Our House Sits

Our first house sit in Europe was in a lovely little medieval French village of around 600 residents in North East France called Fontenoy-le-Chateau. It has the river Coney running through it and a canal runs alongside the river. The atmosphere walking around the town’s cobbled streets is very pleasant and we felt at home despite the only stores being a pharmacy, a baker, a general store and a pub. We had just completed a 4-month travel adventure through Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and the United Arab Emirates – so we were looking forward to settling down in one place for a few weeks. Marion and Roger were wonderful hosts and made us feel very welcome. They had 2 lovely dogs for us to look after Miki and Misty. We spent the next 3 weeks taking long walks with the dogs through the countryside, cycling to nearby villages, enjoying bread, cheese & wine for picnic lunches and driving to the nearby towns to see beautiful buildings to discover more about the history of the area. We got to know several of the neighbours and even got taken to see nearby towns by Andre and Tina. We have now had 3 house sits for Marion and Roger, with another booked. Near neighbours, Justin and Deb have also booked us for a house sit when they head away for a holiday in their camper van. We really do feel like this town is our second home. House sit dates – June 2016; May 2017; May 2018; July 2018; August 2018 Read more about our time here Fontenoy-le-Chateau

These two sits were both just over a week each and one followed on from the other, and they were only just over an hour apart. The Lodsworth sit was to look after two Cornish Rex cats named Bella and Suki.  Their owners Kate and Gareth are lovely people and made sure we were known to the locals in the village pub.  Lodsworth is a small village on the edge of the South Downs National Park where there are lots of beautiful walks, country pubs and a local shop. The towns of Chichester and Guildford are nearby and it is only 45 mins to the south coast.  We were delighted to take advantage of the wonderful fig tree that was laden with juicy fruit while we were there, it was the first time we had tasted figs straight from the tree, and they are delicious. House sit date – August 2016 Read more about this lovely area here West Sussex The second week was based in the East Sussex town of Heathfield where we would be looking after Miriam’s two dogs Echo (Lab) and Whisper (Lercher).  Miriam was heading to Italy for a wedding and we would be walking the dogs around the many tracks that were nearby.  Highlights of our stay were visiting the towns of Lewes where Anne of Cleves lived, and Battle the site of the famous Norman Conquest of 1066.  There were a number of stunning castles in the area that we also visited including Herstmonceux, Bodium, and the incredible Arundel. House sit date – August 2016 Read more about this lovely area here East Sussex

Chiclana de la Frontera is a town in south-west Spain, not far from Cadiz.  We had been invited by an elderly English couple to look after their dog, Rosie.  We enjoyed taking Rosie for walks along the nearby Sancti Petri beach where we could see Castle of Sancti Petri on an island just off the shore. The house had a lovely pool which was nice for the first part of our stay, but had cooled for the second half of our 6 week stay. The town of Chiclana is uninspiring, but there are some wonderful Pueblo Blanco towns within 1-2 hours drive. These classic Andalusian towns are normally on hills and the buildings are whitewashed making a nice contrast against the blue sky. The towns we enjoyed most were Cadiz, Ronda, Medina Sedonia, Jerez de la Frontera and Arcos de la Frontera. House sit date – October-November 2016 Read more about one of our favourite places to explore here Cadiz

We had left our last house sit in early January 2017 and had been back to New Zealand for our middle son Daniel’s wedding to Jessica. On the way back to New Zealand we had spent a month in Florida, and after leaving New Zealand we visited Sri Lanka and Kerala, India. Now it was April 2017 and we were in London for a month-long house sit. How else apart from house sitting or bunking with friends could we stay that long in London? Brian and Ros were heading off to South America and we would be looking after their lovely dog Gracie and Gordon their tortoise. That was a first for us. Gordon hibernates for 6 months of the year and would be waking up while we were there. So we gained another skill, managing the awakening of a tortoise following hibernation. Brian and Ros invited us back to house sit again in April 2018 while they went to Peru.  We have also stayed with them when we were in London for a few days They also invited our eldest son Richard to stay with them when he came over to Europe – house sitting goes beyond just the house sit. House sit dates – April 2017; April 2018 Read more about what to do in London here Regent’s Canal or here The Thames River Walk

Maxine and Pete were heading to their holiday home in the south of France for a month.  They accepted us as house sitters to look after their lovely home as well as Monty the Chocolate Labrador and Marcie the cute Cockapoo. We loved the walks in the countryside and it was wonderful to spend time in the university town of Cambridge. House sit date – July 2017 Read more about the places to explore here Cambridge

We had bought a car at the very top of Germany and had 10 nights to get down to our next house sit in Moresco, Italy.  We decided to do a road trip that would take us through 10 countries, you can read about that epic journey here Ten Countries in 10 Nights. The village of Moresco is on the Adriatic Coast about 180km south of San Marino. It is very small, only about 600 people but is in a valley that produces olives, wine, pasta and all sorts of fruit. Jorg and Jutta, a retired German couple, were heading away twice with a six-week gap in between. We would look after their 3 dogs for 10 days, then we would take the opportunity to do a road trip 3 weeks from North Italy down the coast of Croatia, going into Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania. Then we would catch a ferry to the south of Italy and do another 3-week road trip up the west coast of Italy. Following the road trips, we would house sit for another 5-weeks in Moresco. House sit dates – September 2017 and November 2017 You can read about our road trips here Eastern Europe and here Italy

This was to be a new experience for us, a house with multiple cats – six of them. Mike and Liz were heading to the UK for 10 days and so we would be charged with caring for all the cats. Felines-Minervois is a small village of less than 400 people in south west France only 30km from the incredible hilltop fortress of Carcassonne. Fortunately, all the cats got on well and we had a lovely time looking after them and exploring the historic nearby towns. House sit date – January 2018 Read more about the places to explore here Month in Review – January 2018

Fumel is a small town in western France 125km north of Toulouse.  Dan and Elaine run a Gite just outside the town and we would be staying there looking after their delightful dogs Snoop and Bailey while they were away for a week. We had a lot of fun in the rural setting taking the dogs for walks and exploring the countryside, and the nearby Château de Bonaguil. We also took the opportunity to explore some lovely towns including Cahors, Albi and Castres. We are pleased to have been invited back to house sit in October 2018. House sit date – March 2018; October 2018 If you ever want to stay in a lovely location with great hosts check out their website here. Gite Regrunel

This was our first ever house sit. We had been invited by friends Tracey & Fraser to look after their home in the northern suburb of Sydney, Castle Hill for a couple of weeks while they visited New Zealand. We would arrive Christmas Eve and would be caring for their two cats and lovely swimming pool.  As well as visiting Sydney City on New Year’s Eve, we explored the incredible Blue Mountains while we were there. House sit date – Dec 2012 – Jan 2013