When I think of my friends, I rarely try to explain their individual behaviour in terms of them “being British”. It would get pretty insane if I did that. You might as well cite that “we´re made of carbon” as the motivation behind every thought, feeling or action. It doesn´t really make any clearer the reason why your friend decided to start obsessively hoovering the floor of their car every day. Or quite why another friend may get really awkward and start shrieking with laughter everytime that you pass the bus-stop. (Maybe it just tickles her? Or maybe she´s mad. It´s probably not a “cultural” thing though, whatever it is.)

We are impossibly complicated creatures. There is nothing in this life that we can´t confound, destroy, tangle, ruin, damage, warp or obfuscate in some way. Each and every one of us. And sometimes our ways of doing this are very original and creative.

Yet there is still a UNIVERSAL tendency to make generalisations based on nationality.

That the English say “sorry” all the time. That the Italians are hot-blooded. That the Spanish are lazy. That the Americans live for work. That Northern Europeans are cold and Southern Europeans are hot-headed.

So when we go to a foreign country, it is a brilliant chance to say, “Look! I know my country´s football fans pee in the street, but I swear to you I´m NOT going to do that, with god as my witness!” And as home exchange really allows you the chance to introduce yourself into the community of the new place, you can actually have conversations, socialise, and have your children play with the local children.

So not only do you get the envigorating sensation of being around new and exciting people, but you can also banish some of the pre-conceptions that people might have about you.

Travelling is not just about plane sickness, buildings and weather. It´s about people. We all have our quirks, but with home exchange we can celebrate these for what they are, rather than living on the false economy of national stereotypes.

The underground.

What is with that? What happens to us? Honestly? What happens to civilisation when it hits those grimy steps and enters the so called underworld?

It changes. Normal, kind hearted, non-freakish people (some of whom have even given blood) turn into this monstrous wave of channelled anonymity, that pushes you, snarls at your ankles, and wishes you dead if you falter getting your ticket into the machine in less than 2.0 seconds.

We change, according to our environment, and depending on the group of people we are in.

The metro dehumanises us. Fact! But what does the home exchange community do to us?

Well, five things immediately spring to mind. To be a home exchanger, broadly, you´re going to be a certain type of person. Someone who likes to travel. Someone with a sense of adventure. Someone who likes to experience new things. Someone who has faith in community.

And the things this environment can bring out of you are that:

1) You help make the house child proof for the coming family
2) You leave a list of useful numbers such as dentists, doctors and physiotherapists at the ready
3) You inform the neighbours of the new family´s arrival
4) You prepare directions and suggestions for things the family can do during their stay
5) You leave their house sparkling clean for when they get back.

You see. The beauty of home exchange is, that although it might be a bit of extra effort to put all these things in place for the coming family, they will be thinking of you and doing exactly the same things for you. It´s these sweet little touches that really make home exchange a personal and heart-warming experience.

Just as the underground takes some humanity out of us, home swapping brings out the heart in us.

So Valentine´s Day is over, for another year. Thank god. Did you happen to receive any processed chocolates? Or Hallmark manufactured greetings cards? A Facebook gift perhaps?

It is at times like this that we do question whether the swashbuckling, heart palpitating romance of the earlier centuries might have just, you know, died. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? No? Okay, another pizza and DVD evening it is.

Obviously, the warm internal feeling that you have when you love someone is a feeling that has existed since when humans began living on the planet. But the efforts that we put into preserving the romance may well have changed. With a life-style that often leaves us either super-busy or super-exhuasted, the small touches that can go a long way are often put to one side.

Does anyone even believe in true love anymore? Or is it just speed-dating from now on? What with our-life spans constantly increasing, romance is something that we have to work hard to keep alive.

Weekend breaks and short holidays can be just the ticket to doing this. People often find that new environments bring out different parts of their personalities. If you and your partner spend your evenings sluggishly recovering from work, and the weekends doing your washing, then you might end up having less inspirational, tantalising conversations together.

Holidays and weekend gettaways provide stimulation and exciting environments, and most importantly, opportunities to share special moments together.

Home swaps are an incredibly cheap and easy way of achieving your perfect romantic weekend break together. Even making tea in the new home will feel special and idyllic. The weekend will be imbued with all the new hues of the different surroundings, so you get to see eachother in a new light and really appreciate the beauty of your relationship.

Romance is something that we have to work at. So if your work time-table and weekly routine is taking its toll on the throes of passion, then you should take this opportunity to give your relationship a new burst of life.

One thing that I always notice when I´m in continental Europe, is that the air is different. In each different place, the air has it´s own texture, it´s own scent. In Marseille this is especially evident.

