St. Patrick’s Day Recipe for REAL Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

irish01

Buttermilk, I thought to myself, how will that taste in a bread recipe? I turned the postcard over and looked at the photograph on the front. A round domed loaf rested alongside a pot of jam and a few daffodils. I flipped the postcard over again and re-read the recipe.

There were four basic ingredients: flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and that unique one, buttermilk. Basic ingredients were important because Brosnan’s Supermarket carried limited foodstuffs.

My husband, two children and I were living for three weeks in the village of Schull, Ireland, population 689. We were enjoying a home exchange with an Irish family who owned a holiday home there, on the southwest coast of Ireland. That family was living in our home in San Diego.

I loved everything about Schull (pronounced Skull) the rosy-cheeked residents, the colorful Main Street storefronts, the ruby red geraniums that hung from a window box at Hurley’s Tool Hire and the small fishing boats that bobbed nearby in Schull Harbor.

I purchased the postcard from the general store and marched straight to Brosnan’s market. They had buttermilk.

A few days later, on Easter Sunday, my 8-year-old daughter, Michele, and I baked our first loaf of Irish Soda Bread. Dense and delicious, mildly nutty, all encased in a golden crust.

We’ve baked one almost every Easter since. Michele is now 21.

Here’s the recipe from the postcard:

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups plain flour
1 tspn bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ tspn salt
2 cups buttermilk

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Make a well in the centre and add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.
Knead lightly and flatten into a round. Cut a cross on top and bake at 425° for about 40 mins.

 

Today, when I come across Irish Soda Bread recipes, I’ve noticed additional ingredients are often included: sugar, baking powder, raisins. Confused, I turned to the Internet for answers and was thrilled to find the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread (SPISB).

Enter Ed O’Dwyer.

In 2001 O’Dwyer overheard the winner of an Irish Soda Bread competition bragging that her soda bread secret was to soak raisins in whiskey overnight. “That really annoyed me,” O’Dwyer said. “Many people think adding whiskey to something makes it an Irish dish. That’s both insulting and stereotyping,” he added.

O’Dwyer felt that the traditional Irish Soda Bread he grew up with was disappearing under gobs of green icing and sugar. So in 2003 he launched the SPISB.

On the Society’s website, O’Dwyer writes emphatically, “If your soda bread has raisins, it’s not soda bread! It’s called Spotted Dog or Railway Cake! If it contains raisins, eggs, baking powder, sugar or shortening, it’s called cake, not bread. All are tasty, but not traditional Irish Soda Bread!”

My daughter and I have been doing it right, after all.

O’Dwyer’s website, www.sodabread.info, states that SPISB is, “one of those Societies where there are no dues, no meetings, and the only requirement for joining is to bake traditional Irish Soda Bread from time to time and teach a child about soda bread and how to make it.”

Good news for me; I’ve been a member for 13 years and didn’t even know it.

Your Turn

Have you discovered a favorite recipe while traveling?

 

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Categories: Recipe

Travel Advice: Tips on Home Exchange from Pauline Frommer

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

Travel expert weighs in how to make that perfect home exchange, and save a bundle.

By Pauline Frommer, Special to the Toronto Star, Published Mon. Feb. 4, 2013

Exchanging houses can be a great way to stay in a terrific spot. If you're lucky, you might net a home like this in Florida.

Exchanging houses can be a great way to stay in a terrific spot. If you’re lucky, you might net a home like this in Florida.

Like a Tennessee Williams heroine, Shelley Miller believes in the kindness of strangers. She has good reason to do so: Since 2000, she has lent her home to people she’d never before met in person, along with her car (usually), for the privilege of staying in their home for free while on vacation. She’s done so with people from all corners of the globe, 14 times during the past 12 years. To hear Miller tell it, on the blog she keeps about her travels (HomeExchangeExpert.com), doing so has been one of the greatest blessings of her life.

I met Ms. Miller at the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show and, since she was an expert who didn’t have an axe to grind on the subject (she doesn’t work for any of the home-exchange companies), I thought it would be helpful to get her tips for first-timers, as well as hear a bit more about her experience with home swapping.

Frommer: What would be your No. 1 tip for folks who want to try home exchanging?

