WWOOFer's Paradise

We've been WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) at Chateau de Monfreville for the past 6 days. Our hosts, June and David have owned the Chateau since 1990 and it's been the home of countless royalty and the Disney family.

Before arriving we had ideas of what it would be like working on a family farm. Here's an overview of our daily schedule (let's just say it's not exactly what we expected):

8:00AM: Breakfast of fresh, organic eggs, bacon, cereals, fruit and coffee/tea
9:00AM: Start working
11:00AM: Coffee & Tea Break with cookies and cake
11:30AM: Start work again
3:00PM: 4 course gourmet dinner/lunch (appetizers, main course, cheese course and dessert)
Rest of the evening: Drinking French wine, socializing, playing Scrabble, etc.
Midnight: Go to bed

Here's what we had to eat today for lunch: Fresh raw and cooked oysters, organic home-grown salad and prosciutto wraps as an appetizer; organic, free-range lamb, potatos and green beans as main course; French cheese course; chocolate truffles and chocolate charlotte cake as dessert (with a delicious, sweet white French wine). It's a tough life.

When we've not been eating and drinking I've completed a few projects around the farm. I built a jetty and a set of steps for the farm pond, wrestled 5 sheep into submission so they could receive an oral anti-worm medicine, cleaned out the sheep stall and put in new hay, and planted a new oak tree (named the "Phillips Oak" in our honor)

OK, my turn...

Michael forgot the apple sorbet with Calvados (apple brandy--specialty of the region) in between the main course and the cheese. The food has been so amazing. David is a wonderful cook and Angela (a friend of the family from Australia) has been the guest chef. She works at The Ivy, a fancy shmancy restaurant in London. Both Michael and I have been quick to give up vegetarianism--we've had all kinds of wonderful seafood (lobster, salmon, mussels, scallops), lamb, and duck, Michael even had some bacon. Of course it's all home-grown or local, and absolutely delicious.

We've been treated like part of the family from the very beginning. We're staying in the "honeymoon suite" on the third floor of the chateau, our bathroom is in the tower. June's daughter Zoe is here with her kids Jake and Molly, they're adorable and lots of fun. Claudia from Germany is another WWOOFer who's here at the moment. I've been working with her--pruning black currants and raspberries, planting lettuce, doing housework, weeding, moving piles of rocks, modeling for pool and deck photos (!?!?), and getting stung by nettles and red ants.

Sunday was our day off. We borrowed bikes and rode about 15 kilometers to the coast to the town of Grandcamp-Maisy. We also stopped at Pointe du Hoc which is where American Rangers scaled the cliffs to overtake a German stronghold during WW2. The bomb craters were still there and it was a bit strange to watch kids running around and playing in them.

Tomorrow we have to leave this place (I'm still in denial right now). We'll definitely be back at some point, and we hope to stay in touch with all the amazing people we've met. We're off to Paris next, we'll find an internet cafe to update again soon. We were very excited to see all the comments to our last post from Shawn and Charlotte and Mama and Sally and even our first unknown poster (very inspiring!). Thanks and keep them coming. And if you're ever in Normandy you have to come stay here. I'm going to get back to the party, cheers for now!