We’ll probably return to London for part three, but right now it’s time to explore the options elsewhere so everyone can start making plans for next holiday season. A varied selection today, with two music festivals, different continents and in two very different cities.

Chickasha Festival of Light
What: A festival that gets national attention within the USA and receives over 300,000 people each year. Lights (millions of them), displays, holiday music, a musically-choreographed light show, rides…
Where: Shannon Springs Park, Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA.
When: November 22nd to December 31st.
If you would like to know more about this festival, you can visit http://www.chickashafestivaloflight.com/

Via Magna Festival
What: Vocal music in the incomparable setting of Madrid. Different styles, different places and different artists for everyone to get a little bit of Christmas spirit. Carols, gospel, pop, flamenco and classics with renowned interpreters and new rising talents.
Where: Different locations in Madrid, Spain.
When: Activities everyday from December 10th to the 20th.
You can download a PDF file with the program at http://www.festivalviamagna.com/

Image: luigi diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Why should you travel to Paris? Depending on who is asked, this question could have several different answers, but which are our top three reasons? We are just about to let you know why HomeForHome is the best place to search for a good house swap opportunity to visit Paris:

1) Paris is the single city with most registered houses waiting for a house swap proposal. Paris alone has more homes registered than most countries!

2) Someone willing to swap their home in Paris could be looking for a different type of vacation, away from a tourist hot-spot or in a different type of hot-spot (for example, Rio de Janeiro is completely different but still a hot-spot). This, combined with the fact that there are over 1600 Parisian homes in HomeForHome, makes it quite likely that you’ll find someone that wants to travel to your area or open to travel to somewhere different.

3) Paris is a year-round destination. No matter when you can travel, you’ll always find magic. Of couse, keep in mind that some attractive areas might not be open to the public during certain times of the year, always check before you make plans. The Internet has become an excellent tool to do so, as many sites have their own websites or you can check websites that offer information for travellers.

Now you know our gold, silver and bronze for Paris.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

There is still a lot of Brazil for us to discover, we are in the middle of unravelling what this exuberant nation has to offer to those who decide to make it the destination of their house swap. Brazilian music can help us show just the tip of the iceberg.

Travelling can mean many different things. Some people travel because they have to, for example there are many who travel because they have jobs that imply going to different places. Being Brazil an emergent market with a growing economy, it offers many opportunity to make business. There are others who travel to study and learn, and a home exchange to Brazil is a perfect way to learn or practice the Portuguese language, but Brazil also has several centres of higher education that could be an interesting option for those looking to study abroad for a year or a semester. There is another side to travelling, and there are many who travel for recreational purposes, not meaning that when you travel to study or work you cannot have some fun

We can say that the recreational side of travelling is associated with vacations, resting, relaxing, having fun, spending time with your family or friends and discovering new places. For this kind of travelling, Brazil is perfect, like we have shown in our previous posts the Brazilian carnival is perfect for those looking to load themselves with endorphins and memories. Additionally, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia, where the largest carnival events take place, both have gorgeous beaches to relax during the daytime and recharge your batteries, similar to a solar panel. Maybe you thought of Brazil as a destination before and then decided to travel somewhere closer to stay within your budget, but remember that with HomeForHome you can make great savings and travel farther away.

We are going back to our inspiration for the past months: music. And where are we going to let music take us now? To Brazil. Like in our tour throughout the United States following the footsteps left behind by the rise and development of Jazz and the Blues, we are probably going to need several posts to explore the musical Brazil.

There are several things Brazil is know for, including soccer players, “Carnaval”, the Amazon Rainforest and its  But the fifth largest country in extension and the fifth most populated certainly has many more things to offer.  One of the recurring things you are going to read about in our posts about Brazil are its sandy beaches, because it has a coastline bathed by the Atlantic Ocean that stretches over 7000 Km. This combined with its nice climate, mostly tropical and sub-tropical, makes it a perfect destination for beach lovers.

From the 16th century, with the merge of Portuguese (colonizers), Africans (slaves) and Amerindian (indigenous) populations, a diverse culture developed, that was further enriched with the later arrival of immigrants from different parts of the world, including Italic, Arabic and German immigrants that travelled to the New World searching for new opportunities. There are many music styles that originated in this cultural fermentation broth, like samba, axé, choro and bossa nova.

