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

Transparent garbage bags. The Next Big Thing. That will certainly teach us to separate our bio-degradable goods from our plastics and our non-shiny card. Just imagine. All of your rubbish laid out in a chichi modern transparent waste-disposal bag for the whole street to see.

Those failing to comply with the garbage separation rules will be castigated, punished, reprimanded. Made an example of.

Sounds a little strange, huh? But life-style changes are systemic. Yet when we think of how about ten years ago, practically everyone was lumping their plastics, their aluminium cans, their bottles, their card with all the other junk into the trash can without a second thought for the environment, we have to accept that change happens.

Alternative life-style forms are being rapidly assimilated into the “normal” way of living. Life-style habits that ten years ago seemed to be the occupation of a few well-meaning (yet ultimately hopeless crazies) are rapidly being incorporated into the so called normal life-style.

Home exchange can easily been seen as one of these “green” features. Something that ten years back only a few Euro-phile cranks like my parents were doing. Yet now it is receiving more and more press coverage, people are signing up to the free home exchange sites every day, and the concept is rapidly becoming better known.

We live in an exciting age. Which is all the better for sweetly cheap and fun-filled holidays!

So. Compulsive hoarding disorder. Let´s have a little lookie at what Wikipedia has to say about it.

“Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding) is the acquisition of, and failure to use or discard, such a large number of seemingly useless possessions that it causes significant clutter and impairment to basic living activities such as mobility, cooking, cleaning, showering or sleeping. A person who engages in compulsive hoarding is commonly said to be a “pack rat”, in reference to that animal’s apparent fondness for material objects.”

Aha! It´s a recognised condition. I knew it wasn´t just me. This feeling… is a good feeling. (As for the whole “pack rat” thing, that wasn´t so easy on the ears.)

But let´s not get bogged down in aetiology. The more pertinent issue here is how we can deal with this when we do a home exchange. Or - even better - how home exchange can deal with this problem FOR us.

The idea of having someone in your home can work wonders for bringing out in you that religious zeal to make your nest sparkling and neat as a button. It gives us the perfect excuse to do that decade over-due spring-clean.

Seeing your house through the eyes of a visitor often encourages us to put to rights everything that we´ve wanted to get done for the past few months. (Years….decades. However it may be for you. I´m apparently a “pack rat” so I´m not judging anyone here.)

But pack rats or not, there is an element of exposure that comes with doing a home exchange. This is a brilliant way for us to animate ourselves into getting everything into the state we want it to be in. It can imbue within us a greater strive to make our living space, our environment - our HABITAT - look the best it can.

For me this would involve getting rid of the piles of newspapers and the empty water bottles that are taking over my life right now. But for most normal people, it´s a great motivation to finally getting around to doing all the things you´ve been meaning to, but have struggled to find that last push of motivation.

Home exchange. There´s a world of hidden benefits.

Europe. Go on, pick a country.

Now pick another.

Is the weather the same in both of them? Aha I think not. (Well, if you chose Spain and Italy, then you sort of ruined the game.) But if you chose Greece and Poland, or Scotland and France, Iceland and Portugal then you can really see the contrast.

The truth is, that weather-wise, Europe has a bit of everything. So on top of seeing the 100 fold varied cultures, you can also enjoy the differences in the natural environments.

Let´s take a minute to reflect on some of the best things about the rain and the sun.

Rain (e.g.: England)

• The smell of wet plants
• Wellies
• Collecting the city grime in a storm then washing it OUT of your hair
• Thunder
• Watching the trees flail in the wind
• Hearing the storm outside when you´re all snuggle in bed
• Puddles
• The brilliant emptiness of the atmosphere the day after a storm
• The diffuse yellow light that filters in before and after a heavy shower
• The anger of the sky

Sun (e.g.: Spain)

• Seeing the city physically welt in the heat
• A trickle of sweat running down your forehead on the beach
• Wearing cool sunglasses
• Lollies
• Driving with the windows down and the music on LOUD
• How easy it is to get up in the morning
• Lying on your bed with the fan on
• Reading in the shade
• Icecubes
• Soaring seratonin levels

As I said, a little of everything. Get yourself home exchanging and get involved in some of these little treasures that just make life good.