If you love German beer and international parties, October would definitely be your favorite month. And Munich will definitely be your favorite city. And yes, my dear adventure-loving home exchangers, it’s time again for Oktoberfest!

One of Germany’s largest feasts and tourist attractions, the celebration for Oktoberfest is widely known around the world. And you sure have heard of it. To those not too familiar with Oktoberfest, started in October 18, 1810 as a celebration of the marriage of Prince Ludwig (Ludwig I) and Princess Therese (the Theresienwiese festival grounds is named after her). Since then, Munich locals agreed to hold the feast annually. Today, Oktoberfest is celebrated by everyone, young and old, both by locals and tourists. The feast is celebrated with different parades, concerts for the music lovers, fairs and rides for kids, and of course, beers served at beer halls.

To give you a taste of Oktoberfest, here is a list of a few of the best beer tents:

Schottenhammel Tent
One of the oldest tents in Oktoberfest, this is the place to party for young people. The mayor of Munich declares the opening of Oktoberfest by tapping the first keg of beer here.

Hofbräuhaus Beer Tent
This colorful beer tent is famous among tourists, especially Americans.

Hacker Pschorr Beer Tent
Hacker is one of the largest beer tents, with a 10,000 person capacity, this tent is famous for its blue skies and white clouds ceiling. This is also a great venue to watch rock bands perform at night.

Of course, these are just a few suggestions. Who would know better but a local? And who would that be— your future home exchange partner! Asking your home exchange partner for any events and places to watch out for will definitely make your Oktoberfest experience a lot better. Home exchanging saves you money instead of checking into hotels (so that you could spend more on beer!) plus avoids the hassle of not getting a hotel reservation since there are lots of tourists coming in for the feast.

It sure is fun to go places and discover different cultures from places you only see in postcards. Wouldn’t it be nice to share a piece of Paris or Madrid with your friends and family back home, too? So why not bring them home a little souvenir? Buying a little present for a friend while visiting a new place would be very sweet, it’s almost like saying “Wish we went on vacation together” or “You should visit that place next month.”

Souvenirs need not be expensive, a colorful intricately handmade fan from Madrid or a bookmark with some historical facts from one of London’s second-hand bookstores wouldn’t cost you that much, plus it’s not bulky, so you won’t have trouble bringing it back home. You could even buy one for yourself to remind you of the wonderful experience you had looking around for these little treasures!

If you plan to travel and make a home exchange, it would be a good idea to ask your home exchange partner some good souvenir or gift shops where you could get small gifts for everyone. You could exchange ideas what would be the best souvenir to buy around the city and where to get it so as not to waste time looking for “that perfect little surprise gift” for your loved-ones back home. Some ideal gifts would be something that represents the culture, lifestyle or historical background of the place you are about to visit.

Go ahead and surprise your drinking buddy with that Manneken Pis shot glass sold off the streets of Brussels… it sure would cost you a few bucks, but the excitement and appreciation you get in return would definitely be priceless! Remember: it’s the thought that counts!

Now that the main juice of the summer, the sweet nectar has been syruped up, it’s time to pick yourselves up, dust yourselves off, and get planning those autumn mini-breaks away!

It would be so sad to say good bye to the summer if autumn wasn’t so damn pretty! So as the more orangey sun grazes on the crunchy autumn leaves, it’s time to start thinking about where you would really enjoy spending the most romantic and aesthetically pleasing of the seasons.

Charming, elegant, full of class and culture… Where could you go? Paris, of course! Where every individual molecule hanging in the incensed air quivers with romance.

Located in the heart of the Île de France, Paris is easily accessible from the main European cities thanks to the many low cost airlines that fly there.

Moreover, as we have repeated many times now, you can save money by swapping your home with some Parisian type eager to visit the beautiful country … we have over 1500 French houses!

Paris is a city so alive and intense that not even a month would be enough to visit it all … but we will offer ten point guide:

1. LOUVRE

Located within the former French royal palace, the Louvre Museum is one of the most famous and most visited in the world. It is a thriving artistic and cultural home to some of the most precious art treasures of Paris.
Musée du Louvre 99, rue de Rivoli, 75001, www.louvre.fr

