There are millions of people who practice naturism in the world and over 1000 tourist facilities and private events reserved exclusively for nudists. These include beaches, resorts, clubs, spas, camping sites and cruises. There are entire families (especially in Europe) who like to live without clothes on a daily basis. For those people, nudity is simply a way of being, a way to stay in touch with nature and get back to the basics in a relaxed way.

Nudist beaches first became popular in the 1950s along the French coastline and have since spread (slowly) all over the world. It is the main expression of social nudity. The countries that have taken the lead are mainly France and Spain, just as they have taken the lead in number of registered swappers in HomeForHome!

British Naturism is an organisation that offers information about naturism in the UK, including a list of the “officially” designated beaches for nude use in the UK, which we are going to share with you now in case you want to ensure an even suntan during your next home exchange. But nudism is also acceptable in “unofficial” beaches if there is respect for one another’s preferences and privacy. If someone is asked to cover-up on an unofficial beach in the UK, they must do so. Here is the list of “official” beaches according to British Naturism:

- Cleat’s Shore (Lagg, Isle of Arran)
- Morfa Dyffryn (Gwynedd)
- St Osyth (Clacton, Essex)
- Holkham Beach (Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk)
- Budleigh Salterton - West End (Budleigh Salterton)
- Studland Bay (Near Swanage, Dorset)
- Brighton East Beach (Brighton, East Sussex)
- Fairlight Glen (Hastings, East Sussex)
- Leysdown East (Isle of Sheppey, Kent)

If one of these beaches is near your home, you may even consider adding it as a nearby attraction to your home description! Or if you are tempted to try nudism in your next home exchange vacation, here are some resources for you to learn more about it (these websites may include images of adult nudity of a non-sexual nature):

- International Naturist Federation (http://www.inf-fni.org/)
- British Naturism (http://www.british-naturism.org.uk/)
- Naturist UK Fact File (http://nuff.org.uk/)

We are sure with all the ideas we have been giving you, it will not be difficult for you to plan your home exchange vacation this summer. Yet, there is another thing that can be much simpler if you take some preventive measures: getting back to work after the fun is over.

The first steps you should take are related to having everything covered while you are gone: try to leave a short list of pending matters before you leave, organize your desk and clean your workspace, have a co-worker cover urgent matters while you are absent, you can easy them into the tasks they will be covering you by copying them relevant e-mails and sharing any important information they might need. Schedule a short meeting your first day back with this co-worker to catch up. Also, set your out-of-the-office e-mail and voicemail messages (if you set them to last after your return to the office, you will have time to catch up before people start sending you reminders) and inform contacts you will be gone and for how long.

If your vacations involves travelling (which we hope is the case), save one or two days to get settled back home before you have to return to work.

Image by jscreationzs /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you do get back to work, make a list of pending matters and organize them into two categories: cannot wait, can be dealt later. Save the second list for the following week. Then focus on the first list and choose those things that need to be addressed the first day, keep in mind the time you have available and do not overdo, or you will just ruin your “relaxed” state of mind. If you need help with something, ask someone to give you a hand.

During the day, take shot breaks to clear your head. Get up, stretch and take a deep breath. It will take some time, but you will get back on track. Remember to bring back a picture from your vacations or a small souvenir for your desk, those little reminders can help you relax if things get complicated.

Finally, as soon as you get settled back, return to HomeForHome and start planning your next home exchange vacation!

A week from today a huge sport event will be starting in South Africa: the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Thirty-two teams, representing nations from all continents will compete to become the world champion of football. The championship will last about a month and the games will be watched by millions of people worldwide, since it has the record of being the most watched sporting event in the world, even over the Olympic Games.

I got curious to learn if HomeForHome had listings from all the participating countries. What do you think? Will you venture a guess?

