life, by me

Sunday, April 21, 2013 | Posted by Hazel

It's time for an update of my next adventure!  It's been a few months since I returned from France now. I've been mainly in Essex and Lincoln, doing a bit of work for the NHS and dreaming of places hotter and more exciting than here.  Among the many jobs and opportunities I have seen and applied for was a volunteering opportunity with Raleigh International.  Originally I was attracted by the idea of going to Tanzania and leading a team of volunteers to do some International Development work. Having completed a gruelling (well not quite, I'm exaggerating) assessment day I was told that I had passed but hadn't got a place yet and that I was on a reserve list.  I sort of forgot about it after that as figured that it was unlikely I would hear from them again....but a couple of weeks ago they contacted me to say that there was a place for me on the India trip if I wanted to go (which of course I did)!

So, from June to September this year I'm heading off to South India.  I still have a lot of information to find out about my trip and am as yet unsure whether I will have internet access at any point to blog and things like that, but should find out soon!

There are 2 projects that I could be getting involved in during my time in India - one is in Karnataka, helping to build toilets and teach the community some health education, the other is in Tamil Nadu where the projects are based around integrated farming, and we'd be helping to make manure, amongst other things.

My trip is part of a 3 year project funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) to send young people overseas to volunteer.  Each project is specifically designed to fight poverty and make a lasting difference by working with local people to meet local needs. I will be going as a Team Leader, leading a team of 12 young people - 6 from the UK and 6 from the local area in India, alongside an Indian Team Leader.

I have a training weekend in May where I will find out more information about the details of the trip.  I have started having my jabs, my arm has only just recovered from one I had on Thursday and I have another 3 to go in the coming weeks...the price of potential health eh?!

My mission at the moment is to fundraise £800 to go towards the work that Raleigh International does.  Raleigh International is a sustainable youth charity.  (If you're interested both Prince William and The Duchess of Cambridge (Kate) went on expeditions with Raleigh for their gap years!)

Their vision is: A world where young people feel a sense of belonging to a global community. A community working together to strengthen and improve the world around them. 

And their mission: To bring together people from around the world. To inspire, challenge and develop them to work in partnership as active global citizens. Learning how to build sustainable communities and conserve the environment.

My fundraising efforts so far include a curry and quiz night in Lincoln (in May), some quizzes for sale (£1 each) and I am currently making baby taggie toys (£10 each).  So hopefully I will manage to reach my target of £800 before I leave in June!

I don't know what will lead from this opportunity, but I'm really excited to be getting involved in some International Development work and going to a new country to do it!

www.justgiving.com/hazel-swan1

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Friday, December 21, 2012 | Posted by Hazel

French sign in Prades

View from Canaveilles

So we painted another room (the living room) in the house in the Pyrenees on another sunny day, we managed to get the whole room done with 2 coats in a day, we were pretty impressed with our speed!  (It's quite a big room.)

Where our house is situated is just on the border of both Spain and Andorra, so we took a day to go and explore our surroundings.  Driving through some more windy roads, over and through mountains, we arrived in Spain.  The signs changed to feature Spanish, but the landscapes looked pretty much the same.  

Road on the way to Andorra

Shortly after, we hit Andorra de Vella, the capital of Andorra.  Andorra apparently has 7 towns, and we visited 2 during our short trip.  From what I experienced, Andorra is all about shopping and skiing, with cheap fuel and cigarettes due to their low taxes (I read about the tobacco FYI).  It has lots of nice scenery, although I think we have been spoilt recently with our current location.

Evol, a nearby village, is one of the top 50 most beautiful villages in France apparently, so we decided to go and check it out.  It was pretty cute...having seen a few French villages now, I have a few to compare it to.  We met a few lively collies and wandered around a colourful graveyard. 

Church in Evol

On Thursday we decided to head to the coast.  I'd read about a place called 'Collouire' that is supposed to be very picturesque and a place of inspiration for Matisse and Picasso, amongst other famous artists, so we decided to visit.  I have to agree, it is very nice.  We had a packed lunch by the sea and wandered around the streets full of local artists and cobbled paths.

Collouire

One of the views that inspired some famous artists

View of Collouire

On our last day, in between packing our bits up, we treated ourselves to a thermal spa. About 20 minutes away from where we have been staying is 'St. Thomas' baths'.  It's situated amidst the mountains and heated naturally (it actually comes out too hot so they have to cool it down so people can get in it!).  We had a lovely time floating around and gazing at the snow capped mountains that surrounded us.

So this weekend was our last weekend in France...after packing up in the Pyrenees we headed north on our 11.5 hour drive towards Calais.  We didn't really have any set backs and had a pretty smooth drive, arriving at Calais late Saturday night, then sailing across on a ferry back to Dover on Sunday morning.

So here I am, back in the UK, getting ready for Christmas!

I've had a great adventure...met lots of interesting people and have done and seen lots of new things, experiencing a bit of the French culture and improving my French at the same time!

I wonder what my next adventure will be...

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Monday, December 10, 2012 | Posted by Hazel

I finally got to have my cheese fondue!  I love it and since it is popular around these parts, thought it was only proper to have it in its preferred location - none of our guests so far have been up for it so we decided to treat ourselves before we left the Alps.  It was as good as I remembered and surprisingly filling.

This week we set off to our fourth and final destination in the Pyrenees.  We didn't know what to expect...other than a couple of paintbrushes and a tub of paint waiting for us.