Come with us to explore Brazi in our nexts posts and then let yourself be amazed by the beauty of its natural resources, the warmth of its people and the richness of its culture. A home exchange to Brazil may be just right for you.

As soon as we tell you the places we are going to invite you to visit today, you are probably going to wonder about the connection to music. Because we are still trying to have music lead us in our search for possible home exchange destinations, even if it is a whispered suggestion. Today we have Times Square and the Empire State Building.

Times Square: Is this the centre point of New York? We are not sure, but it is the brightest one with screens and lights flashing 24 hours a day. Usually crowded, the area around Times Square has an amazing quantity of things around it, like a place that goes beyond three dimensions and has an extra dimension to fit everything: theatres, stores, bars, corporate buildings, restaurants… There is an important yearly celebration that takes place in the hearth of Times Square: New Year’s Eve, which is marked by the countdown to New Year’s Day with the ball drop at One Times Square. Are you still wondering how is Times Square related to music? Concerts, musical theatre and a New Year’s Eve show, just get there and you will see the connection - http://www.timessquarenyc.org/

Empire State Building: an emblematic building. Once the tallest in the world, it is the tallest in New York City. It offers visitors the most spectacular views from its observation decks and the opportunity to feel on the top of the world. Its relation to music? Many FM radio stations have their antennas in the top of the Empire State Building. Another one? This summer there will be a saxophonist playing on the 86th floor late in the night from Thursday to Saturday. Will you miss it? For more about the Empire State Building visit http://www.esbnyc.com/

We are really enjoying the footsteps we are leaving behind as we let music carry us around the world to discover places where it becomes palpable. The places we have featured are places were you can find venues where famous performances took place, or take place nowadays, or places that are undeniably linked to certain music styles (or bands) because they were born and became notorious there. So far we have been to Liverpool (England), Seville(Spain), Bologna and Milan (Italy), Ghent (Belgium), Glasgow (Scotland), Vienna (Austria), Sydney (Australia), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Berlin (Germany), New Orleans, Chicago, Boston and Memphis (USA). And we are not even half-way through!

This week we are going to start by visiting a place that is really special, because it is renowned for many different things, it is one of the tourism hot spots, and will always renew itself to find new ways to attract you for a second, or third visit: New York City. So tomorrow are going to focus on the music scene in New York City, because not everything is traffic noise when it comes to the sounds of New York, New York.

We are about to see if HomeForHome can give you a new excuse to visit New York. As a preview, you may start taking a look at the homes waiting for you: House exchanges in New York.

After all the time we waited for the Summer to arrive, it is probably not the best idea to discuss anything related to the coming Autumn. But, since to be successful in the home exchange world you have to think ahead, it is always a good thing to remind you of the activities to come. Something like the HomeForHome coming attractions

If you are a regular visitor of HomeForHome, you probably noticed at our homepage that Germany is one of the countries with the most registered swappers. If you hadn’t noticed this, you should take advantage of this wake up call and start making plans to spend the coming Oktoberfest in Germany!

Starting September 18th (a few events will take place on the 17th, but the traditional official tapping of the first beer barrel will be celebrated on the 18th at noon), this year the party will last till October 4th and it seems like they have planned it “Longer, bigger and with more attractions than ever before!” to celebrate the festival’s 200th anniversary. This may be worth a home swap, don’t you think?

Besides, if you are not much into beer, you may be into Munich and its cultural side. Or in case you were wondering, there are several attractions that will make Oktoberfest appealing for families with children, like the different rides, and also the tents which are not only about beer… Just check out the past years’ Oktoberfest posts and you’ll see.

The countdown is on in the Oktoberfest.de website so make your move and find your swap. If you already made plans to visit another country while Oktoberfest takes place in Munich, you should know you can find Oktoberfest elsewhere as well, since there are several cities worldwide that host their own beer parties in October, and some are just as legendary:

- Blumenau, Brazil http://www.oktoberfestblumenau.com.br/ (in Portuguese)

- Cincinnati (Ohio), United States http://www.oktoberfestzinzinnati.com/okt.aspx

- Belgrano, Argentina http://www.elsitiodelavilla.com/oktoberfest/(in Spanish)

Image by tom.snaps /flickr.com

I was trying to find some statistics related to airplane travelling and I found this great tool called FlightStats. What is FlightStats? Well, it is a website that provides global information related to airports and flights. There’s a list of the busiest airports and destinations, the most popular destinations and several tools, including an attractive map search tool.

