CURRENT MISSION

Look after this world the best we can for the generations to come.

ABOUT ME

We're a down to earth, non complicated family who leads a rather normal and natural life filled with simple but good things really!

We busy ourselves with travelling times, meeting friends and relatives, entertaining, doing sports, listening to music, reading a lot, going out, etc..., or simply spending time with each other to find ourselves again.

We pretty much make all our decisions as a family. We feel it's important for our son's confidence and well being to be part of the decision making, and we do listen to his views and 'arguments' to include them in the final process.

We believe in values, morals, self respect, happiness, confidence and that's what we pass on to our son. We teach him to like and respect himself so that he can like and respect others and the environment.
Thomas is a Junior Elite competitive springboard and 7.5m and 10m platforms and life is very busy with work, school and training. Plus national and international competitions. Thomas became national champion on 3m springboard in May 2015.

He is a really 17yr old young man with a good sense of humour, is very happy and full of life. He has this real thirst for learning and can't get enough of it! He is academic, very sporty and does a lot of training and competes A LOT.

We play tennis, swim, ski, cycle, hike (particularly in the mountains), are heavily into photography, and any form of arts (more so Sophie), like current affairs, geography and history (Simon is very good at that).

We backpacked a lot in the past (a fair amount off the beaten tracks) and being able to give our son a CS experience would be wonderful for him and also for us as it would broaden his horizon even more.

PHILOSOPHY

As per above, a nice and simple life, full of lovely friends, different cultures, laughter and genuine compassion for others.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

As only starting, what we've done so far is tell everyone we know about the CS system so that they end up signing up and make good use of it by hosting, sharing, etc...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

We have been hosted over the summer'09 in Canada by the most wonderful people (Quebec and Ontario). It was a truly amazing experience for us 3 to share our hosts daily lives and busy schedules. We hope to remain friends over the years and that they will come and stay with us.
Nov.'09: we hosted our very 1st CS'ers (dad and son) and it was a truly fantastic experience for us.
Later on, we also hosted a family of 4 from Quebec.
About 4 years ago, we spent some wonderful time in Norway (Royken): absolutely loved our stay there.
May 2015: we were hosted by George in Leeds, a really nice and generous man, while our son was with his club competing in his 6th National Finals (that's when he became national champion).
We try our very best to remain in contact with the 'people' we meet (guests and hosts).
Our house is not big, but if one wants to, one can always make things work (we also have a garden to pitch a tent.
Watch this space...

Interests

We absolutely love travelling and have done pretty well in passing that 'bug' to our young son.
Some of our other passions are: photography (big time!) - family life - art - cinema - current affairs - reading (the 3 of us are book worms!) - music - sports - the outdoors - wildlife - and anything related to travelling: meeting people and finding out about their culture, food, music, customs, history, anything we can learn and share with... - and having a good laugh.

• wildlife
• arts
• culture
• books
• photography
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• clubbing
• gardening
• movies
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• scuba diving
• skiing
• sports
• tennis
• swimming
• geography
• history
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Far too many to list.
Books: Some of Sophie's tops: 'Sophie's world'; 'The unbearable lightness of being'; 'Memoir of a Geisha'; 'Half of a yellow sun'(by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - one of the best writers I've ever read); Paolo Coelho's books; Sebastian Faulks's books; Italo Calvino; I also love Far East literature (Japanese & Chinese), etc... etc... etc...!!!

Music: would take YEARS to list! Perhaps it's something we can share here when you come & visit.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Our son will always top up anything we've done or will do in our lives, both combined.
And now bringing him up the best we can with love, care and support.

Teach, Learn, Share

Sophie (Mum) can teach you French and Spanish. Also loves cooking and would love to share any 'cooking sessions' with you (simple, healthy & natural cooking).
Simon (Dad) can teach you English and is so HOT on current affairs, history, geography, etc... (very knowledgeable).
Thomas (17yr old son - 2018) can teach you to see life through the eyes of a happy, sporty, 'bookwormy', and pretty smart young man. He loves the planet and wants to save it: he will teach you to look after it.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Some sociable time around a good meal: I would be very happy to cook for you! A walk round your town / bit of countryside (wherever you happen to live). Music. Good books to read. Anything about France and the UK to discuss and any other countries in the world I have backpacked and visited. And a lot more!

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, France, United Kingdom