Meeting new people as a benefit to home swaps

Even though I am the perennial optimist, it is always refreshing to be reminded of how much kindness exists in the world. As we arrive to Setubal, 40 km north of Lisbon we call our friends Ramiro and Silvia whose house we are staying at during our trip in Portugal. They come to give us the keys and show us around the apartment. This is nice as we always find challenging using some European appliances. James thinks appliances should be only meant to do one thing! So this washer\drier appliances do a good job at neither...but I digress. They are wonderful people, they come with their adorable 11 year old daughter, Clara. Ramiro is a principal at a nearby high school so inevitably we spend some time talking and comparing the Portuguese and American educational system.

So what is so nice about this experience? This is the first time actually meeting them...I had contacted them via e-mail a few months ago requesting hospitality and they agreed! This is another strategy for affordable travel. So we are staying at stranger´s house. I guess my mother never did a good job at teaching me not to talk to strangers let alone stay in their aparments!

Part of our travel experiences is not just looking at monuments, small villages, big cities but in adding a human component to it. We LOVE meeting new people and home swapping has allowed us to connect and make long life transatlantic friendships.