This is the first time we’ve participated in a house exchange when traveling and we’re really excited. We met Arnaud & Veronique several years ago when they were in Carlsbad on a home exchange, just one of many they’ve done over the years. At one point they lived in Versailles with their 2 sons and local friends of ours swapped houses with them and Chuck went to Versailles with them. Now they’ve moved to Aix-en-Provence (just 2 miles out of town) in the south of France and when we heard they were looking for a house swap for their sons’ 2-week spring break, we jumped at the chance to visit a part of France we’ve not yet been to. Provence. In the spring. Does it get any better than that? I don’t think so!
House swapping adds a whole new dimension to traveling. It’s like getting ready for a trip, having out of town company, and making house guests totally self-sufficient, all at the same time! I’ve put together a house book for them as have they for us. I’ve been forced to look at how everything works: our TV/cable/music system with its 3 remotes, and where is that Keurig manual that I haven’t seen for quite some time, and what does that 3rd light switch in the upstairs hall turn on anyway? This house is still new to me, now I have to explain it to someone else? In absentia? Oh my!
But it’s going to be great! Their house looks so . . . so . . . French. Aix, their nearby town, looks like an interesting place (click on the “Aix-en-Provence” tab at the top of the front page of the blog for a description). It’s spring in France – and we’re going to have a wonderful time.
Provence Journey 