I’m posting this on behalf of all the bloggers who write their hearts out every day, week, and month and have to take time to deal with spam guest blogger requests. We’re sick of them! — LDJ

I’d rather be writing about Bermuda

It happens all the time. You start a blog and diligently write every day or so. Then it’s once a week. Then once a month. Then, it’s whenever you damn well feel like it because, well, life gets in the way. Billable work must be done. The garbage needs taking out. You have to get to the gym (you try, anyway). Meals must be cooked and bills must be paid. Unless your livelihood depends on your blog, it’s all too easy to let it slip away.

Believe me, I’d much rather be telling you stories about getting lost in Genoa on my trip to the Ligurian Coast or how I would not recommend beginning a trip to the U.K. by taking a radical wrong turn straightaway out of Heathrow. But reality must take precedence.

So it is with a heavy heart that I open my e-mails each day awaiting the latest crop of “I want to write a guest post for you” messages. Many of them use the exact same language; obviously, these are form letters or computer-generated pitches. The English teacher in me screams silently as I read them. Herewith, some actual pitches:

• I am XXXX from XXXX and I am interested to write a guest post in your site. I can write on topics about anything that has to do with cruises, trips, travels, vacations or if you have some particular subject lines that you have been thinking about that I could help you with please feel free to suggest.

• I wanted to reach out to you as we have a client who is trying to get as much interest and coverage in their online mentions as possible. We would be really happy if you would agree to mention or write about their recent press coverage and would be willing to work with you to understand how we can achieve that.

• I am XXX, a traveler. I have been following your blog since long and found it informative. I can say without hesitation that you have done remarkable work and put a great content on your blog…I assure you to provide informative, relevant and unique content which will adhere to your guest blogging guidelines and would entice more readers to your blog. Please let me know if you are interested for the same.

• We would like to collaborate with you! I’m interested in the price for a blog post with one link in it! Could you please give me the general rates of advertising on your blog  http://www.travelthewriteway.com/  ? Thank you. I hope to hear from you soon!:)

Now, don’t get me wrong: I love guest blog posts! For one thing, it’s always good to get a little break from writing as well as a fresh perspective. But I like very much to have control over what kind of content I foist upon my readers. I have slipped in the past, in one or two instances (I was a newbie) and for that I apologize. I’m trying to keep things uber-professional now. So to all the would-be guest bloggers out there, here’s the deal:

• Most of my guests bloggers are approached by me directly — they have something of interest that I want to share with my readers. It is unlikely that I will accept unsolicited pitches, but since I can’t stop you, keep reading.

• I do not accept money for guest posts and I don’t want to promote your company’s latest marketing scheme.

• Likewise, as of right now, I do not accept advertising (except, as you can see to the right, for my own book. Please buy it.).

• You must be able to write in good English and make a compelling, specific pitch about what you can offer to my readers based on the kinds of things that you know I write about. In other words, be a real writer and do some homework.

• Of course I’ll put a link to you or your company in the story. That’s called social networking. But you’d better be legitimate and bring a unique story or point of view or your piece will not appear here.

• Computer-generated pitches will henceforth be trashed.

I hate to do this, because I know how difficult it is to get started in this business. But standards must be maintained. That’s my rant for this Friday. I’ll be back next week with some actual travel writing. Enjoy the weekend!

 Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music. — Billy Joel

Arena, Verona

Purtroppo, I will not be going to Italy this year. Regrettable, indeed.  I’ve been away two years in a row now, and I’m getting a little twitchy.

But if you get the chance to go, and if you’re a music lover, you’re in luck. There are some fabulous musical festivals and events this year from one end of the boot to the other. Opera buff? Jazz hound? Classical music aficionado?

There’s something for everybody . . . look for the British flag or the English button in the links below.

