The Holiday - romantic comedy on home exchange

After including an article on GTI Home Exchange weblog some time ago entitled "The Romantic Angle on Home Exchange", a new film, The Holiday, featuring Kate Winslet as Iris and Cameron Diaz as Amanda, is about to bring holiday and home exchange into the limelight. Without disclosing the plot, the romantic comedy revolves around a Christmas home swap arranged on the internet through a fictional home exchange agency, and reveals what happens when Iris and Amanda, each in need of a refreshing change of scene, find themselves transplanted to another person's world. A short preview of the action may be found at IMDb where you just need to click on the hyperlink View trailer, but you might prefer to wait until the UK release date for the film at a cinema in your area on 8th December.

Longer Term Swaps

Hello Kath,

Its quite exciting setting up an exchange…first time!

Brian and I are hoping to have an extended stay, longer than our potential swap partners, to London during the spring months. There is a possibility of these folk being home in their house in Marlow for a week or so between visiting Perth WA and spending the summer in their caravan in Cornwall. We are wondering if there is a facility in GTI for a house 'sit' for these 2(approx) weeks in between rather than trying to arrange another swap at suchlate notice. We are planning to take up residence back in their house while they are in Cornwall.

If this is not available thru GTI, do you have any recommendations of organizations we might use for such a short stay please.

Many thanks, Regards, Joy and Brian

Thank you for your email, and I am very pleased to hear that your plans for an extended home exchange to UK in the early part of 2007 are well advanced.

With reference to the short period when you will need to vacate the home for your exchange partners to return to it before departing again for their summer in Cornwall, I have searched the database and found the following request HE16462 for pet/housesitting in S W London for April 2007, but as you do not mention specific dates I do not know whether it matches the dates your require.

We do have the options 'housesitting offered' and 'housesitting wanted' within our system, but unfortunately the number of request for 'housesitting wanted' is limited. You could amend your own listing to say 'housesitting offered' as well as 'home exchange' to see if any members approach you requesting your services.

Other alternatives which come to mind as a last resort are to do an Advanced Search using the search criteria of 'Non Simultaneous' exchange for Type of Exchange, and ticking the check box for 'Second Home', which may bring up other potential possibilities; or to search the listings which offer the Rental option as an alternative, as the rents requested by home exchange members are often substantially lower than those wanted for properties rented on a full commercial basis, and there is, of course, the added advantage that no commissions are paid on top of the rental requested.

I do realise that you may have explored all these options yourselves already, so please forgive me if this is the case.

Although I do not know a lot about agencies which actually organise housesitting, I have come across the following:
www.housesitters.co.uk and to offer your services, the URL you require is
http://www.housesitters.co.uk/htm/interested.htm
and
http://www.homesitters.co.uk/
http://www.homesitters.co.uk/html/becoming_a_homesitter.html

and you may find it useful to look at their web-sites before contacting them to see if they can help. I am uncertain whether a specialised homesitting organisation will be able to help because they may be looking for people who can offer their services on a regular basis. I notice that there are a number of homesitting organisations in Australia. Have you by any chance done anything of this nature before because having references could be of great help in this situation?

A Home Exchange of Contrasts in Santa Fiora, Tuscany

Some like it hot! Others prefer to Come in from the Cold



The home exchange that this title aptly describes is HE18614

It offers a nice flat in the mediaeval village of "Santa Fiora" on Amiata Mountain just in the center of the "Borgo" famous for the "Della Robbia" masterpieces.



The mediaeval town is an interesting place well maintained and rich in history and cultural activities. You can quickly reach the top of the mountain to ski in winter, or to walk in the woods and wide fields during the summer and sunny days.



Near the town are thermal places like “Terme di Saturnia” and “Bagni di S.Filippo”. The sea is about 65km away. The place can be reached by bus or by car from Grosseto and Siena. Highway “A1” runs a few km away from the place.

I can remember the exhilarating experience of being on a skiing holiday in the Swiss village of Champery, and of visiting the nearby thermal springs which fed a swimming pool allowing you to swim in complete comfort with the snow all around. I am assuming that something similar is possible in “Terme di Saturnia” and “Bagni di S.Filippo”.

