In my last blog “Midnight Sky”, I promised you a recap of my stay at an artist’s chateau in northwestern France.
So, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Give you allll the deets.
Let’s get into it…
On January 13th (Friday the 13th), I left Boston and made my way to Quesnoy-le-Montant, a little town, an hour and a half away from Paris by train.
As soon as I landed in Paris, I was overcome by feelings of, “I’m back.” Any time I’m on European soil, I sink into a settled, peaceful state of being, and it’s the closest feeling to home I’ve ever felt. I crave it when I’m away, and as soon as I’m back, I feel whole.
I was picked up at the train station in Abbeville, France by a woman whose family owns the chateau. She’s originally from Germany but has lived in France for most of her life. She speaks German, French, English, and Spanish. To say I admired her ability to speak multiple languages is an understatement. It is such an honor to communicate with a vast number of people from different countries, and she has that honor.
I arrived at the chateau around 7PM on Saturday, January 14th (Paris time), and was welcomed into a full house. The woman who owns the chateau used to be a director and an actress, and on Sunday (the next day), she was directing a Belgian play in the theater of the chateau, hence why the house was full of people from her lighting crew, camera crew, and acting crew.
Most everyone spoke French, so I was a little (okay, a lot) lost as the conversations unfolded, but I didn’t mind. I was tired from traveling, so I was totally content with being in a room full of people and listening to the elegance of the French language being tossed around. I’ve found myself being surrounded by people who don’t speak my mother tongue more than once in my life, so I’ve learned how to just appreciate taking up space and not airtime.
If at this point you’re wondering, “Taylor, why are you at an artist’s chateau in France, and more so, how did you get there?”
Let me back up a bit.
In November of 2022, I decided I wanted to embark on another adventure out in our big bad world. That led me to stumbling upon a platform called “Worldpackers”. Essentially, it’s an online marketplace that connects volunteers with hosts around the world. I made a profile on the website, scrolled through the volunteer opportunities posted online, and connected with the chateau. They were originally looking for help with content management, social media, and website development, and I thought, “Why not give this a go?”
Worldpackers is a great opportunity if you’re looking to travel, volunteer, and spend very few dollars in the process. In exchange for twenty-five hours of work a week (five hours a day), I was given a room in a guesthouse on the chateau grounds, three meals a day, and transportation to and from the train station. All I needed to do was buy a plan ticket to Paris and home—everything else was essentially “free”.
Not a bad way to travel, if you ask me!
However, there are some stipulations. You’re not paid for the work you do (hence the “volunteer” aspect), so you either need to have a flexible, remote work schedule or funds to support yourself, if you choose to do anything extra while on site. You also need to be open to interacting with all types of people from all over the world, not be afraid to get down and dirty with it, and adapt to other people’s living situations and lifestyles.
I welcome all of what I just mentioned with open arms, so this was a great opportunity for me to have an immersive experience and really understand how the French live and work. But, if you’re not comfortable with getting out of your comfort zone, I wouldn’t recommend looking into Worldpackers.
*Just to note: every volunteer opportunity on the platform is different. Just because I was given a room in a guesthouse, three meals, and transportation does not mean all hosts offer that. Think of the experience as being a guest in someone’s house. Everyone runs their home differently, so no two opportunities are alike. You really need to spend time going through the details of the opportunity you’re interested in and assessing if you’re in agreement with what’s being offered. The good news is—there are A LOT of opportunities, so chances are, you’ll find something that suits you, if you’re interested in venturing down the Worldpackers route.*
Anyway, for a week and a half I spent my time in the chateau working on projects to get it into tip-top shape come March. The woman who owns it and her partner are working on renovating the property from the inside out and renting it out to artists and writers alike. They have a vision of hosting artists who are in residency, writer’s workshops, and transforming the entire place into an oasis for creatives looking to channel their art into whatever form it takes.