Festival del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Florence (Tuscany)

May 2 – June 24

www.maggiofiorentino.it/en

Villa in Canto, Verona

Villa in Canto

Verona (Veneto)

May 10, June 7, July 6, October 5

www.villaincanto.eu

Ravello Festival

Ravello (Campania)

June – August

www.ravellofestival.com

Arena di Verona Opera Festival

Verona (Veneto)

June 14 – September 8

 www.arena.it/en-US/HOMEen.html

Trasimeno Music Festival

Magione (Umbria)

June 29 – July 5

www.trasimenomusicfestival.com

Ceramic guitar, Deruta (Umbria)

Umbria Jazz

Perugia (Umbria)

July 5 – 14

www.umbriajazz.com

Incontri in Terra di Siena

Val d’Orcia (Tuscany)

July 19 – 28

www.itslafoce.org

Stresa Festival

Stresa (Piedmont)

July 19 – September 7

www.stresafestival.eu

Time in Jazz

Berchidda (Sardinia)

August 10 – 16

 www.timeinjazz.it/programma_calendario_pages.php?l=2&id=9&id_cal=124&id_p=327

Godere della musica!

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

April is the cruellest month, breeding/Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/Memory and desire, stirring/Dull roots with spring rain. . . T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land”

Whatever.

It’s also National Poetry Month, thanks to The Academy of American Poets — and has been since 1996. It’s become that time of year when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers and poets throughout the U.S. band together to celebrate poetry and its (hopefully) vital place in American culture. A quick visit to www.poetry.org will reveal the thousands of organizations that participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops and other events. Enter  your state and see what’s happening throughout April locally to support the poetic endeavor.

My most favorite thing about National Poetry Month (aside from the fabulous posters that come to me each year as a workshop leader) is National Poem In Your Pocket Day: April 18. Try it this year for yourself. Bring a favorite poem to your workplace, school, community organization or book group. Pull it out and read it aloud. Share it with anyone who will listen. Try not to get arrested.

Here’s one to get you started from one of my favorites, Dorothy Parker. Your poem doesn’t have to be grand or serious. The poetry.org site has lots of good suggestions — even poems for young people.. Have fun!

 Comment

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,

A medley of extemporanea;

And love is a thing that can never go wrong;

And I am Marie of Roumania.

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

Welcome back, loyal readers and hello, newcomers!

Sorry to have been away for so long. Probably you haven’t even noticed, but it’s been nearly two months since my last confession, er, posting.

As my friend David said, I have been muggled. Twice. Taken down by computer meanies who want to get into my system and send you all  annoying messages about Dr. Oz’s latest diet and the miracles of Viagra. I deeply apologize for any inconvenience.

This has been a learning experience for me and one I am still not entirely finished with. It’s a day-to-day thing. For that, I ask your patience.

I’ll be back next week, I hope, with some new stories.

Meanwhile, I hope you’ve had a safe Passover and are anticipating a joyous Easter. This has been a tough “spring” for most of us, no matter where in the world we are. In the U.S., it’s snowing where it shouldn’t be snowing and dry where it should be snowing. The Aran Isles look like the Arctic. And a friend of ours has fled England to be in Florida for the duration of the so-called spring.

Let’s hope normalcy returns soon.

When I was three and toothless, I referred to it as “The Clip House.” Still love it, though . . .

I’m leaving you with a pic of me and Tim at the Cliff House in San Francisco. My parents took me there 100 years ago. It’s still got a great view, and it makes me happy. Jaded SF-ers need not comment. I know, I know.

Buon viaggio e Buona Pasqua!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.
— Professor Albus Dumbledore

At the gates of Hogwarts

I am a muggle in love. Since the first Harry Potter book landed on our shores in 1999, I have been hopelessly in love with the world of Hogwarts and the boy who lived. My friend Barbara shares my passion. Over the years, she and I have managed to seamlessly introduce Potterisms into our speech. We long to travel by Floo Powder; there have been times, we agree, when a Marauder’s Map could have come in handy; Time Turners and Invisibility Cloaks would, of course, be indispensable. And if we could ever find Track 9 3/4, we would hurl ourselves through the brick station wall with awkward grace and unbridled enthusiasm. Alas, it is not to be.

When the series came to an end in 2011 with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, we were nearly inconsolable: all in all satisfied with the ending, but heartbroken by the sacrifices made by so many of our favorite characters in the final battles against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Will we ever see the likes of Albus Dumbledore again? Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks? Fred Weasley? Sirius Black? Or, my absolute favorite, the enigmatic Severus Snape? Sigh. I live with these people almost every day in my drab non-magical muggle existence. I admit it freely. Please don’t think any less of me. I do not recall spending my childhood in a closet under the stairs, but I may have . . .