Here goes what I found:

1. Spain: 5118
2. France: 4032
3. Italy: 1764
4. England: 621
5. Germany: 542
6. United States: 480
7. Australia: 110
8. Argentina: 101
9. Switzerland: 64
10. Mexico: 48
11. Portugal: 48
12. Brazil: 27
13. Chile: 25
14. Netherlands: 20
15. Algeria: 18
16. Uruguay: 9
17. Denmark: 7
18. New Zealand: 7
19. Greece: 5
20. Paraguay: 3
21. Serbia: 3
22. Cote d’Ivore: 2
23. Japan: 2
24. South Africa: 1
25. South Korea: 1
26. Honduras: 1
27. Slovakia: 1
28. Cameroon: 0
29. Ghana: 0
30. Nigeria: 0
31: North Korea: 0
32: Slovenia: 0

Almost! Only but a few of the countries that qualified to the final round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup do not have someone willing to do home exchange through HomeForHome.

Now, Spain took the lead a long time ago in the number registered swappers, do you think HomeForHome will bring Spaniards luck in the football field? Since they are among the favourites, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Image by Salvatore Vuono /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Easter is a Christian festivity that celebrates the death and resurrection of Christ. It is celebrated in many countries with similar customs. The most common tradition is giving away Easter eggs.

Chocolate eggs are the current traditional gift exchanged during Easter time, but the original Easter eggs were bird eggs painted with colourful patterns. Colouring eggs is still common among families with young children as a mean of entertainment.

There are countries were wooden coloured eggs are chosen for house decoration and sometimes special patterns tell the Easter story as well.

There are famous eggs related to Easter: The first Fabergé egg ever made was ordered by the Russian Czar Alexander III as an Easter present for his wife. It was made of gold and white enamel and it contained a series of surprises inside. Then, jeweler Carl Fabergé designed other luxury eggs for the Russian royal family, which are now considered masterpieces and exhibited in private collections and museums around the world.

Egg hunts, egg rolling races and egg-knocking are some of the traditional games played during Easter. No matter what you traditions are, next year you can experience Easter in a different place with HomeForHome. Many countries have holidays during Easter week, so it is a good time to arrange your home exchange.

Even we missed it. How terrible! We forgot our own anniversary. Yes, we are one year-old now and we didn’t throw a big party.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Only a year ago, we were taking our first steps and now, HomeForHome has reached over 10.000 registered houses! That means we have two reasons to celebrate. We keep growing thanks to your preference, so congratulate yourselves for being part of this exciting accomplishment.

With over 10.000 houses, there are so many opportunities and so many different options, that it is hard to believe your perfect home swap isn’t waiting for you just a few clicks away.

We are very proud of our members, too. There has been such an involvement, with many of you participating in the forums, helping one another and of course swapping. There are over 500 home exchange feedback reviews published, meaning that there were at least as many swaps arranged in the past year. That’s something like 1,5 swaps each day! However, we keep striving to improve our services, and we are considering many suggestions received in the past few weeks, so don’t be surprised if we make some changes during our second year online.

Once again, thank you for your preference and keep swapping!

Travelling can be such a pleasant activity, but planning a great vacation takes a certain time. The most time you invest in taking care of the little details the least chance things won’t turn out as you originally wanted.

As HomeForHome is intended to make home exchange an easier alternative for our users, we are constantly looking for ways to help you plan your perfect vacation. That means not only providing you with tips about home exchange itself but also about travelling in general. That’s why we have often posted reviews of places to visit, trends, opportunities, activities, etc. But we are not a specialized travel resource so, what can we do to compensate that? We present you with specialized websites where you can find all the relevant information to prepare your trip. Today, we introduce you to a comprehensive directory for the UK traveller: travelfromHere.com

travelfromHere.com tries to make your travel related web search easier by presenting you the best possible selection of relevant sites from the Web. By following the provided link, you will access travelfromHere.com’s thorough directory of accommodation, transport (including airlines, airports, car rentals, coaches, trains and flight specialists), holidays, cruises, attractions, insurance, travel guides, travel Internet communities, and much more. How can travelfromHere.com make your travel planning a little easier? Just as an example, they have links to organisations that could assist you to obtain a visa, which could save you hours of Internet search to find the requirements, hours spent waiting in lines to get forms or get documents and, above all, the headache of arriving at your destination without the proper documents.

So check it out, and of course HomeForHome is there too!