Miller: To get started early. Give yourself 4-6 months to find and set up the swap. If you want to exchange over the summer – and that’s when most do -you’ll need to start in January. You’ll have the most options that way.

Frommer: Speaking of the most options, do you belong to more than one home exchange club? And if so, which ones?

Miller: I’m a member of multiple clubs. I like HomeExchange.com, Homelink.org and LoveHomeSwap.com because all have good customer service and lots and lots of members. That last part is important, because it’s all about the numbers. The newer clubs that are opening up aren’t charging fees because they’re trying to build up their membership, so you have fewer choices with them, which doesn’t make sense for me. I have no problem in paying a $100 membership fee to save several thousand dollars on lodgings.

Oh, and SabbaticalHomes.com is small, but good for people who need long-term exchange.

But you know, sometimes it makes the greatest sense to join the club with the most members in the area you want to visit. So if you have your heart set on going to, say, Norway, find out which club has the most Norwegian members. The same for France, Mexico or any destination. Most people don’t have to join more than one club to get a good swap; they just need to be sure they’re choosing the best club for their needs.

Frommer: I know your needs used to include finding places that would please your children, right?

Miller: Absolutely! When our kids were still living at home, we’d only exchange with other families. And when our kids got to the [swapped] house, they went straight to the kids’ rooms to see what they were going to get. Then they went into their toy trance for a good 90 minutes – it was a highlight of trading homes! We’ve also been to places where loaner bikes were part of the exchange, and on a swap to Cape Cod, Mass., they left us kayaks, fishing poles and all sorts of beach toys.

Frommer: What were some of your best swaps?

Miller: They’ve all been great, but probably our most glamorous was the villa we stayed in, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It had been built as a vacation home by the Canadian owners just five years before, with a lovely Moroccan theme, and it came with a gardener, a driver and a maid who cooked us dinner! We gave the driver money for gas in the car, but the rest was simply included in the swap, since the staff lived on and took care of the property year-round.

Frommer: Have you ever had any bad experiences exchanging?

Miller: That’s usually the first question people ask, and you know, we never have! Of course, we look at a lot of pictures of homes before we reach out for a potential swap. If there’s a picture with dead plants on the windowsill and mess everywhere, well, we don’t choose that home. (Pictures are very important, by the way, so make sure the ones you post on your home page make your home look nice. Photos are the No. 1 attraction and will be the difference between someone swapping with you or not.)

But you get to know people by the time the swap happens, so you never feel like you’re dealing with strangers. They always feel like friends by the time the swap comes around. That’s another wonderful part of the experience!

Pauline Frommer is the creator of the award-winning Pauline Frommer’s Travel Guides series. Buy your copies of Frommer books at starstore.ca.

© 2013 by Pauline Frommer. Distributed by King Features Syndicate

 

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Categories: Travel Advice

Suddenly Soaring

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

Last weekend I attended the 27th annual Southern California Writers’ Conference (SCWC). It offered three days of writing workshops, publishing panels and author advice. A few weeks earlier attendees had the option of submitting the first fifteen pages of their manuscript for an “advanced read.”

Sometimes in life we have a desire to do something, but our own fear stops us, so we don’t try and we never know what could have been. My fear was about submitting my manuscript, Postcards From Home, to be read and critiqued by a writing goddess. The manuscript recounts my family’s home exchange adventures between April and August 2000 when we exchanged homes with families in England, Ireland, Germany, France and Italy. 

Working on my manuscript in Julian, California with my twelve-lb. writing buddy, Simba.

Working on my manuscript in Julian, California with my twelve-lb. writing buddy, Simba.

Here’s a summary of the book:

Overworked and struggling to raise a shy young daughter and a son on the cusp of puberty, Shelley Miller and her husband find their relationship stressed to the danger point. But a unique plan for a five-month adventure in Europe, trading homes in five countries, may mend this modern American family. Locked in a London loo, accused of vandalism in Germany, threatened by gypsies in Italy, Shelley fears that her quest to reinforce family bonds and find ancestral roots will alienate her family still further– until the quiet miracles start happening.

Postcards From Home has been professionally edited and is now in its sixth draft. Yet in preparation for the submission I still reviewed the pages again and again, looking for blemishes. It was as if I was preparing my child for a date with a celebrity. I was at once excited and nervous. Mostly nervous.