There is an interesting Travel Tool section, in which I explored the Flight Status tool that allows you to search by flight (need airline name or code, the flight number and the departure date), by airport or by route and provides near real-time information and reports of anything that could be affecting a flight. There are other tools worth trying, like Airport Information, which seems to be able to provide delay information, flight status, weather conditions, driving directions (with traffic conditions), car-park options and user ratings. Seems interesting, right? I will try it next time I plan a trip, and I look forward to receiving your comments if you try it too.

If you are just starting to plan how to get to your home exchange destination, you may want to take a look at the Travel Planning tool (currently in the More at FlightStats.com section), it offers the following options: Flight Availability, Country Information, Travel Warnings, Travel Advisories and Consular Information Sheets. Here is what they say about these tools:

“FlightStats has a set of applications that can aid you during your initial stages of planning for travel. Before traveling internationally make sure you view the latest travel advisories and warnings, and research the country you are thinking about traveling to.

Country Information - This application summarizes some of the other country-related applications. In addition, you can see a map of the country with major airports, and learn about disease prevention based off of information from the US Center of Disease Control and Prevention.

Travel Warnings - Get the latest travel warnings published by the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand.

Travel Advisories - Current and past news and security alerts for countries around the world.

Consular Information Sheets - The latest information about a country published by the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand.”

Photo by mikecogh /flickr.com

If you are planning to take a flight to your summer home exchange destination then it won’t be bad to read today’s post and prepare to grow some patience, unless of course you actually have wings of your own or you know a scientist with a tele-transportation device in test phase. As we said the last time, patience is a quality that is never over-rated when it comes to travelling, specially in an airport. Why? Well, not always what’s scheduled with weeks of anticipation goes as planned: delays, cancellations, gates that suddenly change, baggage getting lost… We are not saying going though all these is a requirement to get out of an airport, and we certainly hope your next flight leaves and arrives on time, but being prepared for what your next trip to the airport may bring to your life implies taking some patience in your carry on.

Patience not to scream when you can’t get across to the airline staff - this is fundamental, they are probably trying their best to help you and they don’t want to have you stay overnight at the airport or anything, so give them a moment to find a solution, explain your problem nicely as many times as you need and smile for a change.

Patience to go through all the required security checks - they have to check everyone, your safety depends on it too, so give the security staff a chance to do their job correctly, and again, smile.

If you need some encouragement to get you through an airport problem, just remember where you are headed: you are flying off to your home exchange, an experience you will never forget!

If you are that on-the go person who loves to go around places, here’s one tip that will be a big help for you: have a sling bag with you wherever you go.

Having a sling bag helps you keep your must-haves and valuables handy all the time. This way you could avoid losing things. Who would want to look for his/her passport in the middle of a big city? No one. Get your things organized in a single bag and you won’t have any problems with your stuff. Also, this will be your “survival pack” in case you get lost in the middle of nowhere or whatever circumstance you come across with. Hey, you never know what might happen, so better be prepared at least. So what are those things that you have to have in that bag? Good question. Here’s a list of what to put in there:

•    Money- Keep at least an extra on your bag in case you need to take a cab or train to somewhere. Remember that some stores might not accept credit cards too.
•    Passport/ IDs- Have them with you all the time. In case you need identity verification, it’s easy to pull out your passport for confirmation.
•    Notepad and Pen- You might need to write down something, whether it’s an address or a phone number of a friend.
•    Medicine- This one’s important especially if you have an ailment or under medication. Bringing your medicine with you all the time helps keep you from those undesirable circumstances.
•    Map/ Travel Guide- Bringing a map especially if you are not familiar with the place you are about to go will be a big help.
•    Phrase-book- This will help if you are not familiar with the native language.
•    Toiletries- Neat-freaks agree. Bring at least a pack of tissue and floss with you.
•    A bottle of water- In case there isn’t a store to buy water nearby.
•    Keys- Of course you have to go home. Make sure you don’t lose the keys to your home exchange partner’s place.

These are just suggestions; it depends on what you need to have with you on a trip. Remember to keep an eye on your belongings all the time. It’s hard to lose important things in a foreign place.