Peter & Debra
Peter & Debra
Energetic, happy, active, adventurous, non-smoking couple with 117 house sitting experiences (with 435 pets) and loving all that housesitting offers.
About Peter & Debra
We are a retired, happily married couple from Australia, currently in our ninth year of continuous house sitting around the world.
Fortunate enough to have been able to retire early we have a passion to travel and have been doing so for the past sixteen years. And have had this enhanced exponentially by being able to share with other people's ...
We are a retired, happily married couple from Australia, currently in our ninth year of continuous house sitting around the world.
Fortunate enough to have been able to retire early we have a passion to travel and have been doing so for the past sixteen years. And have had this enhanced exponentially by being able to share with other people's pets and care for their properties since late 2010. We are non-smokers.
Our enthusiasm for the task only gets stronger as indicated in references from
(i) Patsy, a home owner from central France, in late 2014 '....this duo are effervescent, vivacious and extremely enterprising. And they are great fun to be with'
(ii) Corin, from the high Pyrenees, in June 2017 '.... meticulous in their attention to detail, with an obvious love for animals, as well as being prepared to go the extra mile to make a difference, they enhanced our time away by giving us the confidence and peace of mind....'
(Iii) Lynne, from Brittany in France, in May 2018 '...super communicators, they are organised, they are very caring, they respected our home, they are fun loving, happy, smiley people who were an absolute joy to have in our home....'
(iv) Andrea, from Perth Australia, in January 2019 '...they were so interested in every one of our pets - large or small, furry, feathered and scaly and knew all their names and exactly how to care for them....'.
In January 2018, the Daily Mail posted this article featuring us and our views on housesitting. This can be viewed at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5237669/The-couple-house-sitting-seven-years.html
New pets seem to accept and trust us very quickly (perhaps that innate ability of animals to identify friendliness or is it the reside pet smell that lingers in our clothing?) and as we go along we better understand what owners expect of us reacting with their properties and pets. Still, we actively seek to continue this adventure and lifestyle.
We have just started our one hundred and seventeenth (117) house in Brittany, France with Meeka, the 12yo Dalmatian who foremostly likes to eat, then likes to go out for a walk and always loves to be close.
We have been extremely fortunate to have been asked to housesit at various times into late 2019 (as shown on the availability calendar attached to our profile). If you would like to discuss any opportunities that fit your dates we would welcome the contact.
Why we want to house sit
House sitting offers the opportunity to travel and visit places that we had not thought about – it is the owners that drive the destination - and share with animals who require the ongoing attention and affection that is provided by their owners. We are able to travel and absorb things at a much slower pace.
Our experience
With house-sits in France, Thailand, Spain, Turkey, the USA, England, Canada, the Caribbean, Guatemala, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Belgium and Germany we have
• owned pets during our lifetime can understand the importance of animals in people’s lives and know how to enjoy their company and provide the necessary care
• cared for 435 different pets (dogs, cats, fish, birds, a horse, donkeys, chickens, rabbits, frogs, goats, gerbils, guinea pigs, an Iguana, sheep, ducks, a pig and various types and sizes of fish). Living inside or outside the house. Some big and strong, some small and timid. Some requiring special attention and medication (including post surgical care, injections and administering daily doses of various medicines). And most needing love and affection. And we would like to think we can remember most of their names or if given a couple of moments probably them all or will at least try to.
If you a chance please look at the video we entered in a 2016 trustedhousesitters.com competition at (just highlight, copy and paste the following link into your browser)
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/blog/pets/the-winner-of-moments-memories-happypets-is-revealed/
In addition to our profile video, the new one highlights a journey of happiness and fun with pets in the last eight years.
• cared for very old fragile dogs and cats, four lively boisterous 6 week old puppies requiring toilet and on-lead training and on 6 other occasions taken the reins on newly acquired puppies that the owners could not resist taking in just prior to our arrival
• cared for animals from different backgrounds. Some being strays turning up in people's lives by various means (sitting in front yard, wandering streets abandoned and lost), 'rescue' animals that have been adopted from refuges, animals with pedigrees, animals of unknown breeds (we call Bitzers - bits of this and bits of that) and animals who have been unceremoniously dumped at owners doorsteps. But in all cases now pets which are now loved and an integral part of people's lives
• on six occasions have had a pet-free house sit, another with 6 dogs and 8 cats, on two other occasions 6 dogs/4cats, 2 ocassions 8 cats and 1 dog and a house sit in Turkey we shared with 16 cats (was supposed to be 14 but 2 more turned up after hearing that we had arrived) and 2 dogs. And at other times have enjoyed the company of one or two pets!