You will experience something sprightly yet savoury as you wander through the time-worn streets down towards the port. When you arrive, you will be dazzled by the turquoise blanket of sea laid out before you.

The port is swarming with life, with people, and there are plenty of places to eat located around this part of the city. This is a good opportunity to sit down and soak up the history from the oldest city in France. You can look up to the majestic Phare de Sainte Marie light house, or wonder over to the famous fish-market.

In Centre Bourse lies the Musée d’Histoire. It contains a variety of ancient remains, including records of the Greek and roman history or Marseilles. Alternatively, you could stroll on down to the Cathedral of Sainte-Marie-Majeure. Dating back to the 4th century, this cathedral stands in all its gigantic splendor in the Romano-Byzantine style. The cathedral was in fact rebuilt in the latter part of the 19th century, but still has its original Romanesque transept, choir and altar from the medieval period, that were saved from destruction by public protest.

Marseille is famous within France for its hip hop scene. The group IAM grew out of the Marseilles hip hop movement, alongside Fonky Family, 3ème Oeil, and Psy4 de la rime.

But the thing that really captured me in Marseille was the people. Sometimes when you go abroad, your holiday can be a little dampened by that “oh no it´s another tourist!” expression that greets you on the faces of the locals. In Marseilles this wasn´t the case. Being particularly bright white skinned British people, we were quite ridiculously definable as tourists. But that didn´t cause people to have a lack of patience with us, or to treat us with less respect. Quite the contrary! The people were not only willing to help us find places and to make recommendations, but also to help us with our French and strike up some banter! In pretty much every place we went, it was the same. The city is luscious, and the air is oh so pretty, but what really made the trip was the people. The Marseillans. Our heroes!

The way we treat time in the West is very specific. Very lineal, very constrained… a little weird. Other cultures, whether the distance be historical or geographical, do not share our way of thinking. Some see it in terms of seasons. Others, in cycles.

We see it as a foward march. An inescapable progression. And because of this, sometimes, it traps us. We can get trapped in our age, trapped in our bones, trapped in our time tables.

What does this have to do with home exchange? A heck of a lot.

We don´t need to see the year as being divided into pre-ordained, predictable segments. We don´t have to have the long, arduous build up between stark, empty January, to lighter but wetter April, then to the inevitable climax in the summer period. Sure, having a summer full of sun in your hair, salty gazes and leaving your silent footsteps along the shore is one of the sweetest times you can spend. But what we need to eliminate, is the inevitable come down, and the holiday-starved slow months that make up the rest of the year.

What we´re saying is that you can have that unmistakable holiday flush more than once a year with home exchange. We can take the peaks and troughs of the year, put them in a pile, and then weed out the troughs. With home exchange being so incredibly cheap and easy, you can take weekend breaks and short trips all through the year. Or maybe even treat yourself to two or more big holidays every year.

Home swaps are incredibly liberating. Not only in terms of giving you the opportunity to travel in style all over the world. But also by freeing you from the financial and traditional time shackles that so often constrain and shape our lives, they can help us rearrange our dreary Western marching of time into constantly revolving holiday cycles.

Retirement can be a difficult time.

Especially during the first year. Humans, we do not like change.  And the transition from a fervid, caffeine-fuelled work schedule to a blank, relaxation period can actually bring with it plenty of unforeseen, daunting troubles.

One way of dealing it is to make like my father, and start the party by enrolling yourself into an unthinkable variety of university courses. Foreign languages, creative writing, a bereavement counselling course… Extravagant lunches with old friends in café gardens, foreign film club twice a week, starting to write a novel, occassional trips to the National Costume Museum… Cake making, singing, violin lessons… (Well, actually, the last three I made up, but I´m giving him a couple more months). 

This is one way of dealing with it.

But not everyone´s that crazy. Another way to gently break into the different style of living that comes with retirement is to spend a bit of time home exchanging.

If you want to take advantage of your retirement in order to have more holidays, home exchange is a brilliant way of taking safe, comfortable trips all across the world. Plus, because they´re so cheap, you can afford to take them right through the year.

Alternatively, if you´re thinking of buying a second home, or of moving to another area, home exchange is the perfect way of scouting out your ideal location. Not only do you get to sample the area first out, but you also get a feel of what it would be like to LIVE there, in a home. Hotels can be misleading, and also if you go on package trips you tend to feel set apart from the actual community way of life. So it serves not only as a way of packing holidays into a sardine tin, but also as a trial period for potential new areas to live in.

The transition between a flat out, or even a relaxed part time working schedule, can be a tricky psychological adjustment. So if you feel feel a little blue, or are finding the displacement that often comes as you embark upon a life of freedom a little strange, then you can ease into it smoothly. Catching some sun, or seeing some inspiring art in a completely new environment, can infuse you with a sense of well being, and motivate you to learn some new relaxation techniques.

