Why ? The pets were adorable , the home lovely, the owners nice, the situation interesting (for calm, tourism opportunities ?)
On my side I have marvelous souvenirs of gentle pets, charming owners,
beautiful landscapes, fabulous views from “my” bedroom.
My best sits have been in the Netherlands as I really enjoy cycling and NL has the best urban and rural cycling network bar none. I’ve also enjoyed sitting in France, as I’m fluent and it’s so much easier when you speak the language.
Welcome @mingo so glad you have joined our community forum, sharing our experiences and pet and housesitting adventures can keep the memories alive until we can get back safely to the lifestyle we all enjoy. Enjoy the conversations.
Welcome and where were you in France ?
I was in Normandy, near Isigny-sur-mer. I rented a car in Caen for the duration of my stay.
It’s so hard to pick a favourite - a lot of sits were amazing for very different reasons. But heres a few of our favourites.
Our first ever sit was for a month in the Lake District looking after a border collie. It was amazing because we were just out every day hiking in the hills! But on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, another of our favourites was looking after a tiny chihuahua who didn’t need much walking, but was so lovable and gave us lots of cuddles!
We always like going back to Brighton/Hove on the south coast of the UK, it is one of our favourite places. We lived there for a bit, so we have friends there too. We are lucky that we have a couple of housesits down there where the owners book us in for repeat sits. One in particular is looking after a gorgeous saluki who loves running around on the beach.
And then there was the alpacas we’ve looked after a few times… an amazing experience that is just so far removed from our old life before housesitting!
There are so many others we could add to this list though!
“A PIcture Says A Thousand Words” … We are loving the pet pics @ChrisAndSuzeGoWalkies … So many lovely pet memories to share … thank you!! 
I was doing a 6 week house-sit in rural France just south of Bordeaux when Covid19 hit and the owners were stuck in NZ unable to travel back to France. The 6 week sit turned into 3 months. A beautiful property with a huge garden. Fortunately a local came to mow the very extensive lawns. However, being spring a lot needed to be done in the garden. Having never gardened in my life before I nevertheless took on the challenge with the help of friends who are keen gardeners and WhatsApp. Sending photos of plants to be identified as flowers or weeds! Digging out the dead vegetable patch and training on how to store daffodil bulbs and re-pot the geraniums. Discovered I loved it and it kept me too busy to worry about being locked down on my own. Plus I had 3 dogs and a cat for company.
I’ve studied French on and off since school but yes, I continued online French classes while I was there. I’m now doing the same with Spanish as I’m in Spain house-sitting for the next 5 months… Again, have studied it on and off since school and have house-sat in Mexico. Struggling a little to switch off from French and think in Spanish. I miss being able to sit in cafes listening to conversations as it’s a good way to improve listening skills and tune in to the rhythm of the language. Hopefully the cafes will re-open again soon.
We’ve enjoyed all our sits but one that is really close to my heart is in Dublin, Ireland where I was born. I emigrated to Canada when I was 5 with my parents leaving all our relatives behind. Over the years I’ve only been back a few times. We accepted a sit there three years ago and the couple asked us back last year. It was great getting to spend time in the city where I was born not to mention seeing all my relatives.
Share my best sits?
Share. My. Best. Sits?
Beautiful what amazing scenery
Now thats what you deacated sitter
Our favorite Housesit was in Tokyo, Japan for a sweet old little girl named Molly. She didn’t like to take her medication, but that was the morning game we played everyday. Since she liked to sleep after breakfast until early evening gave us time to see some of the sites around the city. Of course when we returned home, she was there to greet us with all the affection she could muster. Our 3 weeks with her was just not long enough and we hope to see her again soon!
FB - Follow Us Everywhere
Is one of those alpacas called Humphrey??! x
Wow, best sit?? Gosh, that really is a hard question! We’ve had so many wonderful experiences I don’t think it’s possible to really pick just one?! If I was pushed though for me personally it would be the week we spent in the Quantock Hills, a mile down an unmade track was the most perfect old hunting lodge with a horse that I spent many hours each day riding. For me it truly was a money can’t buy experience!
Looks fabulous.
Most of my sits have been in SE Asia, but summer of 2018 I spotted a 5-week sit in Yokohama, Japan. Slightly further than I had planned to travel and a bit above my budget but so glad I did. I had been in Chaing Mai for 7 weeks and the only way to get there at a reasonable price was through Bangkok, with a long layover so it took about 12 hours, but when I eventually arrived it was amazing.
The house was located on top of the hill in Motomachi
, above the bay, about 5 minutes walk to China town and the bay area.
The pets were amazing, 2 dogs and 2 cats and such a lovely family.
So much to see and do - it was July so lots of events, concerts etc.
It was very hot during the day, got to over 40 some days, so early morning and late afternoon walks for the dogs left me loads of time to explore.
I have also been lucky enough to do 5 sits on Bali, 5 x months, so have spent 6 months on Bali in the last 3 years, something I never thought i would be able to say. Isn’t pet sitting fun!
