Lets venture to Vermont...

One of the many growing experiences we learn, and I can guarantee every Au pair can relate, is that making friends is not easy, but if the opportunity presents itself, we dive head first into possibility! There is no time to casually get to know someone, or come out of your shell, there is no shell, its you, 100%, from the start ! Yes, it should always be this way, but its easy to put up guards and fences and constantly say "Next time", but with a time constraint and the fear of loneliness, this angle soon becomes redundant. On this note, when a bunch of South Africans offer you a weekend away, you take it! Knowing Yonela, having met Jacorine once, it was Danielle and Mariska, her cousin Michelle and freedom and fun in Vermont. We met up on Friday in Stamford for half price Sushi at Kano grill, first sushi in 4 months, the withdrawal was torture, but the moment we reunited, it was as if we had never parted.

$20 each for gas, a food budget, and an alcohol budget, the weekend was going to be an affordable adventure. Kindles to kill time on the road, a few personal jokes about checking in and chicken, grilled or fried, a coffee stop and a few loo breaks, 4 hours or so later we arrived at our quaint holiday home destination in Ludlow, Vermont. Getting acquainted, picking our rooms, we take in the crisp fresh air with a dose of a kid free environment and relax. A trip to the store, we stocked up on some food, and most importantly some happy juice. Googling places to eat out, we landed at the Pot Belly, for some delicious Angus beef burgers and a few Vermont made ales, namely the Long Trail, slogan " Take a Hike ". On route back to the cottage we stopped at " The Loft " where a sign stating Home of Warm Beer and Lousy Food, Grumpy Owner, was the marketing ploy that won us over. Explaining a Springbok shooter to the friendly barman, we got a concoction that substituted amarula for baileys, which produced a satisfyingly similar shot.

Back at the cottage, it was a mixture of Bud light limes, wine, Blue Moon, Kings, cards, laughs, photographs, and other drinking games with profanities in the titles. Sunday is funday, and with Butterfield falls in the plans, it was sneakers, snacks and back packs, ready for the hiking expedition. The falls were all but a few feet from the road, so we found a path and headed in our own direction. We walked for ages, before we decided that with an unknown destination, the absence of reward, the risk of the odds deemed void. Thank goodness for Danielle saving our car co - ordinates due to a misread path, we ended up on a different road, and made our way to safety through technology. Feeling healthy and fit we headed back to the cottage to relax and refresh. We hired a DVD for the night, one so ridiculously disturbing the name has escaped me, and all for good reason. All in all, a relaxing, refreshing escape from our lives as au pairs, a chance to make new friends, a weekend wonder. Thanks all....