• on four occasions were asked to extend the designated responsibilities by accepting to care for pets of the owners friends, who decided to travel at the last minute.
• been responsible for large acreage properties to small village land holdings and 1 and 2 bedroom apartments/townhouses
• looked after large gardens, mowed large lawn areas using all types of machinery including sit on mowers (on large property required a 7 hour mow every 7-10 days), push mowers, strimmers, chainsaws, driven snow ploughs to clear long driveways of snow (and also shovelled it away), tenderly cared for delicate indoor plants, swept driveways, trimmed trees/shrubs, nurtured a vegetable patches, planted new garden rows, painted outdoor furniture and maintained swimming pools.
• lived by the ocean, in cities, rural (working and hobby) farms and remote mountain villages; in the heat, in humidity, in the rain and in the cold beautiful scenic world of snow and ice.
• survived flash floods while keeping pets safe, lived without water in places that freeze in winter, embraced diverse climates that change dramatically by the hour and put it all down to experience!
• lived in countries deemed to be safe and free; countries bound by century old traditions and countries that require attention to health and safety and loved them all
• stayed for one week up to three months; and willing to do longer sits if needed
• have been invited to return and have done so on many, many occasions, the most to the one property being 10 times
• have been recommended by owners to friends; have provided references to home owners; have recommendations of friends accepted by owners and continually provide advice to people seeking information on house sitting.
• opened up our horizons with new friends and cultures
• never charged for our services as house sitters.
Being home owners and long time rental properties owners we
• have an understanding of the value that an owner has on their property
• have an understanding of people that wish to come and live in your property. And their needs!
• can use our life experiences for problem solving and those unexpected events that happen from time to time and continue to go so with own rental properties in Perth whilst we travel extensively
• have better than basic house maintenance/gardening skills (minor repairs, lawn mowing, cutting wood, pruning, painting, clearing snow from driveways and paths using large machinery and manual methods, replaced reticulation systems etc) and have no fear in trying something new and unexpected
Being very active and adventurous we are
• willing to travel anywhere in the world
• willing to learn new cultures and languages
• prolific walkers having trekked extensively in Western Australia, NZ, Nepal and Africa (since starting house sitting we have probably covered more distance walking with pets than we have in all our other treks combined)
• recreational (and seasoned) bike riders having cycled 7000km across Australia and on a three month 3500km adventure through France
• motivated to go to places that we have not been to or heard of!
Coming from professional backgrounds (Deb being a State Sales Manager and Peter a self-employed Computer Consultant, Property Manager and Web Co-Coordinator), we
• are very organised and reliable
• have good communication and computer skills
• understand technology and its use in keeping in touch with owners
• know how to follow instructions.
We periodically post photos during each house-sit on the web so that owners can get a ’pet/property fix’ whenever and wherever they are at any time. In addition we have posted pictures of our Australian home to show how we live and the standard of cleanliness we bring with us. We can provide that link to you if you are interested to view this offering.
All of our previous house owners have provided references and are available for personal contact if you require. We can also provide those details to you.
In 2014 we provided a Xmas house sitting blog for trustedhousesitters.com. This can be read by copying the link below and pasting it into your browser.
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/blog/house-sitting/peter-debra-australian-house-sitters-experience-their-first-white-christmas/
Thank you for reading our profile. If you require any more information or clarification please do not hesitate to contact us.
Reviews (62)
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Marion - Laniscat, France
05 March - 12 March 2019
Peter and Debbie are the most wonderful house sitters
Our dogs adore them, and they were incredibly well looked after, following our preferences to the letter.
Our small dog Milo is sometimes a handful, but Peter and Debs were patient and caring, in fact we saw a big improvement in his behaviour ...Peter and Debbie are the most wonderful house sitters
Our dogs adore them, and they were incredibly well looked after, following our preferences to the letter.
Our small dog Milo is sometimes a handful, but Peter and Debs were patient and caring, in fact we saw a big improvement in his behaviour when we returned.
We had daily updates by text or email with pictures of 2 contented and happy dogs.
They are incredibly clean and tidy, and our house seemed cleaner than it was when we left x
Thanks too Debs I have now discovered he ‘muc off cloth’ x
To sum up, Peter and Debbie are kind, considerate, helpful people who I would hope would come and sit for us again. We also now regard them as good friends
We cannot recommend them highly enough x x- Organised
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- Reliable
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- Self-sufficient
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- Tidy
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- Pet care
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Andrew And Lisa - Pickering, United Kingdom
24 February - 04 March 2019
If there were six stars to allocate, we'd do it. Peter and Debs are the perfect example of the perfect house- and animal-sitters. They are really well organised, experienced, caring, fastidious, trustworthy and efficient. Our house and our dogs looked better when we returned than when we left! Ha...
