Guess what? Our couch finally did move a little:) Well not our couch per se, but we did. These past 5 days we've been at our 100yr old house in the mountains just up from Bitola, in the village called Magarevo which is just at the edge of one of Macedonia's (if not the) most beautiful national parks - Pelister. We come here once in a while in the wintertime and quite more often in the summertime, always with visions of absolute laziness, sun-soaking and long uphill hikes. In practice, our stays here are a mix of really hardcore garden work, the occasional home improvement project and (really towards the end of our days) a couple of lazy morning hours, book gulping and rakija-induced afternoon naps. Despite the blisters on our hands and the really embarrassing tan lines that reek of fieldwork, and no matter how short our stay in this little getaway, we openly daydream about moving to the countryside where we'll blend in with the local folks that live beyond 90, wake up to the sound of birds, eat from our vegetable garden, and perhaps even get used to the idea of sketchy TV reception, no neighbors to steal wireless from and the ever-present village gossip.

We've never brought couchsurfers here, although the opportunity has presented itself a couple of times, only to be cancelled last moment because of changing plans. If I am sometimes embarrased and frustrated by various things that travelers have to face in our capital Skopje, I really can't imagine having the same feeling of inadequacy should a foreigner visit Pelister. True, roads are not their best, the local entertainment is limited to the one shop/bar (trust me, none of these words come close to describing it) and the locals routinely stare you down if you look even remotely non-local but...But, you become quite forgiving when you smell the pine trees (autochthonous really, called Molika), have a close encounter with one of the village's cows or try the local cheese or the cranberries from our garden. Add to this the never-ending presence of my currently favorite animal - the snail - and the fact that seeing them all the time acts as a constant reminder to slow down and enjoy life...We're in heaven.

I really feel we didn't do justice to our previous guests, Sarah and Stephanie, in terms of coverage of their homelands in this blog. In Magarevo, I've been reading a bit about Vannes, the home city of Sarah in France, located in Brittany (I much prefer the sound of the French "Bretagne"). But I find myself pretty ignorant about Bretagne and the Breton language so my knowledge-quest first directs me there. Apparently, about 200,000 people in Bretagne speak Breton - called Brezhoneg by speakers - (down from roughtly 1.3 million some 80 years ago). Breton is currently an endangered language and is of Celtic origin, brought from Great Britain by immigrant Britons in the Early Middle Ages.  Breton is now the only living Celtic language that is not reconized as an official language in a country where it's spoken. .

Vannes was actually founded in the 1st century BC by the Romans but in the more recent history it was the former seat of the Dukes of Bretagne and is located right in the heart of the Gulf of Morbihan (Morbihan Department) in South Bretagne. The word Morbihan is derived from the Breton Ar Mor Bihan, meaning Little Sea and this French Republic's department is in fact the only one without a French name. The Gulf is considered an inland sea and supposedly has some gorgeous bays. And here's something funny: whenever we have couchsurfers around, and the topic of the city of Ohrid comes up, we always mention the fact that legend has it that Ohrid has 365 churches, one for each day of the year. Reading about Morbihan I find out that according to their own legend there are as many islands in the Gulf as there are days of the year. Wikipedia is quick to dispell this myth and it seems as if the Gulf actually only has about 40 islands. I don't think the Ohrid churches have been actually counted but 365 seems like too big a number, even for Ohrid (forgive me Ohrid-locals, I have a mathematical brain, and need actual list of churches that sequentially progresses from number 1 to number 365).

Very close to Vannes is a curious place called Carnac, best know as a site of over 3000 prehistoric standing stones, erected by the pre-Celtic people of the region, during Neolithic times. Legend says that the reason they are placed in such straight lines is that the stones are in fact a Roman legion turned to stone by Merlin. Hmmmm.... Eh, I'm not much into stones anyway.

Apparently Vannes is quite gorgeous and has quite a bit to see, including the battlements (the "castrum" that protected the town at one point in history and later became the center of the medieval town), a number of churches and cathedrals (St.Pierre seems to be the most popular one) and a port.

But the thing that most catches my eye (ok, virtually) are the timber-frame houses. They date back to the 15th and 16th century and look very cute to me.

There you have it, a little taste of Vannes. I've also been reading a bit on Syria (Sarah's other homeland) as well as on Rotterdam (Stephanie's college life home), Amsterdam (her future home) and Rio (where her mum's family is from) and will probably share a few other snippets with you in the coming days. And to think that the month ahead will be jam-packed with couchsurfers again - oh the joy of learning and fantasizing about places! But excuse me now as I go and cut up my birthday cake - it's the last time I turn an age that starts with the number 2 and I need a big piece in order to swallow the fact.