Imagine my thrill, then, to learn that in March 2012, the Warner Brothers Studio Tour was opening just north of

Browsing on Diagon Alley

London. “The Making of Harry Potter” was being installed at the actual studios where the movies were shot. Armed with my press card and an assignment from The Richmond Times-Dispatch, I ventured across the pond with Tim for a peek.

“The Making of Harry Potter” is a remarkable walking tour that takes visitors behind the scenes of the most successful film series of all time. The former Leavesden Aerodrome, a local airfield and factory that produced fighter planes for the Ministry of Defence during WWII and in later years was a production center for Rolls-Royce aircraft engines, was completely transformed in 1994. Old hangars became soundstages for filming and workshops for constructing sets and props. The airfield’s runway and grassy fields were turned into a fully functioning back lot. And six years later, in 2000, a carefully assembled production team chose Leavesden as the location for a new film about a boy wizard, and the making of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (. . . Sorcerer’s Stone, in the U.S.) was underway.

For a period of ten years, hundreds of talented men and women came to call Leavesden home, bringing to life over the course of eight films the magical world of the boy who lived and the battles between good and evil, the consequences of action versus doing nothing and, ultimately, of the power of love.

Prof. Snape in the Potions Workshop

The tour marks the first time that fans get the chance to step into the actual sets of the movies that have meant so much to them. Everything on display was actually used in the movies — these are not reproductions — from costumes and wigs to tables and cauldrons, from the Horcruxes to Harry’s Nimbus 2000 to the Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia.

Production Designer Stuart Craig has said, “The designer’s job is to provide a place that tells the story.” And Craig has done that and more. For the first movie (no one knew for certain there would be more than one), Craig insisted on making every aspect of every set as realistic as possible, in order to elicit the most honest reactions from the film’s very young stars. So the furniture in the Gryffindor Lounge is real, the glass beakers and Bunsen burners in the potions classroom are real, all the tables and chairs are real — aged with axes and chains.

After ten years of shooting, there were five giant warehouses filled with thousands of items either made specifically for the films or purchased from a variety of specialty shops, including 12,000 handmade books and 40,000 Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products and packages. More than 16,000 boxed wands reside in Ollivander’s Wand Shop, each box labeled by hand with the names of everyone who participated in the making of the films. Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham-Carter, Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Gary Oldman . . . they’re all there.

The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is a wonder for Harry Potter fans of all ages. After an introductory talk from our

Dumbledore’s Office

young blue-haired guide (I pegged her as a Ravenclaw) and a short movie to set the stage, Tim and I wandered through the Great Hall, the setting for Hogwarts’ abundant feasts, marveling at the costumes of each house and reliving Dumbledore’s annual welcome to the classes. We got up close to some of the most iconic sets from the movies, including the Leaky Cauldron, Dumbledore’s office, Diagon Alley, Hagrid’s Hut, the kitten-plated wall of the evil Dolores Umbridge, the macabre Ministry of Magic hallways and the magical Weasley kitchen.

For more than three hours, we toured sound stages “J” and “K”  (get it?) and then retreated to the back lot for some refreshments — including a glass of Butterbeer — and a walk past the Knight Bus, the Dursley’s No. 4 Privet Drive, the Hogwarts Bridge and the old Potter home in Godrick Hollow.

The Griffyndorr Common Room

Back into the tour, we saw how some of the “creatures” (Dobbie, the Goblins, Grawp and Buckbeak, among them) were brought to life. Several rooms are given over to the elaborate models and architectural plans for the halls, shops, rooms and the castle itself. And that leads to the finale. When Tim and I turned the corner into the last room, the one that held the achingly intricate model of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I actually cried. Not kidding here. Tears came to my eyes. Lights on in the windows; owls in the owlry; torches and trees along the paths and on the grounds. It stands more than fifty feet in diameter, and I wanted to walk right in, don a gown and take my chances, battling evil forces and loneliness and unknown terrors around each corner and, wait . . . I already do those things every day. I’m a freelance writer!