Today we want to inspire you to travel so we decided to present you with the following words of wisdom we found in BraveNewTraveler. Enjoy…

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

“Travel and change of place impart new vigour to the mind.” – Seneca

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

At Days End by Jennifer Renne

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

If you didn’t feel the urge to start searching HomeForHome to find a home exchange destination, maybe you will after what we found in The Quote Garden:

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money.”  – Susan Heller

“And that’s the wonderful thing about family travel:  it provides you with experiences that will remain locked forever in the scar tissue of your mind.” – Dave Barry

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.”  – Lillian Smith

Christmas Holidays are around the corner… The travel world is soon to be filled with people looking for last minute flights and accommodations, during one of the busiest times of the year for the industry. Whether it is people trying to get home to spend the holidays with their loved ones or people looking to experience different customs and traditions (or getting away from them), planning ahead might save them a great deal of trouble later trying to fit their budgets and agendas to last minute offers.

Finding a home swapping partner from a distant country may be a good idea to experience a different way to celebrate the holidays or start a new family tradition. Central and South America are possible destinations for those interested in changing weather conditions as well as typical celebrations, since Latin customs are generally quite different from ours and their summer weather during the holidays is enjoyable in itself. In the same way that your bones would be glad to experience a 30º Christmas for once, someone from a distant country may be looking forward to waking up to open presents by the fireplace on a snowing Christmas morning.

Whatever option you decide to experience this year, don’t let yourself get caught in the last minute rush!

Incredible as it may sound, planning a family vacation is one of the most common stressful situations one may cope with. A recent survey found that more than 98% of vacation planners suffer anxiety, tension, trouble sleeping at night and even headaches or back pains are common symptoms among people consulted. Where to go, what to bring, things you can’t forget, everything starts to pile up in the “to do” list and you end up wanting a vacation from vacation planning! What about an easy way to shorten that list?

Home exchange is a secure way to diminish the stress that comes when you go through planning your next vacation since it is very much like going to your own home away from home. Everything from the “daily use” list will be there already, expenses will be very similar to your home’s, you can choose from thousands of places, you can ask for details in advance so you don’t find any surprise upon arrival, and the options are unlimited. Depending on your chosen destination, you may end up with a very short list: transportation and clothing! It is an exceptional option for a short weekend trip (or repeated short weekend trips). You choose the destination, you look up the options from our listing, you contact the other party and you are on your way…

So even for health purposes and stress relief, Home for Home is a top choice!

When someone talks about Cannes in France, I usually only think of one thing: the Cannes International Film Festival. Every year, the festival is celebrated and the best films from all around the world are given recognition and honor. Movie buffs anticipate this event held every May. But is there more to Cannes than just the host for this wonderful festival?

Well, yes. Cannes is a city with overflowing culture and rich history. The city is located in the French Riviera, south east of France. The name “Cannes” has unknown origins, but suggested that it may have been derived from the work “canna”, meaning reed. As early as 2^nd century BC, Cannes was already established as a fishing village until Romans have since then occupied the city. The Spanish and British armies fought over the Lerins Islands in an attempt to gain control of it during the 18^th century.

Cannes is perfect for any outdoor activity, as the city has its share of the warm Mediterranean climate. Cannes has long been famous for its climate, as more tourists come here to spend 30°C Summer days. La Croisette is surrounded by beaches open to the public. It also is the place for boutiques, cafés and restaurants. La Croisette also houses several museums including Musée de la Mer, Musée de la Photographie and Musée International de la Parfumerie among others. La Suquet is the village overlooking La Croisette, this is where grand residencies were first built.

Grand residentcies or not, you are sure to find a home exchange available here. If not, you can also have home swapped in the nearby cities as going to Cannes is very quick and easy. Cannes is just an 8 hour drive away from Paris, as same as to Monaco and Nice. Brussels is a 6-hour travel via the railway system while 5 hours for Milan.

So next time someone says Cannes, it’s not just the film festival that you should think of, there are a lot of things to know and discover in Cannes. You might want to consider giving in to the idea of a visit there.