Volunteering In France | Interning in France

So as mentioned in yesterday’s post, today was out three-weekly trip! Some of you might have been able to figure out the seaside mountain that Paul took us to as it has always been very popular with the volunteers…yes it was Dune du Pilat (or Dune du Pyla as it is now more commonly known), the tallest sand dune in Europe!

So we set off at a very early 7:30 to ensure we got there with enough time before it got too busy, and after lots of discussions about words and countries with aeiou in, we arrived at our destination. We decided to be brave and climb the dune on the sand rather than the stairs which was tough work but totally worth it! The view from the top are just spectacular!

After taking in the view, we headed down to Arcachon, the town nearby, but not before stopping off for a yummy crêpe first! It was a good job we had left La Giraudière when we had because the queue to get into the carpark for the dune was ridiculous!

We parked outside of Arcachon so that we could walk along the coast into the town, and a lovely walk it was. The water from the sea was actually quite warm and it was nice to walk in it. We found a nice restaurant and enjoyed the plat du jour lunch which was chicken with salad, chips and veg and then headed back to the car to go to our next destination; one that none of us, not even the well-travelled Paul, has ever visited before.

Lacanau is another town by the sea and it is also home to a massive lake where we sat and ate an ice cream by. We drove down to Lacanau Océan which is very popular amongst surfers, and on arrival we could see why. What looked like a little town with not much going on on the map turned out to be bustling and the beach was swimming with people! Paul had a little sieste while the rest of us explored the beach and watched the surfers enjoying the waves, then we decided it was time for some dinner so headed back to the car.

To save Paul from driving through Bordeaux and avoid getting stuck in traffic, we took the ferry across the river and made our way to one of the more traditional Truckers. As usual, there were many people eating there and we enjoyed a nice meal before heading back to LG where a very happy Sydney was waiting for us (he couldn’t come due to the heat so neighbour Jeff looked after him). Then we all called it a night, exhausted from such a grand day out!

Tuesday 21st August 2012

So just a quick update on what is going on and will be happening later on today.

Yan is making some of the finishing touches to her very detailed map, Emily has been sorting out all washing of the bed sheets, James has been painting and restoring a wall and Mark and Paul have been doing odd jobs including fixing doors and chaux-ing the wall.

Over lunch today we were discussing the three-weekly trip out tomorrow – it was going to be on Friday but we have a new arrival this Thursday so we realised that there would be too many people for the car, which is why it will be arranged for tomorrow. Paul gave us some options, and we all chose mountain and seaside, so it will be interesting to see what Paul comes up with when searching for a seaside mountain later!

This evening, Paul will be showing James the ropes of how to do a bbq and he will also be making a caesar salad to go with it – we’ll see if James can get the hang of it!

More updates on Thursday!

Monday 20th August 2012

This Monday has been more of relaxation day to this long weekend, but still boiling hot. Paul drove us down to Chalais market in the morning then we did some of the weekly shop on the way back. After lunch, Paul, Yan and Emily went to do the rest of the weekly shop in Barbezieux where Yan bought lots of chocolate as she usually likes too while Paul enjoyed a lemon pancake!

Mark made a nice pasta dinner that the thought up on the spot in Lidl, with a varitey of vegetables from one of our neighbours, then afterwards, we went off to pétanque. It was a good turnout again with a very close finish at the end with four of the locals playing against each other – the banter between them all here is definitely funny to listen to!

Sunday 19th August 2012

This morning was a bit of a slow start as we were all tired from the previous day’s antics, but we soon made up for it in the afternoon. First though, we had to say goodbye to Lynne as she left this morning to go to Paris and then onto Greece, we wish her all the best!

With another gorgeous day ahead of us, we decided to make the most of it by Paul driving us down to Beauvallon which is a beautiful lake just over 17kms from LG. We spent all afternoon there where we were joined by Niko and played ball in the lake.

For dinner we went to check out Condéon for their fête and see what dinner was going. It didn’t look like we’d get our money’s worth so we went to the Club House in Brossac instead, but that was shutting. In the end’s we went down to Fernando’s in Chalais who does amazing fish and chips as he used to work in a fish and chip shop in London! After a late evening there, we headed back to LG to get some kip after a great day.

Saturday 18th August 2012

So as mentioned in yesterday’s post, the French lesson got moved to this morning. Today we were doing some listening tests on numbers and siblings, and how to describe what we were wearing. Lyn is a great teacher so everyone learned really quickly.

Lyn stayed with us for lunch and then offered to take us to Aubeterre for the afternoon as it was Lynnes last day, so all the girls headed down there. Aubeterre is one of France’s prettiest villages, and even just looking at the pictures, you will see why. We went to the monolithic church which is a definite must-see as it is a church built into a cave (and it really cooled us down from the 40 degrees heat). Aubeterre has plenty of little shops to visit which sell really pretty things, and we spent a while looking around them all.

After Aubeterre, Lyn took us to an exhibition on in Chalais near the castle and the church. It sold a wide variety of handmade things, from sculptures, to cutlery and clothing. So thank you to Lyn for a great afternoon out!

We headed back to LG as Paul had booked us a resturant at St. Bernard’s for Lynne’s last supper in Brossac! We were joined by Jean-Michel for dinner and Niko for dessert, and we spent the evening teaching each other rhymes and discussing books and Dubai airport!