Anyway, you should go. Here’s how.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

GETTING TO HOGWARTS
Located just 20 miles northwest of central London, the Warner Brothers Studio Tour is easily accessible by either car or rail. It is less than three miles’ drive from the M1 and M25 motorways, and fast trains travel direct from London’s Euston Station to Watford Junction, where passengers are picked up by a free shuttle bus that takes them directly to the attraction.

Tickets are not available at the studio and must be purchased online in advance. Tickets are priced at £29 for adults, £21.50 for children aged 5 – 15 and £85 for a family of four. For more information, and to pre-book your tickets, visit www.wbstudiotour.co.uk.

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

 Adieu! Adieu! yon silver lamp, the moon,
    Which turns our midnight into perfect noon,
    Doth surely light thy towers, guarding well
    Where Dante sleeps, where Byron loved to dwell.

—   Oscar Wilde, Ravenna

There are only a few places in Italy that Tim and I have gone back to. Major airport cities aside, it’s only been Verona and Sermide (our home along the Po) that keep drawing us back. Not that we don’t adore a lot of places. It’s just that we are trying to work our way around all of the regions and experience what each one has to offer and it’s so hard to pick a favorite. But we did return to Ravenna a while back, stopping there for two nights en route to Verona. There’s just something about this old city that draws us in.

Located in the province of Emilia-Romagna, Ravenna is best-known for its world-class early mosaics. Ravenna has been around since the First Century BC, when Emperor Augustus built a port and naval base here. As Rome’s power declined, Ravenna was made the capital of the Western Empire and it stayed strong throughout the Ostrogoth and Byzantine eras. Because Ravenna was an early convert to Christianity — some time in the early Second Century AD — the city embraced Christian (and Old Testament) iconography and made excellent use of it in its churches and mausoleums.

Outside the Basilica

The big draw for mosaic seekers is the Basilica of San Vitale, but it’s interesting for more reasons than just

In Galla’s mausoleum

the mosaics. Built over 1400 years ago by an unknown architect, it is considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be an “ecclesiastical basilica,” that is, not in the traditional basilica form. Its buttresses, octagonal forms, massive ceilings and, of course, the mosaics, will keep you looking up for hours.

Find the images of Emperor Justinian and his wife, Theodora. Find the apostles, the twinkly ceiling, the Bible stories enacted in tiny tiles and realize that this was the prototype for Constantinople’s Hagia Sofia, and you’ll see what all the fuss is about. And San Vitale is one of eight structures in Ravenna included on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Light through the alabaster

Just across the courtyard from San Vitale, you’ll visit the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (daughter of Emperor Theodosius I), a humble-looking little mausoleum with the oldest and some of the best mosaics in Ravenna. A light glows through the thin alabaster panels of the small space and sets a heavenly tone. It’s a wonderful place to find peace through art.

On our first trip we discovered the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra almost at

The sign and floors of the domus

the same time the city fathers discovered it. It seems that they were digging underground to build a parking garage and found a virtual house (domus) of stone floors (mosaics) nearly intact. They immediately stopped the garage project and called in the experts, who began to uncover floors and walls of incredible age and beauty. They constructed a series of clear walkways over them, so visitors can walk through the rooms as they once were and experience the gorgeous, largely unspoiled art. What an amazing find! Accessible through a little church in town, it’s surely one of Ravenna’s wonders.

Stay, Eat

The door to our room

The first time we came to Ravenna, we were passing through on a day trip. The second time, we wanted more of an immersion experience. An internet search brought up the Villa S. Maria in Foris and, once we saw it, we were hooked. Right in the center of town, with huge rooms and breakfast served on the terrace in good weather, S. Maria in Foris is a rare gem — well-priced, well-located and with service and amenities that you’d find in a much more expensive hotel. The concierge will even arrange a city tour for you or, for the very creative, a package that includes a three-hour mosaic workshop.

Where to eat? Well, after a long day of sight-seeing, we dragged two friends through town to find our favorite place in Ravenna, only to discover that it had closed. But the restaurant in its place looked interesting and, since we probably couldn’t have walked another step, we decided to give it a try. Bistrot Ristorante (on the site of the old Spasso Bistrot, on via Mura di San Vitale) was a wonderful surprise. Romantic and intimate, with English-speaking staff, it serves lunch and dinner and has specialties from both land and sea. And excellent pastas. And to-die-for desserts. You get the picture. We left happy and full and in need of the walk back to the hotel.

