Farm #3 St. Hélène du Lac, France

You thought I'd leave without one more unplanned day in Nice? Psssh! Not when there's a strike at all the train stations in France, no sir! I was smart enough to check before arriving with all of my belongings, so it could have been worse! Regardless, I took advantage of my extra day in Nice.

I went skating on the Promenade D'Anglais for a good bit of cardio in the morning :) It was beautiful weather and I blasted my music while speed people watching.

Then I pulled over for a nice swim and relaxation time before skating back to the hostel for lunch and rehydration.

Then I went back to the skatepark and had an awesome time with a bunch of scooter kids and two rollerbladers. It was great!

And then 11 hours of hell on trains. 5 train changes, 2 cancelled trains, no seats or tickets...and with all my luggage. Fortunately I had wifi for a few minutes so I sent an email to Étienne on the farm that I'd be late! And he was awesome and was waiting for me with another wwoofer when I arrived. We stopped at the awesome house for a bit and then sped off to a festival where I met everyone else. The other wwoofer is Catherine, a French Canadian, and the family is Étienne, Guylaine, Nicholas, and Audrey. They all made me feel welcome and right at home immediately, which was a relief after all the travel and after the reserved family at the other farm.

There was an Australian musician singing great music; Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, etc.

I saw Guylaine sing in the choir, very cool. She's in the middle with a blue shirt

This is the gorgeous view from the garden with red, white, and black currents.

The house! The inside is very nice and modern. Keep in mind how rustic I was living on the other farm and try to appreciate my absolute shock and joy when I saw:

A refrigerator

A toilet...inside!

A TV

The house is next to a road

Wifi!!!!!

Different varieties of food! 

I'm in heaven.

We walked to town, where Étienne was selling homemade sorbet. That's right, walked to town. Because it's so close. Oh, civilization! How I've missed thee! And now I can walk there whenever I want! Or skate! Also, yes, I did say delicious homemade delicious sorbet that was delicious.

Then we went to the lake to swim and frolic and lay out (we weren't the only ones) Beautiful! 

Everyone and their mother went in the water...and their horses, too.

Nicholas, Audrey, and a friend then pumped up the boat. They approached it with the focus and seriousness one usually reserves for CPR. 

I'm happy to be here!