Time is ticking and our ticket says...

..we leave in LESS THAN A WEEK!

can you spell excitement with the colors of the wind? ..EXACTLY.  Indescribable excitement!

This chapter of our lives has been in discussion since the two of us graduated college 2 years ago.  After working in an army of little vandals, continuously mauled by hugs and sniffles, after moving to a different state and struggling to get a job to then serving at the O.G. (Olive Garden) to folks whom quite literally have bottomless pits as stomachs, we're here!

We begin this journey with open hearts and minds.  There is so much to discover and learn!  There are so many cultures to submerge in and lifestyles to test out!  This is what we have been working towards for 2 years.  We hope there weren't too many out there who doubted our ability to make it happen, but if so... HA! WE'RE GOING TO EUROPE! nee ner neee ner neeee ner! ;)

First stop: Paris.

We fly in Apr. 4th and will hang around for about 5 days staying with a friend of a friend.

From there we will travel south to a small meditation retreat called Moulin de Chaves where we will clean, cook, and garden whilst eating a strict vegetarian diet and partaking in yoga, mediation and all things awesome. :) We have decided to stay for 2 weeks here and will then venture into Spain/Portugal.

France is planned... nothing else is.  We expect we'll catch onto a slight breeze and let it guide us to our next destination as it sees fit.  It's our intention to keep you posted and updated as to what our plans are along the way and indulge you with fun details of our experiences in each place we set up camp. :)

With that said,
nous allons vous manquer (or something relatively close to that:) 

(we'll miss you)

With open hearts,

Chantel and Molli! together Chanolli

Hello! This is the blog of Chantel and Molli.

These two fell into the footing of best friends upon meeting each other in the fall of 2006 as first time college roommates. While Chantel pursued a Bachelor's degree in Art, as well as studying a variety of religions, Molli was seeking her Bachelor's in Creative Writing and Elementary Education, while also attending as many French classes as were offered. Outside of the classrooms, they could also be seen running all over campus and the surrounding town as members of both the college's Cross Country and Track teams.

They are both active, outgoing, driven and adventure seeking, and above all, they love to laugh. They find reward and felicity in working hard and helping others and, with a few college degrees under their belts, are now anxious to encounter other stretches of the world, stumbling upon and embracing cultures completely unlike their own.

With all of that background said, we are getting ready to explore the world! Utilizing frugal sources that allow us to give back- we'll be traveling through workaway.info and couch surfing!

If you are not familiar with either here is a quick synopsis:

Workaway.info: Is what we like to call, "a traveler/volunteer's dating site."

It is a place for hosts (normally consisting of families or various business owners across the world) who seek help on their farms, in their houses, in their gardens or with their children.

Workaway volunteers (such as ourselves) then find a host seeking help and connect with them. Each provide detailed profiles describing what they are searching for and when a match is found, they simply send an email to the other in hopes that their feelings are reciprocated. Workaway does not provide airfare or anything of the sort. It is simply a network for people to connect.

In return for helping a host, you are able to stay with them for as long as you both decide and share in their meals. Work will typically be 5 hours a day, 5 days a week.

You may ask, "Chanolli, what will you be getting out of this deal? You're traveling and will have to work!"

Our answer... "yes, we'll be working. But we wont be paying for our housing. We wont be paying for most of our food. And we will be giving something of ourselves to someone who genuinely needs the help. And we can't think of a better way to simultaneously see the world and submerge ourselves into new and different cultures!"

Couch surfing: A network that allows those who are traveling on small budgets to stay with those who can open their homes for a night or two for free.

This too is much like a dating site in that you can see detailed profiles of a host or traveler and decide whether you feel comfortable in sharing your company with them.

You also have the capability to rate those who have stayed or rate those whom you have stayed with which helps others decide if they are trustworthy, etc.

This will be used for those in-between volunteer sites while we fit in some sight seeing!

With all of this information laid out before you, it is our hope that you will share in our adventure and possibly learn as we learn and grow through our traveling experiences!