...and the countdown begins

I'm counting down the days until I leave the Chateau de Sacy. It's freezing here...not just outside, but in the house. All the time. I don't much care for the host... So far she has yelled at me for the way I stir cake batter, the way I wash dishes, the way I talk, and she's yelled at me because I misunderstood a chore she assigned to me in the garden. She has also gotten mad at Effie and called her "stupid" because while Hermine was in the garden, she forgot about the cake she put in the oven and it burned. Effie was in the hall scrubbing the floors and was not told how long the cake should be in for, or that she was even responsible for the cake. The kitchen is infested with ants, and the work is becoming somewhat monotonous. My knees are sore from kneeling, and my back is sore from bending over and picking weeds, and I think my saggy mattess contributes to the back issue as well. I wasn't anticipating a vacation, but the unpredictability and short temper of the host doesn't make things any easier. The Australians are great, and we go through it all together...although this weekend they are in Chantilly, and I'm here on my own. I'm doing my best to stay out of Hermine's way...she hasn't yelled at me in a couple of days, so that at least is good.
Yesterday afternoon after a morning of work and a nice lunch, I went with Pete and Effie to Compiègne, the nearest city. It's where Joan of Arc was captured, and where Napoleon III lived. We did a tour of Napoleon's palace, explored the city, and bought pastries at one of the dozens of patisseries in the area.

A day at the Chateau de Sacy

Yesterday after working for our 4 hours, we explored the 3 nearest town, walking in a 9 km loop. We were exhausted when we got back, but we had a chance to see what was around, and we managed to find some good food too. I biked to get milk again as soon as we got back, and at 10:00, right after supper, I went straight to bed.
Today, we did a couple hours of work, and Hermine's secretary, who works in the chateau, dropped us off in Pont Sainte Maxence, the nearest town of a decent size, about 8 or 10km away. We did a little shopping here, and I've spent 2 hours at the internet cafe-- the nearest one to Sacy-le-petit. I've been writing about every day in a journal, and whenever I get the the internet cafe, I'll transfer it onto the blog. I probably won't be here much though because we have to walk so far to get here. Hermine doesn't have a car, Effie can't ride a bike, and unless we wanted to be here from 7am to 7pm, we can really only take a bus one way. Until May 11th when I go to Normandy, my blogs will be coming in bulk, maybe only once or twice more. Hopefully the host in Normandy will have a computer I can use, or be slightly closer to an internet cafe. In the meantime, I'll be busy planting, weeding, and eating good bread. I forgot my camera at the house, so I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Exploring around town

Today we finished planting the potatoes. It was hard work, but kindof fun. We also spent a few hours weeding, which, if you get in the right spot where you can kneel comfortably and the sun is shining, it's quite relaxing. It got to around 20 degrees today, and the sun was bright, there were a ton of birds singing, the tlips were in bloom, and it felt great to be outside all day. We ate lunch outside again today in the front courtyard, and ate sliced potatoes in a vinaigrette, fresh bread and Camambert cheese, wine, and salad. I forgot to mention earlier that every morning at 9 o'clock, there is a long bread bag with plastic handles that we hang outside the front gate. the baker comes around in a truck and drops a fresh baguette in the bag. the nearest bakery is a fez km away, so this is the best way to get fresh bread everyday.
Before supper today, the Australians and I walked through Sacy-le-petit (the town we're staying in), and there were mostly just houses. "Downtown" consists of a deli, a phone booth, and a bus stop. The bus stop has one bus which co,es twice a day: once at 7am, and again at 7pm. We continued on to the nearest town, Grandfresnoy, which is 2 km away. We looked around at the houses, the general store and the bakery, and bought some delicious pastries for super cheap.

The Australians and some unfortunate news

This morning sucked, because right after breakfast, I got to clean the coal/wood-burning stove with a couple metal tools and a toothbrush! Hermine probably has never cleaned it (because like I said, cleaning is far down on her priority list), but it was smoking when she tried to cook with it, so naturally, she got me to clean it.
The Australians, Pete and Effie (a couple in their late 40s) arrived today in the late afternoon. They're both really great, and share my distaste with the cleanliness of the house, and so pitch in with keeping it as sanitary as possible. they're WWOOFing in France for 6 months, and after talking about our different destinations, we found out we're both going to the same farm in Mayenne at around the same time, so I'll see some familiar faces while I'm at my 3rd host.
After lunch, we started the real work. We planted a few rows of potatoes and did some weeding. Later, after supper, 2 of Hermine's were passing through and came to stay the night. Over coffee, they told us how they were in Paris at the Gare du Nord (a train station in Paris) today, and one of them had her purse stolen. She said it was typical of that area and she should have been more careful. I mentioned how I was planning on staying in a hotel a couple of blocks from the Gare du Nord on my last night in France before taking a train directly to the airport. They both gasped and gave me terrified looks. When I went on about how I should maybe find a new hotel, they assured me I just need to be super cautious and not leave the main roads or wander around at night. I'm still not sure if I want to stay around there anymore. convenience would be nice, but is it more valuable than my safety? We'll see... I still have 2 months to make my desicion.

First day at Chateau de Sacy

I arrived at the chateau fine... I made all my flights, and despite having to wait for a couple of hours for trains, the trip went smoothly. The outside of the Chateau de Sacy is gorgeous. It's a house that dates back to the 1600s with a large barn in the courtyard ( no animals though). there are 2 big gardens with fruits, veggies, and herbs, 2 small meadows, and a small wood in the back. The inside of the house itself is less impressive-- Hermine, the owner, lives there on her own, and obviously focuses most of her attention on the gardens, not on the cleanliness of the house. I won't go into exhaustive detail, but I will tell you my new rule that I've made for the chateau in particular, and every house I'll be staying at from now on: don't look up, don't look down (including at your plate or in your glass), and what you can't see won't hurt you.
Today was my first full day at the Chateau. I did a couple smaller jobs like clearing debris from one of the gardens, and fixing the foundation for the future maze on part of the property. Two other WWOOFers fro, Australia are coming tomorrow afternoon, so I'll start on the bigger jobs when they come. This evening was great, because I took one of the bikes (which was not too bad, except the breaks don't really work... good thing I'm not in the mountains...) and biked about 4 km to the nearest dairy farm, and bought 3 litres of fresh milk and 10 eggs for €2.70 The family at this farm milk the cows and collect eggs fro, the chickens every morning at 6am, and every evening at 6pm. For an hour afterwards, sell the milk and eggs right from the barn.