If there were six stars to allocate, we'd do it. Peter and Debs are the perfect example of the perfect house- and animal-sitters. They are really well organised, experienced, caring, fastidious, trustworthy and efficient. Our house and our dogs looked better when we returned than when we left! Happy, healthy, dogs and an immaculate house. They kept in touch with us in the run-up to the sit, during it and even afterwards, to check that all was OK. Just six stars all round! Come back, you two...........our dogs miss you!!! The best trusted house sitters ever.
- Organised
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- Reliable
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- Self-sufficient
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- Tidy
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- Pet care
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Lisa - London, United Kingdom
17 February - 22 February 2019
Peter and Debbie are absolute pros and a pleasure all around. We felt so lucky we were able to secure a housesit so they could care for our two dogs, one quite old with complex health issues. We’ve been hesitant to take holidays because of our old guy, but we knew he was in excellent hands with ...
Peter and Debbie are absolute pros and a pleasure all around. We felt so lucky we were able to secure a housesit so they could care for our two dogs, one quite old with complex health issues. We’ve been hesitant to take holidays because of our old guy, but we knew he was in excellent hands with Peter and Deb. They handled multiple medications, eye drops, and middle of the night toilet breaks with stride. They were extremely engaged, diligent and communicative and we received daily updates and pictures. We returned to two happy boys who had clearly been well looked after and lavished with attention, and an impeccable house (clean sheets, towels and all!). We honestly can’t recommend these two highly enough. We would be thrilled to have them in our home again.
- Organised
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- Reliable
-
- Self-sufficient
-
- Tidy
-
- Pet care
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About Peter & Debra
We are a retired, happily married couple from Australia, currently in our ninth year of continuous house sitting around the world.
Fortunate enough to have been able to retire early we have a passion to travel and have been doing so for the past sixteen years. And have had this enhanced exponentially by being able to share with other people's pets and care for their properties since late 2010. We are non-smokers.
Our enthusiasm for the task only gets stronger as indicated in references from
(i) Patsy, a home owner from central France, in late 2014 '....this duo are effervescent, vivacious and extremely enterprising. And they are great fun to be with'
(ii) Corin, from the high Pyrenees, in June 2017 '.... meticulous in their attention to detail, with an obvious love for animals, as well as being prepared to go the extra mile to make a difference, they enhanced our time away by ......
We are a retired, happily married couple from Australia, currently in our ninth year of continuous house sitting around the world.
Fortunate enough to have been able to retire early we have a passion to travel and have been doing so for the past sixteen years. And have had this enhanced exponentially by being able to share with other people's pets and care for their properties since late 2010. We are non-smokers.
Our enthusiasm for the task only gets stronger as indicated in references from
(i) Patsy, a home owner from central France, in late 2014 '....this duo are effervescent, vivacious and extremely enterprising. And they are great fun to be with'
(ii) Corin, from the high Pyrenees, in June 2017 '.... meticulous in their attention to detail, with an obvious love for animals, as well as being prepared to go the extra mile to make a difference, they enhanced our time away by giving us the confidence and peace of mind....'
(Iii) Lynne, from Brittany in France, in May 2018 '...super communicators, they are organised, they are very caring, they respected our home, they are fun loving, happy, smiley people who were an absolute joy to have in our home....'
(iv) Andrea, from Perth Australia, in January 2019 '...they were so interested in every one of our pets - large or small, furry, feathered and scaly and knew all their names and exactly how to care for them....'.
In January 2018, the Daily Mail posted this article featuring us and our views on housesitting. This can be viewed at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5237669/The-couple-house-sitting-seven-years.html
New pets seem to accept and trust us very quickly (perhaps that innate ability of animals to identify friendliness or is it the reside pet smell that lingers in our clothing?) and as we go along we better understand what owners expect of us reacting with their properties and pets. Still, we actively seek to continue this adventure and lifestyle.
We have just started our one hundred and seventeenth (117) house in Brittany, France with Meeka, the 12yo Dalmatian who foremostly likes to eat, then likes to go out for a walk and always loves to be close.
We have been extremely fortunate to have been asked to housesit at various times into late 2019 (as shown on the availability calendar attached to our profile). If you would like to discuss any opportunities that fit your dates we would welcome the contact.
Why we want to house sit
House sitting offers the opportunity to travel and visit places that we had not thought about – it is the owners that drive the destination - and share with animals who require the ongoing attention and affection that is provided by their owners. We are able to travel and absorb things at a much slower pace.