Home Exchange is not just about summer vacations. It´s can touch all corners of your life.

Pets can prevent people from going on holiday. It´s a sad truth. Whilst no one wants to blame their cat for high stress levels, anxiety, tension headaches, or lethargy…it´s easy to start resenting the responsibility if it stops you from going on vacation. (Especially if the cat has been giving you shifty looks for the past couple of days… You know it´s up to something.)

So what can we do with these fluffy  (or leathery) creatures that for 50 weeks of the year fill our hearts with love and our house with hair? Well. With home exchange this is not a problem. Travelling with pets has never been easier!

The first thing to bear in mind is that with home exchange, you can often take your pets with you. Plenty of families either travel with animals, or accept animals in their homes. If it´s within the same country then you don´t even have to think! But these days you can even take animals between Europe and America. All you need to do is get your animal their very own passport. There is a period of six months in which you will need to have your pet monitored and vaccinated, but after that you will be as free as your bird. http://www.pettravel.com/immigration/England.cfm Imagine!

Alternatively, if you don´t want to take your pet with you, you would ask if your exchange partner will care for it for you. Whilst some people might be averse to the idea, for the majority it can be an extra perk of the holiday!  Plus, it´s a real treat and learning experience for the kids.

If you´re not thinking of doing a simultaneous home exchange, it´s easy enough to find someone to come round and feed or walk the animals. Neighbours or friends´ children often welcome the opportunity to spend some time with your pet. People love to be needed!

What´s in it for your animal? Well, if they´re lucky, a free holiday! ;-) But if you decide not to take them with you, there´s always the added bonus of the special treats you can bring them back from foreign pet shops! And of course, the inevitable bit of spoiling that always happens when someone comes to baby-sit… So stop using your pet as your excuse for not taking the holiday you deserve. Home exchanging with pets is more than possible!

Do Americans work harder than Europeans? Employment law would definitely suggest that. In France, for example, workers are legally entitled to 30 days of paid annual leave. In Austria 22, with an extra 13 days of paid holidays. Finland boasts 25, with nine days of paid national holiday. Greece has 26, in total.

The USA has a big fat 0.

1/4 of Americans have no paid public leave or annual holiday at all, even though many private companies offer their workers paid holiday.Whether it be because of the legal regulations, or the USA work ethic, “burn out” in the states is a growing problem.

America! Put down your Blackberry! A 50 hour week does not make you more productive. Physically, to recover from burn-out, the body needs at least 2 weeks of relaxation. And that doesn´t mean 2 weeks of tearing around cities, maximising your holiday, slogging your guts out power-holidaying around some new demanding destination.

If you want to relax, let your body recharge, boost your health, and allow your skin to have a silky inner glow, why not take a break in Europe.

It would it be a great opportunity to take some substantial time way from work.And with home exchange it would be a very cheap way of getting away. You would only have to pay for the flights, so you wouldn´t have to worry about it eating into your finances. Plus, it would also be a chance to let some of the finer aspects of the European way of life seep in.

Paris, London, Vienna, and Venice are a few of the many European havens where you will be able to peel the toxic stress away from those wired up minds and bodies.

Here´s a quick three-point guide to banishing stress, European stylee.

1. Make time to eat. Don´t view meal times as an irrelevant inconvenience, that can be doubled up as work time, done on-the-go, or silently crumped in front of the TV, crippled by fatigue after too much work. Take time to plan the meal, buy all the fresh ingredients, and cook together. You can eat late if necessary, but take the time to prepare together, to sit down together and talk, and savour some long fermented juicy wine as you enjoy your meal.

2. Remember that European societies have an incredible sense of history. You don´t need to see five museums in one day on top of three parks, and a trip to the opera. If you can wonder through a rustic French town for example, absorbing the smell of the marble, the cool narrow streets each telling a thousand stories of their own, breathing in the energy of centuries and centuries lost in the past, then your holiday will surely be something invaluable and unforgettable.

3. Take a chance to have a little laugh at our antiquated parliaments. Especially the British one. It may be occassionally put on USA television comedy channels, but believe it or not, it´s our system of government. If you visit London, you could take the opportunity to see the British government in action. It´s a lot of old men. Sat around, sleeping and muttering. It´s a weird system yes, but think of all it´s achieved! Free health care, a totally independent press, a welfare state… You always have to have the appearance of being fired up and go-getting in order to make great things happen.

Vacations aren´t an optional luxury. Most European governments make them totally, unavoidably obligatory. Our bodies need them, and even our productivity at work benefits from taking a couple of weeks break. With home exchange there aren´t even great costs! It´s a win-win situation!