2. ORSAY MUSEUM

Situated in the romantic heart of Paris, on the Left Bank, the Musee d’Orsay has a ripe old charm because it is situated in the old Gare d’Orsay station in the Belle Epoque, which houses collections of 19th century domestic famous throughout the world. Musée d’Orsay 1, rue Bellechasse, Paris 75007

www.musee-orsay.fr

3. TOUR EIFFEL

The most famous monument in Paris was completed March 31, 1889, and is the result of the work of the engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. As the Eiffel Tower was built, the public was not particularly satisfied by the its implementation because they thought that the structure was unattractive. Today, however it is considered one of the most remarkable examples of architectural art in the world. It receives in any season a great number of tourists from all backgrounds who come to admire it - in all its majesty - or to even climb it to enjoy the spectacular city views.
Eiffel Tower, Champs de Mars, Paris 75007, www.tour-eiffel.fr

4. POMPIDOU CENTER

In one of the oldest districts of Paris, President Pompidou wanted to create a cultural center that would give space to modern and contemporary art as well as fashion, design, film and literature. This was the genesis Pompidou Center, a curious structure that occupies an area of about one hundred thousand square meters, where it remains affected by its external pipes, each in a different color. This is because each color corresponds to a different one of its functions.

Center Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou, Rue Saint-Martin, Paris 75004, www.centrepompidou.fr

5. LATIN QUARTER

On the Left Bank of the Seine, you have the Latin Quarter, the heart of young life in Paris. It is full of shops, bookstores, film-clubs, and the most fashionable bars and restaurants amongst students are concentrated here. The name suggests a neighborhood full of Brazilian, Mexican and Columbian cafes,but this area of Paris actually takes its name from the Latin language spoken by the professors of the Sorbonne, the most prestigious universities in the world, where everyone has at least once dreamed of studying, Indeed for centuries, the life of this neighborhood revolves around its most important institution.

6. MARAIS

On the Right Bank of the Seine, north of Île Saint-Louis, one of the most visited zones, a busy area full of trendy bars and clothing shops, where different lifestyles cluster together in the streets. These are punctuated by the great aristocratic palaces of the Renaissance, from grand hotels to small and characteristic medieval alleys. Other important points of reference for visitors are the Picasso Museum and his collection of works by the Spanish master, the Museum of art and history of Judaism.

7. MONTMATRE

Situated on a hill 130 meters high, Montmartre in 1800 was the bohemian neighborhood where artists from around the world went to discuss art and politics. An irreverent district, crowded with tourists at all hours is a magical place, where Delacroix, Picasso, Modigliani, Utrillo and Van Gogh lived. But today, instead of the big names in art, there are painters and artists of all kinds of business trying to attract the attention of tourists. Then there’s Place Pigalle, a site famous throughout the world, seen and reviewed in numerous films, Moulin Rouge, known for “Dorissa Girls, girls strip and perform with ballet including the famous Cancan, is still an attraction for many tourists thanks to the increasingly rich offering of entertainment and dancing.

8. GARDENS

Besides being the city of a thousand lights, it is also a city full of green spaces, ideal for relaxing away sunny afternoons, spent for example in the most famous French garden. Known as the Garden of Luxembourg, a public park of 24 hectares, and founded in 1612 by Maria de ‘Medici, this garden is located on the border with the area of Saint Germain des Près, this is a beautiful green space full of thickets, tree-lined streets and culminates in a large panoramic terrace, with statues of French kings chosen by King Louis Philippe. Inside the garden is the Palais du Luxembourg, home to the Senate. It offers a luxurious landscape and is much loved by visitors of all ages, for a quick lunch in the open air, or for a leisurely stroll to spend happy evenings there, delighting in tennis courts and areas for children’s play. The Tuileries Gardens instead, were created in the seventeenth century at the behest of Catherine de Medici, and originally next to the gardens there was also the Tuileries Palace that were destroyed in a fire in 1871. Today the park, bordered by the Louvre to the east and west from the Place de la Concorde, is brimming with entertainment for children.

9. LA FAYETTE

With their stunning Art Nouveau cupola, Galeries Lafayette are located in the district of works on the Boulevard Haussmann, and in general form a fascinating place full deputy shopping elite.
Galerie La Fayette 40, boulevard Haussmann, Paris 75009, www.galerieslafayette.com

10. FAVELA CHIC
One of the centers of Parisian nightlife, once famous for its prison that housed political and religious prisoners, and that was destroyed during the French Revolution of 1789, today is presented instead as one of the most vibrant areas of Paris. It is often used for concerts and other events where you can admire a wide choice of bars, nightclubs and live music halls.

It’s now easier than ever to rate your home exchange experience. Before, you were able to evaluate your exchange via a ratings form that would be sent to you one week after you’d come back from your home exchange vacation. However, as many people were organizing home exchange requests without actually accepting the request form that was sent through the website, they were not receiving the ratings form in their email.