The next day, when we set out for lunch, we asked the ladies at S. Maria in Foris where we should go. They

Osteria Battibecchi

pointed us in the direction of Osteria dei Battibechhi and it’s a good thing, because there’s only a sandwich sign on the main road that says “osteria” and it’s a bit off the beaten track. Still in the center of the old town, Osteria dei Battibechhi is a real find: where the locals go, nothing fancy, no English spoken (or written), great food, great service — it felt genuine. They told us that “battibechhi” literally means “fighting roosters” and that it has come to mean the locals who sit and argue with each other playfully for hours. I long for a place like that here.

After lunch, alas, we had to pack up and push on for Verona and other adventures. But I highly recommend a stop in Ravenna. Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde and Herman Hesse all found comfort and inspiration there. Ravenna pops up in Canto V of Dante’s Inferno. And Michelangelo Antonioni filmed his 1964 classic, Red Desert, partly in Ravenna. Oh, and Dante is buried in Ravenna. Yes, that Dante. And there’s another wonder — the Pasticceria Al Duomo Caffetteria, a classic tea room with little pastries to make you cry. I wish I could find a website for you, but I remember that it was just inside the Porto’ Aurea. Look for it if you go and have a pasticcino for me.

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

Driving over the Frog Bridge

It’s inevitable. You move to a new state and you’ve got a laundry list of things to do: change your address with the Post Office, contract for new utilities, make decisions about phone, TV and internet service, order or renew newspapers and magazines . . . and then the most dreaded task of all. The trip to the DMV for a new license and plates. Just the thought of it makes me weak in the knees. But my mother-in-law needed to have this done, and since we are up here in CT for the holidays, we decided to help her with this most unpleasant of chores.

Knowing that there is a very specific list of identification required, we studied the DMV/CT website and made sure we had every piece of paper they might ever request. Then we checked the list of DMV offices and learned that the closest office that could handle both requests — license and plates — was more than 30 miles away, in Willimantic. Ridiculous. But we piled the two dogs and my 80+ year-old mother-in-law in the car and headed out.

When we opened the front door of the DMV and were confronted with the line, Mom shrieked. But we had to stand there like Good Do-Bees. The line moved pretty fast, all things considered, but we knew that this was only the first step. This was the “information line,” where we would get the forms we needed to fill out while we sat on the hard chairs in the center of the room and waited for our assigned number to be called. We were prepared.

What we were not prepared for was the reception we got when we finally made it to the head of the line. Mom was actually moving back to the same house she’d lived in for more than 25 years, and was registering the same car she had when she left CT three years ago to come and live near us in VA for a while. She’d brought her car purchase papers and title; passport; voter and medical insurance cards; VA driver’s license; checkbooks (with her CT address on them); bank statements and about five other forms of ID. What she did not have (which was not indicated on the website) were two utility bills that showed she’d moved to the CT address within the last 90 days. Needless to say, we had to go back home and get the bills.

We didn’t go back the next day, because our energy was sapped. We went back in two days, armed with everything. But we got a little nervous when the gal on line in front of us allowed that this was her fourth trip and she hoped she had everything this time. When we got to the front of the line this time, it all worked out for us (and for her, too, I’m happy to report). We got our number and sat down to fill out forms and wait. And wait. And wait. Two hours later, we walked out with Mom’s new plates and license, but not before overhearing the situation next to us – a young girl applying for a license in tears because she didn’t have a bill to prove her residency, despite her father standing next to her offering his proof of identity and residence, to no avail. I don’t know why this has to be so difficult. Why would a teenager have a utility bill? And no matter where I’ve lived: New York, Massachusetts or Virginia, it’s always the same. Surely there’s a better way.

But one good thing did come out of our trip to Willimantic. The wonderful “frog bridge” and an exploration into another once grand New England city. Willimantic, which is Algonquin for “land of the swift running water,” has been around for more than 300 years. (Read about the Battle of the Frogs here; you cannot make this stuff up.) In 1822, resident Charles Lee built a factory on Main Street made of stone quarried from the Willimantic River. And while small shops had been built on the banks of the Willimantic before, this marked the beginning of an industrialized Willimantic.

