The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics came to an end yesterday, and a couple of weeks of ice and snow everywhere (not only on TV!), were once again a reminder of the top destinations for 2010 discussed in January. Why? Well, Encyclopedia Britannica Blog had Iceland wining their bronze medal. Let’s discover a why Iceland deserved such a prize.

After a moment searching through the Internet and viewing some pictures of Iceland you would agree that, in a few words: Iceland is amazing. The country’s natural beauty is just fascinating. They have geysers, volcanoes, glaciers, lakes, geo-thermal pools and waterfalls of marvelous beauty. Iceland’s natural scenery is accompanied with modern infrastructure and services to present a great alternative to travellers. Bird-watching, glacier trekking, hiking, whale-watching, cultural events, unique golf tournaments involving midnight-sun teeing off and spectacular northern lights are among the activities that will have a special touch of uniqueness when enjoyed in Iceland.

Icelanders are modern and friendly, most of them are fluent in English and they will probably help you have a pleasant stay. The economic crisis hit Iceland very hard, but this means there’s an extra advantage for foreign visitors: exchange rates are favourable. So, it really seams like breathtaking Iceland deserves a place among the top destinations for 2010.

The best months to visit Iceland are coming soon. May, June and July are the driest months with the high season extending through August as well. A fun fact is that today, March 1st, Iceland celebrates an interest success since it is Beer Day. Beer with more than 2.2 percent alcohol by volume was prohibited by law from 1915 until 1989, so the anniversary of its legalisation is celebrated accordingly.

In case you are already wondering, there are home exchange opportunities in Iceland, so don’t waste any time.

You can learn more about Iceland at http://www.visiticeland.com

Some friends of mine recently got engaged. At the immediate post-announcement drinks, I think the main thrust of what everyone was saying was:

“Congratulations how are you going to find a venue and cover all the costs.”

A little depressing. This here economic climate seems to be touching all areas of life, no matter who you are or what you might be doing (or marrying).

What we’re offering you at http://en.homeforhome.com in terms of weddings, might not be for everyone. Some people spend their lives dreaming of that one day where they adorn themselves in a white dress (or top hat and tails), skip down the aisle and celebrate their love with a a priest and a massive congregation of their friends and family. To be followed with a gigantic dinner and party and a band.

If that is your dream and your wedding plans have been hampered by the credit crunch crisis, then maybe it’s best to ride out these old hardy years and hold on until the ships of prosperity come sailing in.

BUT. If you’re not hung up on a precious and expensive white wedding, then there are plenty of options open to you if you want to get married in year 2009.

You can do home swaps all around the world, and as at homeforhome we currently have a large number of homes available for swapping, your destination options are very broad.

Eloping can be very romantic. It can take the stress out of the wedding and replace it with intimacy. It’s a very beautiful option for people who are looking for something different.

You can have a wonderfully chimerical private wedding in an idyllic location, and enjoy the precious moments of a holiday together in a very intimate, private and special homely environment.

Homeswap. Elope. Have the time of your life.

Some might say that having a job that fulfils you is something of a luxury.

For many, work is about survival. On the whole, we work in order to pay the rent, put food on the table, pay the bills and simply arrive at the end of the month.

This is not something to be taken lightly. We cannot start making grand claims to have an exciting, fulfilling job that completes us as people, when the reality is that basic material need fulfilment is not something at all easy.

But we also have to accept on some level that a lot of people “fall into” lines of work that aren’t anywhere in line with their personlities, strengths, or emotional make up. Yet it is easy to get used to a comfortable life-style. To the money, the security.

Yet, with the crisis, that security has now gone. Nothing is sacred. And many people are, despite the very uncomfortable fear and insecurity, have the opportunity to look at what they can do, and if - as we now know - nothing is safe, then what is worth taking risks for.

Maybe this is the conception of our generation. The apathy, the commercialism, the consumer comforts. All gone! We’re ready for a fresh awakening. A chance to really question what we value, and what it is, at the deepest pitted root, that we need to make us feel happy.

What does this mean for home exchange? Well, it’s another symptom of the frost that comes, yet that bring us to a more alert state of consciousness.

It’s something for us to think about. How the change in consciousness, the new awareness that the security we always thought we would have has gone, and how we are taking things out of the matrix, and into our own hands.

