a private room with a shared shower and WC (not more than 3 persons per bathroom). You are expected to launder your bedding and towels once a week and thoroughly clean your personal facilities (bath/WC) weekly.
  
  We would like your company at breakfast and dinner so we can get to know you as it's the best time to talk about the day, to relax and tell stories about your life and learn about life in France!
  
  Breakfast is at 8.30 am - coffee/tea, yogurt, croissant/bread, butter, marmalade, muesli/granola, fruit, and fresh orange juice.
  Lunch at 1 pm - salad with a sandwich or soup
  Evening meals are usually at 7.30 pm - soup or salad, main course (protein and starch), and dessert.
  
  We do not provide alcohol apart from the table wine served at dinner, and all our tap water is potable (drinkable).
  
  We are not vegetarians and have found that we aren't very willing to accommodate vegetarian requirements. I will try but, again, this is a private home, not a hostel, and I'm not okay with vegetarian takeovers of my kitchen anymore. Please be truthful about your dietary requirements. There is nothing more stressful than finding out someone is vegan when they applied to tell us they'll eat anything. Also, this is France. Dairy is a thing and it's everywhere. There are 130 different kinds of cheeses in this country, and we cook with butter. So, if you're lactose intolerant, bring a lot of lactose pills. I promise, we will do our best to accommodate allergies or food restrictions, but again, please keep in mind we are a private home, not a hostel or commune.
  
  We will not tolerate any kind of substance abuse, and we are strictly non-smoking.

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  Algo más...

  We are very active on social media and happy to give you our Instagram + website and all our details (address, contact information, etc) when we invite you to join us.
  
  To get here, it's a short flight or train ride from Paris to Toulouse and a 1 1/2 hour bus ride from Toulouse.
  
  We can collect you from the closest town (about 15 km away), and we highly recommend you come in your car, if you can, so that you have some freedom and go out when you like. We like to host about 6 volunteers at a time so that it feels like a community. Some of our volunteers have returned 3 or 4 times.
  
  The Château is in an isolated rural community surrounded by agricultural fields. We have a private park and meadows. The closest bar and restaurants are about 20 minutes by car.
  
  What can you do during your free time? The Château has its own bridle path that is a 2 kilometer walk, up and down hills. There are walking paths behind the Château, in between fields and nearby forests. If you have a bicycle, please bring it and explore all the countryside around us. If you have a car, the world is your oyster! Hiking in the Pyrenees (Lac d'O), excursions to Toulouse and Carcassonne, or beyond, to Albi, Bordeaux, and Biarritz. The Mediterranean is a couple of hours away too (beaches in Narbonne and Rousillon). We had one volunteer come to stay because our Château is closest to the highest peak in the Pyrenees - we drove him to the base, he climbed Aneto - and we picked him up when he was done! I am very proud of that.
  
  No smoking is permitted in the rooms or any part of the chateau.
  We do not tolerate any kind of substance abuse.
  NO PETS (no dogs, cats, lizards, rabbits, etc.), unless it's a horse ;)

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  Un poco más de información

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    Acceso a Internet

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    Acceso a Internet limitado

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    Tenemos animales

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    Somos fumadores

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    Puede alojar familias

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  Puede acoger a nómadas digitales

  We have 4G fiber optic cable and updated WiFi. We would love to host digital nomads and will trade your verified blogging/social media skills for a room! Talk to us and let us know how we can work together.

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  Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

  We have a large parking area that might accommodate your small to medium sized campervan. There will be no WiFi/internet access to campervans. Please tell us what kind of campervan (size matters!) you drive so we can ensure we have room for it.

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  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Más de dos

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  Mis animales / mascotas

  

  Lulu

  

  Marshmallow

  

  Buster

  

  Rambo (3 años)

  Yorkshire terrier

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