Travel The World: Trusted Housesitters

We first heard about Trusted House Sitters from a few of our friends returning from a trip to Seattle - a 2-week stay in a beautiful house on the water to take care of a cat. We love all animals, especially dogs, so we checked out the website. Since we didn't have any travel plans at the time, so we didn't pay much attention to it. But as you probably know, life can change quickly.

Tragically our beloved 4-year-old pup suddenly passed away and our world came to a crashing halt. If you know, you know. After a month, we decided that we needed to make a move and give ourselves some space to heal and focus. We touched back on the idea of Trusted House Sitters and realized if we are able to link up multiple housesits on one trip, we could stay for a few months. We filled out our bio, paid our dues and began the process of finding/deciding where to go. We didn’t really know where yet, all we knew was Europe. 3 weeks later & we had 3 trips booked! 3.5 weeks in Paris in the 15th Arrondissement, 3 weeks in SW France in the French countryside town of St. Antonin - (Blog coming soon) and 2 weeks in the hills of SE Spain in Alcalali. We managed to only have 1 gap between sits and we travelled for 10 weeks.

Scroll down for some tips on using Trusted House Sitters!

France, Paris particularly, was somewhere Taylor had been drawn to for her whole life with a goal to spend a month living there and this was the perfect opportunity to make it happen. We don’t speak a ton of French and to be thrown into the largest residential area took some getting used to. The 15th Arrondissement was close to everything yet really felt like true Parisian culture, the markets alone are enough for me to go back to Paris. Our hosts were very friendly and their dog Gavroche was a funny old man of a dog. His favourite thing to do was snooze on the couch so we had lots of free time to explore Paris. We would take him on a few walks a day to a nearby park or just around the block and he was happy. After 3 weeks we felt right at home but it was time for the next adventure so we said goodbye to Gavroche and we were on our way. 

We caught a train to Toulouse & found our car rental place. Highly recommend Sixt Car rental - it was affordable and most importantly they were very transparent with their charges. We drove what turned out to be the scenic route, so after 300 roundabouts and several tiny little towns, we arrived in St. Antonin. A stunning little village tucked away in the limestone cliffs rich with history. The town hall here was built in the 12th century, which is hard to wrap your head around. After a quick meet and greet with our host, we headed out of town to her house. We followed her up a single-lane dirt road and I would be lying if I said we were a bit uncertain. We drove through countless farms, and down another dirt road to turn into what might be our favourite place on earth. An 18th-century farm home named La Tour is tucked away amongst the rolling hills. We were taking care of a lovely pup by the name of Walter. An unlikely name for an unlikely fluffy all-white farm dog. Walter spent most of his days just lounging around the yard chasing the odd bird or barking at the passing cows. All he needed from us was some fresh food and water, a few good plays with his favourite toy, and some leash-free walks through his favourite path in the neighbouring farm fields, where he would always wait to make sure we didn’t get lost. He would really only come inside for dinner and well after dark when it was bedtime. We still talk about him and that property a lot. It truly was magical. Once again after an actual blur of 3 weeks, reluctantly it was on to the next adventure. 

After a quick detour, our next house sit was in Spain! After a night’s stay in the neighbouring city of Alicante, our lovely hosts offered to pick us up and drive us to their home. They told us afterwards that this was their way of seeing if we were good humans worthy of taking care of their beloved dogs. Within 5 minutes of getting to their house, we were both on the ground wrestling with their big goofy pups. Knowing that their dogs were happy and safe meant the world to them and put their mind at ease. Their stunning home in the small town of Alcalali is nestled into the hills of SE Spain about 30 minutes away from a beach in every direction; you couldn’t ask for a better location. Their dogs are the loves of their lives and how could you not love these two? Sunny, a big golden lab, and Ruby, a goofy golden retriever, who didn’t know the meaning of personal space. We would spend our mornings playing fetch and chasing them around the yard and our afternoons playing their favourite game of flying leaps into the pool. They were both so friendly and sweet, you really couldn’t ask for better dogs. We got incredibly lucky with both the dogs and the hosts who were arguably the nicest people on earth.  

We are truly grateful for our hosts and the opportunity to travel to these places that were completely off the beaten path. Small little towns, where both the hosts and communities welcomed us with open arms. A truly unique experience to be able to see places in a different light, really immersing yourself in the local community. If you’ve been thinking of travelling somewhere, whether it’s a long weekend or a 2-month trip on the other side of the world, I highly recommend downloading the app and having a look at the possible opportunities.

Safe Travels! 

TIPS!

- If you are serious about using this service, especially if you’re interested in a certain place, be on the app constantly searching for new listings as they only allow 10 applicants per listing. They also have an option to set up a saved search that will notify you when listings become available for that area/dates!

- You must make sure that the housesit is a good match for you and the hosts. That goes beyond you thinking their dog/cat/horse/chicken/bird/lizard/rabbit is cute. Finding that match will ensure that both parties are the most stress-free during the process. A quick Skype meeting can alleviate some of the uncertainty.

- Make sure you are honest with your bio and that it best describes your personal experience and knowledge about animals. For example, if you don’t know anything about horses, it might be smart to avoid those listings.

- If you have the opportunity, try to find longer stays in one place other than bouncing around. This allows you to build a better relationship with the animals and get more of a feel for the community.

- To state the obvious, be overwhelmingly grateful for your host and show them that by taking amazing care of their animals and their homes!