Barcelona.

So the first thing to say, would be that is has a great song. Thanks to good old Freddie Mercury and Monstserrat Caballé. We´ll always have that song, and no one can ever take it away from us. So that´s where it begins. But where does it end?

One of the reasons why Mediterranean cities are so bewitching is because, well firstly, the sun makes everything look a lot crisper, but also because the buildings tend to be painted very gentle, fair colours, so there is an abundance of light. And with the combination of gothic and modernist architecture, in terms of urban beauty, this is really is the city of wonders. Home of Gaudí, Miro, Dali and Picasso, this city has such a wealth of creativity and inspiration in its incredible buildings that it totally deserves its mega reputation for being The Mega Cool.

Take the Sagrada Familia, for example. Still in construction, this mighty work combines tremendous innovation with intimidating grandure. It really is breath-taking. Similarly, the Casa Battló offers and insight into the influences that affected Gaudí´s work, from religion to nature to the modernist movement. One of the characterising features is that Gaudi sought to avoid using ANY straight lines. In a building. Imagine! It is so distinct, and so mesmerising that you will probably want to move in there and pass eternity on the dragon shaped roof terrace sipping mojitos. (But you can´t, sorry, it´s only there for visiting.)

Apart from the beautiful inner city buildings, there is also a world of beaches, parks, restaurants, bars, and cinemas. And if you´re someone who is bordering on a nervous break-down because of all of the millions and trillions of Starbucks and Macdonalds littering the world, you will be refreshed and restrengthed by the masses of independent businesses. Also, whether you go in summer or in winter, Barcelona is a leader in cultural industry. Exhibitions are constantly moving in and out of the city, and whether your tastes are photography or needlework, you´re bound to find something that captures your interest.

Not to mention the abundance of museums, cafes, shops, teterias, and terraces. Perhaps you could even schedule your trip so that you could come during the festival of Sant Jordi (23 April). Forget the commercialised-to-death Hallmark oriented Valentines day. This festival celebrates love - on St George´s Day - in style. The tradition is that couples buy gifts for eachother, but not any old gifts. A giant red fluffy heart and a box of Cadburies Roses are so NOT in. Instead, the girl buys the guy a book, and the guy gets a girl a rose. And for this day the whole city is dedicated to books, flowers and romance. The steets are lined with books stalls and flowers, and there are rose petals sheathing the pavements. It´s a picture you will never forget.

Everybody loves Barcelona. Everybody. It´s an individual part of the world capable of enchanting anyone. Look up the cheap flights and you´re sure to have a blast. And we´ll even forgive Spain for beating England in the football!

Water. It covers 71% of the world´s surface. And it steers the flow of our day to day living in more ways than we realise. The relationship that we have with water is something so entrenched in our every day lives, that we often take it for granted. Or worse, we don´t even notice it.

But it´s there. Rinsing, cleansing, quenching, pouring, soaking, cooking, raining, healing, swimming, drenching, dripping. And in different cultures water is used in distinctive and different ways. It´s one of the delights brought to life when you visit other cultures.

Some of the ways that you can appreciate the alternative uses of waters are in the Arab baths of Spain. Córdoba, Madrid, Granada and Sancti Pectri are a few of the cities that boast live Arab baths. Here you can begin to understand the centrality of water in the Islamic way of life. You can luxuriate in the hot baths, have a message, take advantage of the aromatherapy specialists, and either visit the Arab tea bar or enjoy a spectacular dinner. It is also a way to get in touch with the history of the country, and learn about the different cultural influences exerted on this part of Europe. www.hammamspain.com

Alternatively, Huningue, St Cyprien, Port Leucate and Cap d’Agde are some of the parts of France that offer mega hydro-fun with their spectacular water parks. With the hot peppery sun beating down on those French summer days, you can slide your way into oblivion in these Hurculean watery playgrounds. It makes for a great dynamic day with the kids, and you can really get to grips with the raw elements against your bare skin. (Don´t forget to re-apply sun screen - factor 20 mimimum!) Aqualand, for example, has sites in Portugal, France and Spain. http://www.aqualand.es/common/popup_aqualand_ok.php

And the most atmospheric of all would be the ethereal Blue Lagoon of Iceland. You can spend a day wading into the depths of the cobalt waters, or take the opportunity to pamper and cleanse your body with the healing properties of the hot springs and body treatments, all against the backdrop of the Icelandic planes. http://www.bluelagoon.com

Water is just one example of the many common themes that unites us as humans across the planet. It can be something really quite thought provoking, when you see it used in such inspired and different ways.