Last update September 2018
------------

In 2015 I quit my job and home to travel. That's the reason why I cannot host you at the moment :(
But maybe we can meet on the road!

I've spent a full year in New Zealand, then some time in California with my American partner Nate who then joined me in Europe.
In 2017-2018, we pursued our dream to learn how to sail and cross the Atlantic. And we did it last January-February!! We're now at the end of a sailing voyage that took us from the Balearic Islands to Cornwall via the Azores and are making our way to London... and out.

We don't know much about England and would be happy to discover the countryside since we like hiking and Nate loves castles but we'll be running out of time since we'll go to London on the 28th or 29th of September.

CURRENT MISSION

Spend time with nice people, discover, explore, enjoy nature, learn new languages, experience different lifestyles and learn new skills.
Contribute. Make the world a better place, spread happiness, trust and gratitude.
I believe in generosity circles: I help you now because I can and I'm not expecting anything in return. I just hope you'll help someone later because you can and you're happy to do so. And maybe this person will too and it will spread in a world obsessed with fears!

PHILOSOPHY

Enjoy life... guess what? We only have one!
Meet people, listen to others and learn from them!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I don't want to travel the world without getting to know local people and experiencing their way of living.

That's funny really because I came to NZ with a working holiday visa: being able to work was quite securing but I quickly found out that I didn't/don't want to lose my time trying to earn money. Instead I did a lot of long HelpX stays where I spent time helping families or individuals with whatever they needed. I spent quality time instead of spending money as a tourist in a rush.
There are two choices : time or money. Time is more valuable to me.
During my stay, I learnt beekeeping, had the greatest fun on a dairy farm, enjoyed helping in a planted forest, sailed around Stewart Island with teenagers, was invited to fish crayfish or fly over the Southern Alps to the Milford Sound... but mostly I learnt from others, recentered and made friends!
Because we are human beings and want to connect, when I stay at someone's place I always make sure I find a way to make my host benefit from my stay (sex never included!)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The first one in Amsterdam as I was once again on a business trip and bored to stay in a hotel out of the city centre. I met Putri for a drink and this was just fantastic to have her as a personal guide, driving me through the canals by bike! We had the pleasure to meet again in Switzerland (as I lived in Vevey at that time) a few months later. It was such a great pleasure to see her again and I hope we'll meet again in other places!

Also I met friends through CS... GingerMel and I kept in touch and met a few times after her visit. She is now one of my best friends!

Interests

Listening and learning from others, exploring countries thanks to locals.

Learning new languages, meeting children, answering their questions, learning how to cook traditional dishes.

I am into photography, drawing, writing, reading. I enjoy solitude as much as I enjoy being around people!

I like cooking, hiking, trekking, sailing, figure skating, playing ball, running... and adventures, challenges and traveling of course !

I love slow travel... on foot, by bike, hitchhiking, trekking. Kayaking or traveling on horseback is something I haven't done yet. I have a very vibrant memory of a trek in Morocco where we walked alone with our local guide, the mule owners and two mules in the mountains for a week and then another week with dromedaries in the desert! That was gorgeous, intense, authentic and very inspiring!

• singing
• photography
• dancing
• cooking
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• drawing
• cycling
• fishing
• hiking
• camping
• snorkeling
• sailing
• sports
• swimming
• languages
• volunteering
• intentional communities
• learning
• children
• wild camping
• horseriding
• wild animals
• alternative living

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC
My favourite instrument is the piano...I'll learn one day. I love spending evenings with friends playing guitar and piano and singing along.

CINEMA
I am a member of a cinema club, where we watch a film each week and have a discussion afterwards. I like it very much because movies are played in the original version, films are not always the most recent nor the most popular ones... So most of the time, I am happily surprised!

BOOKS
I love reading, especially travel books.
Among my favourites "The Alchemist" and "Eat Pray Love".... and "Round Ireland with a fridge"!

DRAMA
I started playing theatre a few years ago and this is quite a challenge to be someone else on stage. What I like most is the atmosphere, the strength of the group and the fact that we get very close to each other as everything depends on everyone. This is such a great human experience.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I need to think about this one but I am definitely not afraid about challenges! I like sports, hiking, swimming even in very cold water as long as I am having fun with others... for instance I bathed in Sylt (Germany) on April the 1st... air temperature 8°C ; water temperature 3°C.
Summer 2012: I spent 2 weeks in a fjord in eastern Iceland volunteering with 17 other people mainly from Europe and Asia. We enjoyed the Icelandic way of life and helped cleaning the coast, building a hiking path, laying grass and expelling sheep out of town!!!

Teach, Learn, Share

Languages, cooking, kazoo playing, positive thinking and anything else!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Réunion, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, United States