I can’t wait to see what happens over the course of the next few months. I was only there for a week and a half, and I felt like so much had happened in that short timeframe, so I’ll be checking in with them every once in a while for updates on how things are coming along. I just know it’s going to be a beautiful masterpiece when it’s done (it already is), and the artists who are lucky enough to go will reap the benefits of the chateau’s innate aura.
With that said, the entire chateau is infused with creative elements. From the theater upstairs, the paintings on the walls, the books in every room, to its grandeur physique, the nature of the people who live inside, and the way its set back in a little village away from the commotion of life.
I feel very lucky I was able to spend some time there, but more importantly, I am blessed to have met the people who live there. I tend to think all of the adventures I go on lead me to people who I am meant to meet for one reason or another, and this trip was no different.
We’d often spend the evenings after dinner having conversations about our lives in our respective countries and about our opinions on worldly topics. It is always refreshing to have respectful, insightful conversations with people who are both eager to share their thoughts and interested in hearing yours. The fine balance between being an active participant in a conversation and allowing room for others to chime in is an art in and of itself, and while I was at the chateau, I felt that everyone there had this talent.
~
While I was there, I met another volunteer from Spain who I explored the village with a few times. We’d walk around the open fields and talk about how we ended up in France together at the same time. He spoke a little French, so one night we waltzed into the bakery in our little village and ordered desserts. I bought a pistachio eclair and a raspberry cream tart. Both were delicious, but truthfully, pistachio anything is delicious and you can never go wrong with a cream filling.
My last night at the chateau, he came to the door of my room while I was packing my suitcase and said, “I just wanted to say it was really nice to meet you. From the very beginning, even when you came to the train station to pick me up, you were very welcoming. You made this place feel a little bit more like home, so thank you.”
Even if I had had a horrible time and hated everyone I met at the chateau, my entire trip would have been worth it had I only heard those couple of sentences from him. It is truly one of my greatest joys to meet people who make life a little bit better, and he definitely made the last half of my stay enjoyable.
~
After my stay at the chateau, I took a train to Paris on January 26th and spent a few nights at a hotel near the Notre Dame. In May of 2018, while I was studying abroad, I spent four days in Paris, and although I really enjoyed my stay back then, I fell madly in love with the city this time around. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did because I thought I already got a feel for it, but I was happily proven wrong.
While there, I visited the Sainte-Chapelle, Sacre Coeur, Shakespeare and Company, Eiffel Tower, Wall of Love, and a few other attractions. I also ate at a few good restaurants/cafes, walked along the Seine River, wandered through Montmartre, and observed as people went about their merry days around me.
Something about Paris is very captivating to me. It’s a mixture of the art, the language, the history, the architecture, and the energy of the city. You have to visit to experience it for yourself, and even then, it might not hit you the way it hit me. But I feel as though that wasn’t my last time there. That I have unfinished business to do in Paris. I suppose time will be the test of that.
~
So, why did I feel called to go to France, stay at the chateau, and visit a city I’ve already been to?
Well, as soon as I saw pictures of the castle, I felt connected to it. I felt like I needed to be there in person. I’ve never had a big interest in France, but then again, I don’t know if I’ve ever felt called to just one place itself. It’s more so the ambiance, people, and way of life that draws me into specific places.
I was, more or less, looking for a cultural experience, for some time in Europe, to meet creative people, and to shake up my norm. I was close enough to Paris while I was there that I thought, “Well, there’s no way I don’t spend a few days there before I leave,” and I’m glad I did.
~
My two-week stay in France was a glorious time, and I’m grateful for the experience I had. I want to encourage you to find ways to push your limits and step into new territory, whether that be literal or figurative, and put yourself in a position to grow. If Worldpackers can do that for you, great. If not, explore different avenues.
Life is meant to be lived, people are meant to be met, borders are meant to be crossed, and you are meant to join in on that journey.
From my wanderlust heart to yours, go where your heart is calling❤️
Comments