This week started with a lot of odd things happening at the Chateau. The pool we have been struggling with for the whole season seemed to both get better (we figured out the vacuum) and worse (the pump didn’t seem to be working right) at the same time. There were dead things that we found on the property – won’t go in depth there. And, just as I was about to leave to grab guests from the train station, I realized we had a flat tire on the van.
We rallied to get the guests a taxi (which was no minor feat), a new tire ordered in town for delivery the next day, and a rental car reservation that started later that afternoon. Unfortunately, the taxi they sent for four ladies and their luggage would have been better suited for two plus luggage, but they were good sports and made it work! We passed them on the road as we limped the van to town on a spare tire that looked older than me. Thankfully a neighbor had an air compressor and pumped it up a bit before the journey. While it was one thing after another here, the volunteer group and staff did a great job at making it all seamless for retreat guests.
This week we had six lovely ladies who were all founders of travel related businesses. Several of them operate tour companies, one founded a service/app that pairs travelers with a female that lives in the city they are visiting for one-on-one travel advice, and a yoga and meditation instructor whose goal is to live and work abroad. They ran their own agenda this week with a lot of workshops on building their business, social media tips and tricks, etc. I taught yoga only the second night before bedtime. Most of my week was spent getting the van tire changed and reading tarot for three ladies.
We planned a surprise for our Operations Director, Grace. It was her birthday on Saturday and she had mentioned her favorite cake is cheesecake, which isn’t really common to find to buy here. Our amazing chef Alicia was able to find a recipe and I snuck out to grab the ingredients and a bottle of bubbles. We found just the right time on Saturday night to toast her and then had a staff only party in our space on the third floor of the Chateau. She had a big win this week with the pool. As mentioned, we have struggled with it all season. When I went to the pool store to try to grab a part (they didn’t have it), they took a phone number from me and I wasn’t sure why. I gave them the chef’s phone number because it is local. A lovely English-speaking gentleman called and talked with Grace about the issues with the pool, got the part ordered, and then came to the Chateau to have a look. He vacuumed it with his professional vacuum and discovered that our pump had been set up incorrectly! Voilà – one afternoon with someone who knew what they were doing and we have a lovely looking pool – just in time for rainy season to arrive!
Sunday was two trips to town to drop guests at the train station and then we went to an outdoor flea market (called a ‘brocante’ in French) in search of treasures. There were some interesting items there and the locals were playing a pétanque tournament, which is a French version of bocce ball. The atmosphere was fun and cheerful and we had a lovely afternoon in the sun.
Monday was our day off and it was sunny in the morning but turned rainy with thunderstorms in the afternoon. I literally did NOTHING all day long, which felt necessary after all the craziness and running around of the week. We are hoping for better vibes from the Universe as we welcome nine ladies for the next retreat, which will be the biggest group we have hosted this summer. We have been “training” for this!! Wish us luck.
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