Building continued, and by 1828, there were six cotton factories in Willimantic, and the city soon became known as

Froggie Close-Up

“Thread City.” The American Thread Company had a mill on the banks of the river, and was at one time the largest employer in the state as well as one of the largest producers of thread in the world. In fact, the American Thread factory was the first factory in the world to use electric lighting. But when American Thread moved to North Carolina in 1985, the town’s economy floundered. And that’s kind of where it is today. Floundering, but with an evident sense of optimism for the potential that might still be there, and I love that about New England.

The biggest surprise was the Thread City Crossing (“The Frog Bridge”), an architecturally designed bridge which officially opened in June 2001. The landmark bridge is adorned with eight-foot-high bronze frogs atop concrete thread spools, designed by Leo Jensen. The spools on the bridge represent Willimantic’s prominence in cotton thread and silk manufacturing, and the frogs represent the legendary Windham Frog Fight of 1754 (see link, above).

It’s been an eventful (and snow-ful) holiday and we’ll be heading back to Virginia soon. I hope every one of you had a blessed celebration and I wish you all the best in travels and writing and everything you do in 2013.

Happy New Year!

Buon Anno!

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

8 Valuable Tips on How to Swap Your Home

Ed. note: I’ve always wanted to do this — have a free vacation while swapping my home with a simpatico family. I just didn’t know where to begin. Home exchange expert Shelley Miller explains it all for you . . .

Right now you’re thinking holidays and snow and family, but soon 2013 will arrive and you’ll begin to think summer and vacation and fun. I’ve got an idea for you to consider. What about trying a home exchange? This is when you and your family agree to swap your home with a family in another city or country, and you live in each other’s home while you’re on vacation. For free.

Lucky 13—This Moroccan villa in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, is where we enjoyed our 13th house swap. We lived here for 10 days. Yes, for free.

My family has swapped our home 14 times in 12 years. Our children, Dillon and Michele, were 8 and 12 years old when we joined this wonderful world of home exchange in 2000. Together we’ve enjoyed a home exchange vacation in places like Italy, Mexico and Hong Kong. And yes, in our own country too; where we arranged swaps in Seattle and Cape Cod.

 8 tips to make your dream vacation a reality with home exchange

1. Select A Home Swap Club — There are more than 70 home exchange companies around the world; approximately 30 are based in the U.S. Four clubs I suggest are: HomeLink International, Home Base Holidays, Home Exchange.com and Love Home Swap. The fee for most home exchange clubs is around $100 per year; this is cheap when you consider the fact that many hotel rooms are over $250 per night.
2. Write An Engaging Home Swap Profile Page – After you join a home swap club you’ll need to create a “Profile Page” on their website. Does your town have an interesting claim to fame? Do community leaders boast about its history? Include these fascinating facts on your home’s profile page. If your city has a visitor’s bureau or a chamber of commerce read their brochures, visit their website, find out how they promote your city and then borrow their ideas.
3. Fabulous Home Photographs Required – You’ll want to include lots of home photographs on your profile page. High quality photos of your home are the single most important way to attract a top house swap. Open the drapes, clear the clutter off the table and put out a vase of fresh flowers. You know the best features of your home more than anyone, so show it off! I write a blog about home exchange and the #1 article that most people read is this one, 7 Photo Tips To Promote Your Home.
4. Select Your Dream Vacation Destination – This one is such fun. Take a walk with your travel partner and DREAM. Where have you always wanted to travel? Your dream vacation could be located across the country or across the world. Now is your chance to vacation there! Also decide on your best travel dates; try to be flexible. If possible choose a window of time, for example “anytime between June or July,” this will make scheduling a house exchange easier.
5. Start The Process At Least Six Months In Advance – To schedule a house exchange vacation for July, you should begin the process in January. With that said, I just received an e-mail asking if we’d like to exchange our home with someone in Lyon, France 12 months from now! Finding the right house exchange partner usually takes one – two months.
6. Write A Snazzy House Swap E-mail Message – So you’ve completed your profile and uploaded your fabulous photos. Now you get to write the e-mail message to send out with your house exchange request. You want your message to sound friendly yet professional. Write it and save it in your computer so you can cut and paste your way around the world. You might find this article helpful: Catch A Fabulous Home Exchange With A Great E-mail.
7. What To Look For In A Home Swap –When researching possible exchange partners the first thing I do is glance at the city and country; then I spend the most of my time reviewing the photos. The home doesn’t need to be perfect, but it does need to be clean. Is the kitchen neat? Does the living room look comfortable? Next I glance at the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. I note the professions of the home swappers too. What is the type of home, is it an apartment or a single-family home? For me, it’s only then that I glance ideal travel times. I suggest you select about a dozen house swap prospects, then cut and paste your snazzy message request. Finally, and this is important, click the submit button.
8. Book it! – Once you exchange a few messages with your house swap prospect you’ll develop a feeling about them. Is the tone of the e-mail pleasant? Do they ask appropriate questions about your home and your vacation travel dates? Does it feel right? Then one house swap family will progress from prospect to possibility. There will be a few more e-mails and finally, you’ll just know that you’re ready to swap. That’s when you write, “Let’s do this!”