GTI Home Exchange member Sandro describes their offer in Italian as well as English as follows: "Siamo una famiglia composta da tre persone, di cui una bambina di 3 anni. Siamo due geologi e gradiremmo poter offrire in scambio di casa per alcuni giorni/settimane questo appartamentino per 3-4 persone, che si trova in un bellissimo paese medioevale chiamato Santa Fiora ubicato sulle pendici del vulcano ormai spento del Monte Amiata. L’area e’ coperta da castagni e faggi. Oltre ad essere localita’ sciistica invernale, durante la stagione estiva e’ l’ideale per passeggiate nei boschi. Nelle vicinanze si trovano Le Terme di Saturnia ed I Bagni di San Filippo. Facilmente raggiun gibile da Grosseto Siena. Vicino scorre l’autostrada A1.

Christmas Escapes with GTI Home Exchange

Although at GTI Home Exchange we do encourage people to make their home exchange plans well in advance, if you are desperate for a change of environment to avoid the ever escalating blaze of retail festivity (commencing as early as November this year no less!!), there is probably still just time to get away on a home exchange for Christmas or New Year. Here is a small selection of available seasonal home swaps:

Hogmanay Festival, Edinburgh for Melbourne, Australia
HE18615



"Our home in Morningside district is a terraced, stonebuilt, Victorian house built in 1892. Although it is in a quiet suburb it is on a very good bus route 20 mins from the city centre - about 2 miles from Princes Street. We live in a very friendly street. Our house combines modern facilities and period detail and antiques. Edinburgh is a wonderful, historic city which has attractions and entertainments for all ages and tastes.

We wish to exchange to Melbourne over the festive period and Edinburgh at that time has a Christmas and Hogmanay Festival which is now rivalling the famous International Arts Festival which takes place in August."

Disneyland Paris for any European country
HE13942


Detached, comfortable and cosy bungalow, restful garden overlooking small field with inground swimming pool. One hour drive to centre of Paris on weekdays -(35 min in the weekends). Train station in St Mard or RER not very far. Half our to Disneyland Marne La Vallée. Close to Senlis and Chantilly, famous historical towns, with pitoresque country markets. Ermenonville forest, ideal for walking, cycling also several well-known Golfclubs and horse races/riding nearby. Many Castles to visit in close neighbourhood, some with excellent restaurants. 2 bikes available. Friendly helpfull neighbours. Our car is a Citroên C5 diesel.


Home with private beach, Florida, in exchange for European or West Coast ski resort
HE15355

"Our home is directly on the intercoastal waterway with large dock, at low tide a private beach, 60ft lagooon pool with waterfall, Large Gazebo bar that could entertain 20 people easily seated around the bar while you serve up margarita's. House is gated with total privacy on 3/4 of an acre. It is a tropical oasis that offers true indoor and outdoor living. We are minutes from great shopping, fine dining and the beach. Visit gopbi.com and look up Downtown at the Gardens and the Gardens Mall. We are biking distance to both beach and mall. We have 3 bikes with baby seat.

An ideal home swap for a family as "the house has plenty of toys, a babys room with crib, and swings for young and old".

We are looking for a luxury home or large condo located in a ski resort area, either in Europe or West Coast USA during the christmas holidays.


Apartment in seaside town of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy - open to offers Europe
HE18291

La Spezia is a seaside town. You can reach Cinque Terre by train in 10 minutes, Pisa in 1 hour, Genoa in 1 hour; Florence in 2 hours by car. Our home is located 5 minutes walk from station. Our home is located at the tenth floor. We can travel in August or for Christmas holidays, but we can arrange also a non simultaneous exchange. Our home is a 100sq m apartmentwhich was renovated last year.

You can find more information about La Spezia on website www.aptcinqueterre.sp.it

Home Exchange in Brazil

GTI Home Exchange Brazilian Members seeking to make new friends Abroad

Member ID HE17472

Cozy house (180 sq. meters) in condo with security 24 hrs and administration officers in case of need. 220 km (140 miles) from São Paulo by good roads; 25 km from Ubatuba, 90 km from Parati, a lovely colonial town. House is 600 meters (670 yds) from beach, which is very calm (not for surf). Boating facilities in condo. Area has over 80 beaches for excursions; boats for rent in Ubatuba, landscape extremely beautiful. Maid available (not English speaking but has been working 5 years for us). Ideal for families. Telephone, washing and drying machines, dishwasher, cable TV. Further details by email, telephone or fax. We love our house and want to use it to make new friends abroad!



Family of two adults, boy of 10, girl of 7. Would like to exchange above described home for apt. in Western Europe, USA (NYC or near it, Boston, California, Florida...) or countries in Latin America. Place should be equipped with facilities usual in the area we travel to. We have lived in USA and France and would like to spend a few weeks during our vacations (December, January, July) in foreign countries. Our house, however, is available any time. We see this exchange as an occasion to have new experiences and make new friends.