Working Vacation?
Our high-speed Internet connection makes Carcès an ideal hideaway for writers, designers and consultants who may need to continue working but have the flexibility to do it from afar. We also have a 110>220 transformer as well as French>US outlet adapters. We certainly prefer working in Provence to working in an office!
In fact, we have produced books and documentaries from this house – collaborating with colleagues from around the world thanks to the Internet.
Cheap International Calling
International calling cards offer quite cheap rates.
We have a Vonage account, which allows us to use our San Francisco phone number wherever we can connect the Vonage router to a high-speed modem. We make calls as if calling from the US, and our friends and family can call us without making an international call. If you have a Vonage account, the router operates on both 110 and 220, but we had to buy a French transformer for ours. The American transformer blew out (not the router itself).
We also "Skype" to conduct international business. The biggest challenge in setting up HandUp Congo via FREE international conference calls on Skype was dealing with the time differences between France, Florida, and Sydney, Australia. When we tried to add Taipei, Taiwan, things became REALLY interesting.
CARCES CREATIVITY CONNECTION
True confession: We spent an entire summer revising the sixth edition of Ken's textbook, "Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach." (All play and no work, you know...Actually, we don't REALLY advise this...but, when necessary, working all summer in Provence IS possible!)
We also edited two short documentaries about non-profits in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Betsy and friends are supporting the village of Lotumbe:
The Tale of Two Sewing Machines
Ken was inspired to invent Professor Kobré's Lightscoop while we were in Carcès! If you look at this entry on his blog, you'll see one of the bedrooms put to work as a testing lab!
San Francisco State University professor John Hewitt was inspired to document the spring Carcès bike race when he and his wife, Annette, stayed here in April 2007, along with a bit of the local nite life... They reported having a lively schedule of music at least three times a week during their stay (work, work, work)...
Ken's most recent project creating tutorials on shooting video will also introduce you to Carcès and its environs.
Artist and designer Niya Sisk made our home hers in March 2008, while creating a unique visual travelogue... don't miss having a look!
Check out the results of other artists' working vacations on our own gallery!