Preparing to leave La Chambre...

As we got prepared to leave our Alpine Hideaway in La Chambre the snow decided to descend.  We were able to leave without any trouble (although the people we met when we were there have since told us, and sent us pictures to tell us that the snow is now very thick outside the house!) and began to head south.

About halfway, we stopped off near Nimes to view the Pont du Gard, a UNESCO world heritage site - a bridge.  It's very big, with 35 arches that stretch along the river.  We had an accidental detour of the surrounding forests before we found it and then continued on our journey.

All we knew about the house we were coming to stay in was the village that it was in, Canaveilles, which we had put in to our trusty satnav.  As we followed the signs to the village we embarked upon a very windy, thin, topple off the edge of the mountain type road, which was a little unnerving in the pitch black when we first arrived!  However we found our destination alright and managed to locate the house we were coming to, next to the nuns house in the village.

It really is a rural retreat here.  We are perched on the top of a mountain with a handful of other houses and only the windy road for access to the village.  The first morning when we woke up it was snowing and we were snowed in, so we started the painting.  We have since finished it - we've been doing the kitchen, painting the walls and varnishing the exposed stones.  It's all looking very fresh and bright now!

The beginning of the windy road as we awoke on the our first morning here...

Kitchen before the painting commenced...

Before we painted...

All fresh and bright after we gave it a new lease of life

Close by there is a village called 'Villefranche de Conflent' which is a medieval walled town...all the houses and shops are within big stone walls.  It's quite nice when you wander around inside, but from the outside you wouldn't expect anything to be inside except ruins, and it's classified as another World Heritage site by UNESCO.

The walled city from the outside

Inside Villefranche de Conflent

We have had more snow this week, although it seems to disappear as quickly as it arrives, or at least it does at the moment!  We have just one week left here before we head North and back to the UK.

View from our house

Views from the village

Local cat who keeps trying to break in

A view of the windy road from halfway down...the only way in to our village

The Pyrenean Brown Bear has been playing on my mind, I really want to find one.  I have been looking for one everywhere but to no avail.  Apparently they were thought to have died out...so a few years ago (like 20) they introduced some new ones from Slovenia, so there should be a few lurking about.  I'm not entirely sure on their location...it looked a little bit west from here on the map, but I like to think one might come round for breakfast and I can share my porridge with it.  I have however been photographing suspicious looking faeces that I have found on my forest and mountain walks - just incase it might be from the infamous Pyrenean bear.

Just to show you the sheer size of it...

And a close up...

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Sunday, December 02, 2012 | Posted by Hazel

The snow has arrived in the Alps...well, it had already arrived on the top, but this week it decided to join us on the ground!  But as quick as it arrived, it left again, and has been teasing us all week with little smatterings here and there.  As we have been driving around and visiting local places though we have seen a lot of snow!

The fog the day before the snow hit, it created a ring around the mountain

Hello snow!

About an hour away is a small village called Bonneval.  We decided to drive out there this week to check it out.  It is on the border of a national park but seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  The snow had already hit Bonneval a while ago by the look of the ground when we arrived.  Even though it was snowing, people were still doing work on their buildings, with one guy on his roof, removing the snow so he could replace the tiles.  Made me feel like a fair weather DIY-er...although I suppose if needs must, I'd rather do that than have a constant leak all winter.

Noisy sheep with big bells tied round their necks

On the way to Bonneval we passed a collection of 8 forts perched on the edge of the cliff  which looked pretty impressive.

Fort Victor Emmanuel

A couple of weeks ago we had Marilyn and Malcolm round for dinner, some friends of John's, whose house we are currently staying in.  This week we went to visit them for dinner in their cosy house a few villages away from us.  They cooked us a lovely meal and gave us some good tips on places to visit in the area.  They have been living in the area for the past few years and gradually doing up their house which is really nice.

We also discovered Lac Bleu this week, a lake that's just outside La Chambre which is pretty popular for swimming (I'm assuming in the summer) apparently.  We enjoyed a walk around it, and a play in the playground...

We attempted to drive up a couple of mountain passes to see what we could see from the top, only as the weather also decided to turn that day we didn't make it the entire way (we decided it was best not to test the escort too much as we still need it to get us home) - but we still got some amazing views and snowy vistas.

This is about where we decided we should turn around...

The snow inspired us to get Christmassy, so we may have started watching a few Christmas films...the French definitely don't market Christmas the same way the UK does.  Only in the last week have we really started noticing the music in the shops and the larger Christmas displays...I feel like it starts in September at home!

This weekend we travelled to Morzine, a large ski resort a couple of hours north of where we are, to visit Ali, a friend of Alex's who lives and works there.  It was a bit of a culture shock as soon as we arrived.  As it is a tourist place and full of international skiers and snowboarders throughout the season we were greeted in English everywhere we went (a little different to being the only English in the village for the past month!).  We also noticed the sheer amount of people there compared to the villages we have been to recently.  The official ski season starts in Morzine in a weeks time so there were lots of new faces arriving getting ready to work the season - so most people we met assumed we were amongst these budding sporty types.  Not quite.

Ali's flat (the one on the left...)

The view from Ali's flat

Yesterday we returned to Annecy to visit the Christmas market, have a bit of vin chaud (mulled wine) and generally get ourselves in the Christmassy spirit!  As well as the market there was quite an impressive light show projected on to the Hotel de Ville (town hall).

Part of the light show projected on to the town hall

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