We have a “Tour guide to visit Memphis” type of post today, with a list of points of interest and things to do while you swap houses to the city of the Blues. It is just a list, if you want more information please use the links provided at the end of each description and get ready to swap!

Beale Street - Mentioned in our previous post, since the late 19th century and first decades of the 20th century it has been the home of bars and clubs where the blues was born, grew up and matured. Musicians like W. C. Handy (writer of the first popular Blues song), B.B. King and Louis Armstrong are among the many that once performed in Beale Street. There are also many festivals and concerts organized in Beale Street so you may want to check what is scheduled for the days you will be in Memphis.

Memphis in May - A festival that lasts a month probably has a wide entertainment offer. In this case it is worth mentioning the music festivals, the barbecue cooking contest and the international promotional events. http://memphisinmay.org/

Museums - There are several museums in Memphis, so we will mention a few: the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (http://www.staxmuseum.com/), the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum (http://www.memphisrocknsoul.org/), the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art (http://www.brooksmuseum.org/) and the Pink Palace Family of Museums (http://www.memphismuseums.org/).

Graceland - Elvis Presley’s famous estate cannot be left out of the tour but there is also Sun Studio, where “The King” recorded his first hit song. Sun Studio: http://www.sunstudio.com/

The Memphis Zoo - A zoo does not need a long description, there are hundreds of species in the Memphis Zoo and many educational tours. http://www.memphiszoo.org/.

There are more things to do and see in Memphis, like a very good offer for sports fans and also many parks to get in touch with nature, so please visit the following link for more information on these and other things to do in Memphis: City of Memphis - Tourism Information.

Memphis, with a population surpassing half a million inhabitants, is one of the largest cities in the mid-South of the USA, in the State of Tennessee. Sitting right next to the Mississippi River, in a strategic situation in the middle of the country considering its 19th century foundation and the economic activities in the surrounding areas, it soon became a transportation hub that led to its rapid development. Where there is transportation there is, of course, movement and people come together and interact. Perhaps that is why Memphis has a rich history when it comes to cultural expressions, one of our best ways to interact and leave a mark.

The cultural heritage of Memphis is so rich, that for example, when it comes to music it is linked to the Blues, Rock and roll and Soul music. If you had to actually choose a birthplace for the Blues, you would probably encounter that  Beale Street in Memphis would be a place you could not leave out of consideration, and even today some blocks in the old district are packed with clubs, restaurants and bars where musicians play the Blues as it happened about 100 years ago.

Museums, parks, festivals, attractions, sports and other interesting places and things to do are waiting for you to swap houses to visit Memphis, so we are going to help you build an itinerary in our next post because it is a long list and we have shared enough for today.

We will continue with last week’s proposal to visit cities related to two music styles that have their roots in the USA, jazz and blues. These two genres have other things in common, like their origin within the African-American communities of the southern USA, their fast expansion to other places like Chicago and New York, and of course, their deep and moving melodies that continue to captivate people nowadays.

Since last week we mostly focused on jazz, now we are going to focus our travel energies in visiting cities related to the blues. The style was born around the Mississippi River in the late 19th century evolving from African spirituals sang by slaves, ex-slaves and their descendants. But instruments came in and the songs became a melodic conversation between a man and his guitar. Yes, there is no blues without the guitar. The man would sing and the guitar would reply. The tone of the conversation was (and is) basically sad and the common theme of the lyrics: adversity.

We mentioned last week that when the blues arrived at Chicago it became electrified, but this was a few decades into the 20th century, and it was the beginning of the “Chicago blues”, but before that, it also reached other places and to them we are going to go this week. Tomorrow… Memphis. If you thought only Elvis Presley’s fan would have a reason to go there and you needed an alternative excuse to swap houses with someone in Memphis, HomeForHome, the world leader in excuses to become a swapper, will be here to provide it

Travel and music, two things related to leisure that combined have great power. We have made our contribution to show how it could be fun to combine them in our previous posts and we will bring more examples in the days to come. Now, it is time to present a city that has a diverse offer when it comes to live entertainment, specially music and theatre, so we will take our home swap bags to Chicago taken by the influence of jazz and blues.