Our experience
With house-sits in France, Thailand, Spain, Turkey, the USA, England, Canada, the Caribbean, Guatemala, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Belgium and Germany we have
• owned pets during our lifetime can understand the importance of animals in people’s lives and know how to enjoy their company and provide the necessary care
• cared for 435 different pets (dogs, cats, fish, birds, a horse, donkeys, chickens, rabbits, frogs, goats, gerbils, guinea pigs, an Iguana, sheep, ducks, a pig and various types and sizes of fish). Living inside or outside the house. Some big and strong, some small and timid. Some requiring special attention and medication (including post surgical care, injections and administering daily doses of various medicines). And most needing love and affection. And we would like to think we can remember most of their names or if given a couple of moments probably them all or will at least try to.
If you a chance please look at the video we entered in a 2016 trustedhousesitters.com competition at (just highlight, copy and paste the following link into your browser)
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/blog/pets/the-winner-of-moments-memories-happypets-is-revealed/
In addition to our profile video, the new one highlights a journey of happiness and fun with pets in the last eight years.
• cared for very old fragile dogs and cats, four lively boisterous 6 week old puppies requiring toilet and on-lead training and on 6 other occasions taken the reins on newly acquired puppies that the owners could not resist taking in just prior to our arrival
• cared for animals from different backgrounds. Some being strays turning up in people's lives by various means (sitting in front yard, wandering streets abandoned and lost), 'rescue' animals that have been adopted from refuges, animals with pedigrees, animals of unknown breeds (we call Bitzers - bits of this and bits of that) and animals who have been unceremoniously dumped at owners doorsteps. But in all cases now pets which are now loved and an integral part of people's lives
• on six occasions have had a pet-free house sit, another with 6 dogs and 8 cats, on two other occasions 6 dogs/4cats, 2 ocassions 8 cats and 1 dog and a house sit in Turkey we shared with 16 cats (was supposed to be 14 but 2 more turned up after hearing that we had arrived) and 2 dogs. And at other times have enjoyed the company of one or two pets!
• on four occasions were asked to extend the designated responsibilities by accepting to care for pets of the owners friends, who decided to travel at the last minute.
• been responsible for large acreage properties to small village land holdings and 1 and 2 bedroom apartments/townhouses
• looked after large gardens, mowed large lawn areas using all types of machinery including sit on mowers (on large property required a 7 hour mow every 7-10 days), push mowers, strimmers, chainsaws, driven snow ploughs to clear long driveways of snow (and also shovelled it away), tenderly cared for delicate indoor plants, swept driveways, trimmed trees/shrubs, nurtured a vegetable patches, planted new garden rows, painted outdoor furniture and maintained swimming pools.
• lived by the ocean, in cities, rural (working and hobby) farms and remote mountain villages; in the heat, in humidity, in the rain and in the cold beautiful scenic world of snow and ice.
• survived flash floods while keeping pets safe, lived without water in places that freeze in winter, embraced diverse climates that change dramatically by the hour and put it all down to experience!
• lived in countries deemed to be safe and free; countries bound by century old traditions and countries that require attention to health and safety and loved them all
• stayed for one week up to three months; and willing to do longer sits if needed
• have been invited to return and have done so on many, many occasions, the most to the one property being 10 times
• have been recommended by owners to friends; have provided references to home owners; have recommendations of friends accepted by owners and continually provide advice to people seeking information on house sitting.
• opened up our horizons with new friends and cultures
• never charged for our services as house sitters.
Being home owners and long time rental properties owners we
• have an understanding of the value that an owner has on their property
• have an understanding of people that wish to come and live in your property. And their needs!
• can use our life experiences for problem solving and those unexpected events that happen from time to time and continue to go so with own rental properties in Perth whilst we travel extensively
• have better than basic house maintenance/gardening skills (minor repairs, lawn mowing, cutting wood, pruning, painting, clearing snow from driveways and paths using large machinery and manual methods, replaced reticulation systems etc) and have no fear in trying something new and unexpected
Being very active and adventurous we are
• willing to travel anywhere in the world
• willing to learn new cultures and languages
• prolific walkers having trekked extensively in Western Australia, NZ, Nepal and Africa (since starting house sitting we have probably covered more distance walking with pets than we have in all our other treks combined)
• recreational (and seasoned) bike riders having cycled 7000km across Australia and on a three month 3500km adventure through France
• motivated to go to places that we have not been to or heard of!
Coming from professional backgrounds (Deb being a State Sales Manager and Peter a self-employed Computer Consultant, Property Manager and Web Co-Coordinator), we
• are very organised and reliable
• have good communication and computer skills
• understand technology and its use in keeping in touch with owners
• know how to follow instructions.