Montecatini Alto, Italy - My daughter and my husband play a game of Gin Rummy at our 2-bedroom/1-bath home swap.

I hope these tips inspire you to try a home exchange vacation. You will realize that your dream vacation IS a possibility and the world is at your (home swap) doorstep.

Shelley Miller is a Home Exchange Expert who offers home swap tips to people who want to travel the world and stay for free. Miller, her husband and two children lived in Europe from April to August 2000 and exchanged homes with five different families in England, Ireland, Germany, France and Italy.

Connect with Shelley at:

Blog: HomeExchangeExpert.com

Twitter: HomeExchangeKey

Facebook: Home Exchange Expert

LinkedIn: Shelley Miller

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

One of Tim's amazing early morning shots

The Changing Light

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

For us it was important to create the right atmosphere, so that people who have discovered us can really have the space and time to escape into a different world. — Co-owner Edward Tobin

Books stores are my favorite places. I love a great independent bookstore, whose selections, design and events reflect the personal quirks and preferences of the owner. But I even enjoy spending time in my local Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million, to be honest. I don’t care where I find books — browsing and choosing just the right addition to my collection and making new discoveries is a glorious pastime. And if there’s good coffee available, well, I’m a happy girl.

The Bookery

On our trip north of London a few weeks ago, we stayed for a few nights in a lovely B&B called Upper Buckton in Hereforshire, part of the Wolsey Lodges family of very special accommodations in the UK and France (watch for a story on this in the near future). As we spoke to the owners, they mentioned a little bookshop nearby and said it was worth stopping in. And so we did.

Aardvark Books, run by Sheridan Swinson and Edward Tobin, is housed in a beautiful 19^th century barn that sits at the intersection of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Wales. Known as the Bookery & Cafe, Aardvark is in the historic village of Brampton Bryan between Leintwardine and Knighton on the A4113, and is open seven days a week. Sheriden’s mother runs the Aardvark Café which offers six filter coffees, together with cappuccinos and espressos, a range of quality leaf teas, home made cakes and hot soups. You’ll be served wonderful fare along with fantastic stories about her life.

Aardvark contains more than 50,000 volumes: new, secondhand and rare, so there’s absolutely something for everybody. And of course, Sheridan is more than happy to track down any title you like. There are also cards, mugs, journals, walking sticks, and other book-related bits to savor.

Last July, The BookBurrow opened, a dedicated book and play space for children of all ages. Designed by local artist

The Aardvark Cafe

Ciara Lewis, it offers a cheery and comfortable space where children can browse, read and take part in special events created just for them.

This is a destination bookshop, as you’ll see from the website. Sheridan and Edward are completely devoted to their customers and their community and are involved in a great many events throughout the year. If your travels take you anywhere near Wales, make this a stop before you cross over. And, dear readers, I am here to tell you that this part of England is well worth putting on your wish list. Watch for my story about Wolsey Lodges and make plans to go. But stop frequently at Aardvark Books for a nice browse and a great cuppa.

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…