Garden And Housekeeping Help X job at Stoke on Trent

We are in Stoke on Trent now for a week undertaking a role through Help X ( the work you do in exchange for food and lodgings) Our client is a lovely lady called Carol, who is in a wheelchair. 

She and her husband have created a gorgeous garden of winding pathways, stuffed full of flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables and quite rightly have called it a sensory garden. 

There are nooks and crannies  filled with delightful statues, chairs to rest and contemplate and wonders in every corner.

The treelined street is very quiet and off the beaten track. We are very close - one street - away from a  huge reserve, where we can walk the dog and pick mountains of blackberries. 

Our role will be delightful here. I can get my housewife groove on and cook up a storm every day. We have light gardening duties of maintaining what is out there and keeping it tidy, house work, cleaning, washing and cooking. We have the afternoons to ourselves, which is ideal. We have our homeschooling to get back into the groove of, and National Trust places to visit. 

We are very lucky too, to be back here in November for three weeks. Its a calm and lovely atmosphere, which is something we are enjoying.

Divine Paris

It gets under your skin, comfortably; this beautiful city of Paris. Its the fifth time I've been to Paris, each time I've stayed a week or more, and each time more to discover and love about the place.

I don't think I'd get sick of seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. Its a magical moment, seeing it glitter and sparkle. Incredible to be under, inside and viewed from afar.

I've included some happy snaps of our time ( nearly 2 weeks!)  in Paris this time. We shared it with Michael to start with and then with dear friends De and Graham.

We were forced ( ha ha) to visit a patisserie - oh MY. I know macaroons are the 'flavour' of the moment, but there is a reason they are. Super fragile, light and crisp, gooey inside and luscious. 

Its not our last visit Paris.. I will return!

Disneyland Paris

There is a reason Disneyland is so famous. They have the ingredients and mixture exactly right. Sugary sweet, overloaded with cliche and sappy music, and yet intriguing and deadly seductive, the entire environment is geared to suck you in and make you suspend all belief. It carries you back into childhood dreams; making the toughest guy desperate to wear a Goofy or Micky Mouse hat. 

It was a big outlay - there is no two ways in looking at it. I did get discount tickets, but even then, it cost the three of us 180 Euros ( yes, you read that right)  to get in. On top of that 15 Euros just to park there. Though there are signs everywhere saying you can't bring food in, plenty of people do, and at nearly 10 Euros for a sandwich, there was no way I was going to dish out for expensive food.

We got there at opening time and were one of the first through the gates. It is stunning. The management do well in choosing cheery helpful staff and despite the volume of people, it is sparkling clean at all times. 

Some rides were busier than others, though waiting for o ver an hour and a half for something was something I wasn't prepared to do. We worked out pretty quickly that if you lined up in the single rider lane, you got on within ten mins normally. It just means that you don't get to sit with each other- but honestly - whoopee do.

We managed to get on alot of rides and go to some behind the scenes shows as well as catch the stunt show - which was truly spectacular. We were fortunate with the weather - sunshine and little cloud - a really beautiful European summer day.

We continued on through to the finish to watch the fireworks and were totally exhausted getting home after midnight.