Chicago (Illinois) or the “windy city” is one of the most populated cities in the USA and as such it has many places for visitors to discover and enjoy. It is also the place where the word jazz became associated to the music genre that was born a few years earlier in New Orleans and were the blues became electrified.

The city has many attractions so no matter when you travel to Chicago, you will find several things to do to plan your stay. You can enjoy the lake shore, the nightclubs, specially worth mention are the jazz clubs :), the sports played in the city (baseball, basketball, ice hockey, “soccer”, American football), the shopping areas, the fine restaurants and the probably not-so-fine but still delicious local versions of pizza, hot dogs, sandwiches and ethnic dishes.

There are thousands of things to do in Chicago, but remember to save time for music. Here are some suggestions:

Jazz City Concerts - Jazz in city parks (the main city of the Jazz Institute of Chicago has more information on events: http://www.jazzinchicago.org/)
Chicago Blues Festival - http://www.chicagobluesfestival.us/
Lollapalooza - http://www.lollapalooza.com/
Explore Chicago - All you need to know to plan your perfect home swap to Chicago.

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!

We usually associate the idea of ´holiday´ with a melting Caribbean sun. Maybe some gentle sliding tides, and lounging about on the white sand shaded by some giant friendly coconuts. Yet, for some, vacations can bring as much stress as they ease away. There are a variety of reasons for this, and it is important to be aware of them before planning the holiday, and when you are out there enjoying it.

So let´s look at some of the causes of holiday stress, and how you can avoid them with HomeExchange.

Fatigue.

So as to not waste the opportunity of seeing everything that a new corner of the world has to offer, it´s often tempting to rush around like a headless chicken, cramming in every last culture experience you can into the time you have. This can often result in early starts, long walks, long periods standing or driving, arguments, and a sense of time pressure. With home exchange, you can avoid this by making better and more effective plans about your holidays in advance. You can talk with your exchange partner, and get a real feel for the area guided by a real veritable local native! Over email or messaging, you can discuss your interests, and the things that appeal to you the most. Then, with the feedback from your exchange partner, you can start to sift through the plans that would satisfy you and be worthwhile. This way, you will maximise your time away and spend those creamy days enjoying a balanced schedule. Also, you won´t have to worry about early starts brought on my hotel evacuation procedures!

Financial limitations.

A common cause of stress during vacations is caused by the difference between the imagined, ideal PLAN for the holiday, and the actual reality of it. Even if you´re not one to kick back and treat yourself to just about anything you fancy when you´re on vacation, financial restraints are often a cause of stormy trouble. Also, even if you´re not stopped from doing the things you want to do, there can something be a sense of dissatisfaction that you´ve “spent all this money” and aren´t actually enjoying it as much as you hoped. At homeforhome, whilst we can´t guarantee that everything will turn out precisely as you expected, we can guarantee that you won´t be stressed out about the massive costs of the vacation. As the only thing you will have to pay for will be the travel, you won´t be pouring away hundreds on the accommodation. Without a doubt, this takes a massive financial burden off the holiday, which will rule out one of the commonest causes of vacation stress. Also, your exchange partner can tell you the cheapest and best places to eat, where to get your food, which free activities are available, and where to avoid because it´s too expensive.

Unrealistic expectations.

Another reason people can sometimes feel a sense of irritation or melancholy whilst abroad, is because they are trying to recreate a ´perfect holiday´ that they had in the past. We like to think that by doing a home exchange, you will have such a new and unique experience, that you won´t be disappointed by any aspect of the holiday. What with being in totally new surroundings, having your own new little home to live in, and with all the guidance and friendliness afforded by a home swap, you won´t have any sense of nostalgia for a past holiday. Everything will be so different, new and exciting that your home exchange won´t simply be giving you a break - it will give you a break from the monotony of other vacation habits!

So if you´ve ever felt the sticky disappointment of a holiday somehow gone wrong, you´ll understand what we mean. With home-exchange you can look forward to having a holiday free of the usual risks of stress.