Our February Home Exchange Newsletter with the latest listings and the following topics is now available.
Talking about hospitality exchanges… A long-time member of JewettStreet is looking for non-simultaneous hospitality exchanges in Italy on her visit from August 19 – November 4th, 2009.
In her own words:
“I plan to visit Amalfi Coast, then go to the wonderful land of the Tuscan sun, hoping to stop at Assisi, Siena and Florence… I have a girlfriend in Siena and we get out to all the museums, etc., but the perfect place would be in Siena and from there it is easy to travel to outlying areas.”
Jeanne founded and was the Director for a Sunday School in New York City with the Dominicans for a number of years, while teaching, writing and performing.
“I feel a great desire to “give back” and volunteer my services… so I would like to do nonprofit or mission work, while in Italy. Recently served in a mission in the Philippines, teaching English, directing Christmas plays for the children, teaching catechism, working with our mission benefactress in getting scholarships and gearing the university students to work in the “western” marketplace, doing some marketing for a retreat mission in the rice fields, giving conferences on the differences in Filipino and American culture, etc.”
Jeanne is interested in hospitality in exchange for her offer in Washington, DC, at a later date. She is also interested in a “sabbatical” exchange for longer term in Italy.
More about Jeanne’s hospitality exchange offer, listing # 2464
You can contact Jeanne via her listing or write to ursula@jewettstreet.com.
Yesterday, I received the following question from a new JewettStreet member:
QUESTION:
“Hello from Philadelphia, PA in the United States. I’m new to home exchange programs. My husband and I are looking to exchange our home for the month of July (ideally in Italy). After reading up more on how it works, I’m beginning to wonder if it’s unrealistic in the time frame. Could you shed your thoughts?”
ANSWER:
“Hi Amanda,
Welcome to Home Exchange and JewettStreet!
As you have already noticed, home exchange is a vacation alternative that takes some preparation time. A good lead time is at least six months up to a year. Even though your chances of finding an interesting home exchange match do decrease the closer your vacation dates near, I wouldn’t say it is impossible for you to still find a swap in Italy this summer. (For one thing, I noticed that Italians generally plan their vacations later than Americans or North Europeans. So, at least from that viewpoint your plan might be slightly favored.)
JewettStreet Listing - Medieval House in Umbria
How to Increase Your Chances of Finding a Home Exchange Within a Short Time Frame:
Home exchanging is a big adventure. Try to be open and flexible and you will be rewarded in many unexpected ways.
Dear readers, how much time do you give yourselves for planning your next home exchange?
My family and I had plans to make a step visit to Lago Maggiore this coming weekend. We wanted to have a look at a romantic cottage that was for sale. It came with a private setting, a large garden with fig and palm trees and a breathtaking view over the lake and the mountains. (In the back of my mind I could already picture numerous new and exotic home exchange offers coming our way with such a spectacular second home in sight.)
A month ago, in the course of my annual search for a summer swap I contacted the owner of a JewettStreet listing in the Upper Italian Lakes region. I was a bit disappointed when I got no response. Meanwhile, I had all forgotten about this particular home exchange request, when suddenly a few days ago I received a friendly reply from the listing holder. His answer came late; however, the timing couldn’t have been better! A summer swap was not possible for him, but he was interested in an exchange at a later date. I looked up the location of his listing. It was only 10 km (6 miles) from the place we planed to visit! Would he be interested in a swap this weekend? Yes, he would!
We had finalized the details of the home exchange arrangement, when I learned from the real estate broker, that the extraordinary cottage we had laid eyes on was sold yesterday. Suddenly, the purpose of our visit was gone, but not so the desire to explore Lago Maggiore and the possibility of purchasing a second home there. Again, we hit a stroke of luck. Instead of a rush weekend now, we have agreed on a 10-day swap in May, when the camilias are in bloom…
Serendipity home exchanges are a rare gift. They happen when you least expect them.
There are many towers in Tuscany. Most belong to the state, some can be visited. Others are just ruins.
“Ours” was built in the 11th century and was part of a medieval defensive system. The tower is made of black ashlars arranged in strips. The lower portion is made up of alternating black and white stripes. It belonged to various powerful families of the region and was residence of Florentine captains. A sign that the tower belonged to Florentine at one time is still to be seen on the third floor where a white lily was carved into a niche of the large room that is now the living room.
On one of our excursions, we visited San Gimignano which is situated between Florence and Siena. Tall, slender towers dominate the city on the hill. The reason for the strange architecture: the ruling families competed grimly over the tallest and therefore most prestigious building in town. The result is fantastic! From a far, the skyline looks like a medieval Manhattan. It comes to show that the Donald Trumps of our era are not a new phenomena.
The founder of JewettStreet.com, Ursula Godwin Niesmann, maintains this blog for JewettStreet members and for anyone interested in Home Exchange.
If you have any questions, or suggestions, feel free to use the JewettStreet contact form. See you soon again!
Yours,
The JewettStreet.com Team
Blog entries as RSS feed