How often before have we “fallen into” a package trip that some group of travel agents has loosely hooked together that’s meant to interest us and the whole of the rest of the population at the same time? Just because they sell it, doesn’t make it good.

Home exchanges bring home the real values of holidays. They’re not about package tours, impersonal hotels, and what money can buy you. They’re about giving yourself an experience that fulfils you and gives you the opporunity to challenge youself and try new things.

On April 24 the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) announced that the global recession had led to a sharp increase in the amount of back-packing travellers making their way to Australia.

Although the predictions fore-casted that the number of visitors to Australia would drop by near on 250,000, the Council have said that they are robustly dealing with the issue, and that they are confident the the industry will make a full recovery.

“The industry’s been through SARS, September 11, the collapse of Ansett, and the Bali Bombings, and we have learned and got better at recovery every time,” said a representative.

The government has pumped 8.5 million Australian dollars into a grant to boost and innovate the industry.

But perhaps we need not worry considering that the amount of visa applications to travel to Australia have gone up by 20% from England and Germany.

So things are looking pretty sunny on the otherside of the globe. There is a sparky interest in jet setting over to those sandy shores, and there is a peachy market for home exchanges with Australia over here.

So Australia, welcome to our site! We hope the all the new coming Australian users will take advantage of the impressive and sustained tourism market over there to do exchanges with other parts of the world!

So, it looks like the credit crunch is making quite a few changes. Belts are tightening, purse strings are being bound to the point of breaking, and it´s all getting a bit depressing. It´s not only those who face the horror of job loss that suffer. There are a whole variety of problems to confront right now, with the current economic situation. But cutting down on holidays is, thankfully, not something you have to put up with!

When we have to cut back on luxuries, you would think that holidays would be one of the first things to go. They are certainly something that we tend to spend a lot of money on.

But it doesn´t have to be like that. When you do a home exchange with HomeForHome, the only thing you have to pay for is the transport. Other than that, you will have the same living costs as if you were staying at home. And whilst we are living in the age of cheap flights, now is the time, more than ever, to take advantage of what is available.

Let´s say that you book a cheap flight well in advance of the proposed holiday. So you get the cheapest offer available. And then when you get there, you do a vehicle swap with the family or person that you are exchanging with. The biggest cost of a holiday is often the accommodation. So, with the right organisational skills, you could end up paying very little for transport, and not a single dime for the accommodation. The savings would be enormous. That is why, in this particular economic climate, the home exchange opportunity is riper than ever. It can be the difference between having a substantial, wonderful holiday in a foreign country, or not having a holiday at all.

When you see it in this light, it´s all the more appealing. All you need to do is get yourself registered, upload the details of your own home, and then start looking for locations around the world that you´d like to spend your holidays in! It´s very exciting, and it´s certainly the smart choice to make. This economic crisis might cost us a lot, but we here at HomeForHome make it still possible to go have your dream holidays.

So how´s that for sending a bit of sunshine your way?

During this difficult time it seems that we all have to pay attention to how much we spend, what for and maybe we’d better forget about holidays too.

But to help you out I’d like to suggest another way of going on holidays without being ‘crippled by the crisis weight’.

Have you ever heard about house sitting?

“I have decided to be a house sitter. I have found that there are many folk who wish to leave their home and pets for periods whilst they travel, and they seek people like me to care for their house, their garden and their animals. For me it provides a place of peace, and plenty of time to write” . (Source: Diary of a House Sitter, http://housesitdiary.blogspot.com).

Yes, you understood correctly: also houses need to be taken care of, like dogs, plants, babies…

Many well-to-do families with equally comfortable houses often leave their house to some concierges. Now it seems quite trendy the habit of leaving the house (garden and animals included) to a person who will take care of it -precisely the house sitter- in return for a “change of place and air” or the possibility of living in a different, beautiful, maybe bigger, maybe luxury house or, whatever, to be able to go on even short holidays in another place, different from one’s own house. You can also earn some money in some cases.

However, apart from the house sitting news, if this is not your solution because you are a family or a couple –and this can be a more suitable solution for singles- you can always re-consider the home exchange option and start now to plan your economic, easy and comfortable house swap holidays!