So we decided to improve our system so that as a user, you can give your opinion on a home exchange as soon as you’ve done it. Now, if you send a home exchange request and the other user accepts it, then the “ratings form” will automatically appear on the screen if you click on “Requests received” or “Requests sent”.  Be careful though: firstly, both parties need to have agreed that they’re ready to rate their experiences of the exchange.

In addition to this form, you will still receive the email that lets you share you opinion one week after you’ve come back from the holiday. But it’s a good idea to have a look at the requests page so that you know which exchange it is exactly. Then you will be ready to make comments about your exchange, for example: what you liked, what you didn’t like, how you got on with your exchange partners, etc…

We hope this system will make your use of our website just that little bit easier. If you have any questions or queries, then just send an email our way.

Like with everything that’s related to home exchange etiquette, there is one simple question that you need to bare in mind. “How would I like to be treated by them?”

So it may be that you’re tired after totally unwinding and relaxing on your home exchange. Or that you’ve spent every spare minute darting over the unexplored city, and have ended up with that happy worn-out tiredness. What with the slightly less than welcome prospect of having to return to work, it can same like the least appealing thing on your mind, to go through the whole house and give it a good rub down and thorough clean.

But it really pays off. It can be a good idea to set aside a day for the cleaning, and you can assign, for example one section of the house to each member of the family. This way you will maintain a great relation with your home exchange partner, so you’ll have the option of swapping with them again the next time.

Also, what will really make the whole thing worth while is when you finally  get back to your own home and find it dazzling brightly clean and tidy!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah………And then you’re back. Right back. Back to September, back to autumn, back to work, back to earth.

You were just settling in to relazzzzing (yes! with a “z” because it’s even more chilled out that “relaxing”!), by the pool, absorbing the sun, enjoying your cocktail… In a flash, you’re back at the office, jostling your way through the underground, bleak, work, staring at the screen again. Upon returning from holidays, it is not uncommon to undergo a small bout of depression. So. How can we avoid the back-to-work blues?

Tip # 1: Find new activities!

During the holidays, you may have tried a new sport, or dabbled with a new activity that you like! You may even have started learning a new language! Now that you’ve got the taste for it, it is the perfect time to get yourself enrolled in that salsa class! Make time to do an evening class or take up a new hobby. All you needed was that little extra kick of motivation, and now you have it, so voilá! Up and at ‘em!

Tip # 2: Cocoon at home with friends

Winter is the time to sit around the fire with a glass of wine, snuggling up and watching films! Forget the gloom that can accompany the dawning of the colder seasons. This is an opportunity to organize a good party mode cocooning at home to tell your friends about your summer adventures and new home exchange projects.

Tip # No. 3: Take care of yourself

Just because the summer has ended and there’s no more beach-wear horror to endure, it’s not a reason to sit back and slide into bad habits. You can continue to go to the gym, eat lots of fresh fruit and veg, and even enjoy wrapping up in your charming winter wardrobe.

Tip # 4: Start thinking about your next home exchange

The summer holidays are over, certainly, but nothing prevents you planning  good weekend with friends or couples. Ticket prices are often cheaper, and you will discover charming destinations in the autumn and winter. Finland in December, Sicily to find a holiday or the Oktoberfest in Munich, enjoy the events and opportunities available to you via home exchange!

Just because the summer’s over does not mean that you have to wait a further year until the next vacation! Log on, get your thinking cap on, and start planning your next home exchange! This is the beauty of such low cost-vacations. Vacations and fun times away all year round!

When you go abroad to a foreign climate, it can sometimes be easy to mistake the weather. A fine example of this in Europe are the Brits that wonder around Spain in March, scantily clad, whilst it is neither warm nor sun-tanning weather. Another example can be the French that visit Scotland in the summer, sporting a fine pair of flip flops that they literally have to chisel the icicles off afterwards.

Photos in travel guides can often be misleading. Plus, despite the beauty of ease that we have with online international weather reports, if you’re going away for several weeks, you won’t be able to see reliable predictions for the whole duration.

So aside from the “just in case” items, such as the golf-course umbrella that you might pack on the way to the south of France, or *that* dress that you might be able to wear out in Finland, there may be some other items you need. Make sure that you ask your home exchange partners for any freaky bouts of weather that are likely to occur in the area. Similarly, there are other considerations to be made such as car use. It might be an investment to bring a wind-shield protector so that you don’t burn your hands on the steering wheel after having had the car in the sun. Or, if you’re going to Canada for example, you may want to think about investing in a de-icing sprayor some anti-freeze .

Also, ask what kind of clothes they would wear at that time, so that when you arrive you don’t have to deal with the unwelcome realisation that bright sun doesn’t always equal hot weather.