Last weekend was full of fun for volunteers in France, nevermind in Brossac, who explored French culture through numerous exciting excursions. Super génial!
Fun for Volunteers in France : Friday
Despite the great weather, it is not always easy being one of the Volunteers in France but the numerous excursions offered to the volunteers in Brossac keep them motivated and happy. La Giraudière gets the balance between life and work right! After Friday morning French lessons and a hearty lunch, the volunteers at La Giraudière went to Aubeterre-sur-Drone for a bit of sightseeing. They were certainly amazed by the beautiful old town that was full of vibrant colour and interesting local shops. Paul walked them around the town and highlighted the best things to see and do. During this tour, he even snuck them into a church wedding.
And the highlight for the volunteers?
For the volunteers, the main highlight was the monolithic and subterranean church of St Jean. None of the volunteers had seen a church like this before! It cost only three euros with the student discount which they got thanks to Paul’s involvement. The first thing they noticed when they entered the church was the cold and dampness of the room and then as their eyes adjusted to its dimly lit interior, they looked up and were stunned into silence. The room was immense with towering, solid limestone walls. They then noticed small openings in the walls of the stairs and the upper stories. They could see people peering out of the gaps and taking photos of the ‘miniutre’ people on the bottom level.
Included in the price of the church visit were audio guides. This helped them a lot as they were an international group with a variety of languages. As a result, we walked around at our own pace without any pressure or stress that often comes with guided tours.
Get more information about the church of St Jean on the Aubeterre sur Drone website.
After all their sightseeing, the ravenous volunteers went to a restaurant in Chalais. The group sat outside as it was a warm evening and sampled French dishes, confit de canard and soufflé for example. They also drank French wine and a few had an after dinner digestive.
Saturday
On Saturday evening, the volunteers went to a night market. It was packed with people and there were so many different options of things to eat. Sweet and savoury and all local, of course. One of the volunteers bought some snails. As for the rest of them, they decided to stop in a nearby restaurant where they had traditional French dishes, such as beef entrecôte. After they finished there, they watched a flamenco dancing performance while eating ice-cream from one of the local sellers. After all the excitement and some dance moves from Paul, the exhausted and happy group went home.
Fun for Volunteers in France : Sunday
The volunteers and Paul went on a lovely drive on Sunday. They started off the day by going to a brocante in Berneuil. Paul told the volunteers that often people come with all their items from different countries and travel all over France and even Europe, from one Brocante to another. As a result, the brocante had a very international and exciting feel to it. The volunteers had no idea what item they would see next.
After the Brocante, the group decided to go to Jarnac. When they arrived, they parked close to the river which runs through the central part of the town. As they walked from the car and got to the river, they saw a beautiful big gate which gave entrance to a green space. The gate overlooked the water and the vibrant flowers surrounding the entrance cast their relfection on its watery surface.
The group crossed over the river and continued to walk along its banks and into the town. They were amazed to see old water wheels still in between buildings. There were not many people around as it was a Sunday. However, the group found one bar open so they got some drinks. After a few hours of relaxing and walking around the pretty town, they went home so they could prepare for the new week ahead and new arrivals.
Find out more about Jarnac on their website.
There is lots of fun for volunteers in France. Read more about different experiences had by volunteers on our blog.
