InsideOut Travel—Europe Through the Barn Door

by Linda Handiak

As sunlight filtered through gaps in the roof of the 200-year-old barn, the object on the floor came into focus—a bullet. “World War II, French Resistance,” our host explained. This was not the highlight of a museum visit but a discovery made during a farm apprenticeship near Limoges, France.

I arrived at my first WWOOF (worldwide opportunities on organic farms) with window-box gardening skills, too much luggage and not enough confidence. French farms were shriveling in the grip of a heat wave and I had signed on to work in the Lot, a southerly region of arid limestone plateaus. What was I thinking?

	DESTINATION: EUROPE
	Europe Through the Barn Door
	by Linda Handiak As sunlight filtered through gaps in the roof of the 200-year-old barn, the object on the floor came into focus—a bullet. “World War II, French Resistance,” our host explained. This was not the highlight of a museum visit but a discovery made during a farm apprenticeship near Limoges, France. I arrived at my first WWOOF (worldwide opportunities on organic farms) with window-box gardening skills, too much luggage and not enough confidence. French farms were shriveling in the grip of a heat wave and I had signed on to work in the Lot, a southerly region of arid limestone plateaus. What was I thinking?				I was likely to burn out, maybe literally, during my working vacation. And what would my hosts think when they met me at the Gramat train station? I imagined their welcome smiles collapsing when, instead of finding a sturdy, athletic “wwoofer,” they saw petite, impractical looking me. "'While some hosts offer volunteers rooms in their homes, one wwoofer I met was given an old mattress on the floor of a dingy room.” If Esther and James were disappointed, these radiant, robust grandparents were too gracious to betray it. They drove me back to their home—a three-hundred-year-old stone cottage—tucked into a village populated by sheep, farmers and artists—and gave me a tour of my new home. I began my mornings early, at about 7:30 a.m., perched on the stone steps above the garden, sipping green tea. The muffled sounds of animals stirring provided companionship in this otherwise quiet village. more >> << home << discuss article >>
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DESTINATION: EUROPE

Europe Through the Barn Door

by Linda Handiak