Penny Ridgley
Penny took a while to appreciate the Maramures way of life, but now speaks Romanian very well and knows all the local woman by first name. Whereever Penny lives she doesn’t want to leave. For the last five years it’s all been about Siwa and desert, but now we have completed our first villa here in Breb – Penny can’t get enough of the place and now equally loves to be in Maramures in the summer and Siwa Oasis in the winter.
Penny was a key component in building the villas and ran the building projects on her own for most of the summer in 2010 due to Duncan having to be in Bucharest. As the renovating of Casa Mic has come to an end, Penny has enjoyed the journey from repairing the foundations to fitting the shower and picking crockery, but is now looking forward to taking care of our guests.
Penny has a way with the locals, they all warm to her and she to them. Penny loves taking guests out into the village of breb and surrounding countryside to visit people we know and the sights we love.
Penny’s one of the boys when she wants to be and gets on with all the farming ways of Breb. Penny grew up on a farm herself in Hampshire England and was a three day event rider running her livery before she met Duncan and they moved to London. It all comes naturally to Penny; the getting stuck in and working with the locals, same stuff, just different location and different century.
Penny has been a big part of getting 15 five star ratings in Trip Advisor for our place in Siwa Oasis. Penny is passionate about Siwa and passionate about Breb, and we are already seeing similarly positive feedback from our guests in Breb. To see Penny’s Siwa profile click here
I think it takes a special person to leave a great life in the UK and set off in search of another paradise. Penny is special and has stuck by all the mad ideas, the failed ideas, the… well we won’t mention those ideas – and has helped steer the Somewhere Different ship in the right direction to where it is now.
We have arrived in our new ‘paradises’ and Penny has found what she knew all along. Your paradise is in your head, but stunning surroundings and a simple way of life do help, along with the fact that we are out of the rat race and live our lives like the locals.
Penny loves nothing more that sharing our way of life with our guests and will hopefully be in inspiration for any of you who come and stay with us in Breb, who are thinking or dreaming of leaving the rat race too.
So what are you waiting for? Have a look at our Transylvania Tours and come and hang out with us.