We periodically post photos during each house-sit on the web so that owners can get a ’pet/property fix’ whenever and wherever they are at any time. In addition we have posted pictures of our Australian home to show how we live and the standard of cleanliness we bring with us. We can provide that link to you if you are interested to view this offering.
All of our previous house owners have provided references and are available for personal contact if you require. We can also provide those details to you.
In 2014 we provided a Xmas house sitting blog for trustedhousesitters.com. This can be read by copying the link below and pasting it into your browser.
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/blog/house-sitting/peter-debra-australian-house-sitters-experience-their-first-white-christmas/
Thank you for reading our profile. If you require any more information or clarification please do not hesitate to contact us.
Verifications
Verification level
Standard level
Email Address, Phone Number, External references (30), Identity
All Standard Verification checks are carried out by a specialist 3rd Party
Animal Care Experience
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Dogs
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Cats
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Reptiles
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Horses
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Fish
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Poultry
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Farm animals
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Bird
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Small pet
Availability
Preferred Countries
Profile Details
Age
Occupation
Travelling as a
Previous house sitting experience
Member benefits
Member since
House & pet sitting timeline
Peter and Debra have done 69 house sits since 2012
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LaniscatFranceMar 2019 -
PickeringUnited KingdomFeb - Mar 2019 -
LondonUnited KingdomFeb 2019 -
PerthAustraliaFeb 2019 -
RockinghamAustraliaFeb 2019 -
PerthAustraliaJan 2019 -
ClaremontAustraliaJan 2019 -
Kuala LumpurMalaysiaDec 2018 - Jan 2019 -
PerthAustraliaDec 2018 -
PerthAustraliaOct - Nov 2018 -
Mount LawleyAustraliaSep - Oct 2018 -
Port KennedyAustraliaAug - Sep 2018 -
BrightonAustraliaJul - Aug 2018 -
PerthAustraliaJun - Jul 2018 -
Roumazières-LoubertFranceMay 2018 -
Kergrist-MoëlouFranceMay 2018 -
HeidelbergGermanyApr 2018 -
AntwerpenBelgiumMar - Apr 2018 -
Clermont-l’HéraultFranceMar 2018 -
PauFranceNov - Dec 2017 -
BassouesFranceNov 2017 -
LondonUnited KingdomOct 2017 -
PauFranceSep - Oct 2017
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ParcentSpainAug - Sep 2017 -
HelsinkiFinlandJul 2017 -
NîmesFranceJun 2017 -
BournelFranceJun 2017 -
Bagnères-de-LuchonFranceApr - Jun 2017 -
UzèsFranceJan - Apr 2017 -
NîmesFranceDec 2016 - Jan 2017
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BassouesFranceNov - Dec 2016
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UzèsFranceOct - Nov 2016
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PauFranceJul - Oct 2016
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HaverfordwestUnited KingdomJun - Jul 2016 -
ParcentSpainJun - Jul 2016
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Bagnères-de-LuchonFranceApr 2016 -
CrewkerneUnited KingdomFeb - Apr 2016 -
Samois-sur-SeineFranceDec 2015 -
Sarlat-la-CanédaFranceNov 2015 -
ExeterUnited KingdomOct 2015 -
Gourdan-PolignanFranceSep - Oct 2015 -
Gourdan-PolignanFranceSep 2015
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UzèsFranceSep 2015 -
Gourdan-PolignanFranceAug 2015
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Gourdan-PolignanFranceJul - Aug 2015
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Saint Peter PortGuernseyJul 2015 -
Gourdan-PolignanFranceJun 2015
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Sarlat-la-CanédaFranceJun 2015
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AmbertFranceMay 2015 -
SamatanFranceApr 2015 -
UzèsFranceMar 2015
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CussayFranceMar 2015 -
AberystwythUnited KingdomFeb 2015
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LourdesFranceJan 2015 -
RevelFranceJan 2015 -
MontcuqFranceJan 2015 -
ÉchenevexFranceNov 2014 -
BevagnaItalyNov 2014
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FounexSwitzerlandNov 2014
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UzèsFranceOct 2014
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ÉchenevexFranceOct 2014
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AmbertFranceSep 2014
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ClaremontAustraliaJul 2014 -
SydneyAustraliaApr 2014 -
LourdesFranceDec 2013
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Saint George'sGrenadaAug 2013
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SurreyCanadaApr 2013 -
Point RobertsUnited StatesApr 2013 -
Newport CenterUnited StatesSep 2012