While sitting at my desk scrutinizing Chapter One for the final time, I glanced up and read a favorite quote that hangs on my bulletin board, “Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling?” ~ Mother Eagle

This quote strengthened me when I began writing my book in 2008. It still gives me strength. And so, I did it. I e-mailed Chapter One.

Suddenly Soaring with Wes Albers, director, SCWC and Michael Gregory, Executive Director, SCWC.

Suddenly Soaring with Wes Albers, director, SCWC and Michael Gregory, Executive Director, SCWC.

It was on a sunny Saturday morning at the SCWC I met with the writing goddess who had critiqued my submission. She’s a well-respected San Diego author who has literally written the book on writing. During our ten-minute session she declared her delight with my work. She told me that my writing was fresh and that it included great examples of “show, don’t tell.” She went on to say that based on my first chapter, she thought my manuscript was ready to be submitted to literary agents. I clapped my hand over my mouth in a state of disbelief. I hugged her at the end of our time together.

The awards ceremony for the conference was held on Sunday afternoon. Into the ballroom attendees gathered. The conference executive director announced the names of three winners. He called my name for non-fiction…”Outstanding non-fiction.”

I all but skipped to the front of the room. People were clapping. I turned to face the audience. Mother Eagle’s words filled my head. I was soaring.

 

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Categories: Postcards From Home

5 Travel Benefits That Will Improve Your Life and Add More Fun

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

Love was in the air last week and I was thinking about travel. Specifically, I was pondering the question, “Why do people love to travel?” After plenty of pondering, here are my conclusions. 

Kinsale, Ireland – During our home swap on the Emerald Isle we found joy in daily walks around the harbor.

Kinsale, Ireland – During our home swap on the Emerald Isle
we found joy in daily walks around the harbor.

  • When you travel you feel more joy. People are naturally curious and travel is the ultimate curiosity shop of surprises, be it listening to a flamingo guitar in Spain or eating gelato in Italy or snorkeling in the Caribbean. These are moments in life when we’re totally present. Being present is a challenge for most of us, but while on vacation we’re much better at conscious living.
  • When you travel you feel light and unfettered. You’re free from chores around the house, meetings at work, and the daily demands of visits to car mechanics or the post office; routines evaporate during vacation. You are unrestricted because you’re not rushing to complete your To Do list. When I’m like this I practically skip. Isn’t skipping the ultimate display of happiness?
  • When you travel optimism is easier to access. With all the aforementioned joy and happiness, accessing optimism is a reality. I’m a natural-born optimist, however like many of us, I’ve had low points throughout my life. Days when I’ve questioned choices that I’ve made or times when I’ve felt helpless. But when I travel, each day seems like an endless rainbow plump with color and I awaken with the thrill of anticipation. Oh, sure, there’s the occasional missed train or dreary weather, but for me, it’s mostly rainbows.
Palm Springs, California - My idea of FUN!

Palm Springs, California – My idea of FUN!

  • When you travel you do fun stuff. Maybe you sleep later, or jog, or visit historical sights. Personally, I try on funny hats when I travel. Whatever it is that you consider fun, you’ll do more of it when you travel. Why? Very simple, because you have the time. We all need to make time for fun.
  • When you travel you laugh more. Having fun makes us laugh, and laughter triggers endorphin activation. And an increase in endorphins is considered a source of health and well-being. “Laughter is an early mechanism to bond social groups,” said Robin Dunbar an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford. “Primates use it.” If primates use laughter as a bonding experience, just imagine what it can do for your family on your next vacation!

 

Your Turn

Why do you love to travel?

 

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Categories: Travel

For Better or For Worse on Vacation: 10 Tips For Staying Sane on the Road

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

Linda Dini Jenkins and her husband have traveled together for more than 20 years, so I asked her to share her suggestions about traveling with others. Even Mark Twain could have used her ideas. He once said, “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”

Guest Post by Linda Dini Jenkins 

Friends. Family. Partners. Spouses. Sure, we love ‘em, but sometimes traveling together can make for a few tense moments. For instance, I’m all about knowing exactly where my underwear is going to be every night on a trip, whereas my husband would be happy to go off with only a smartphone and a toothbrush in his pocket. But after 20 years of traveling together, we’re finally starting to work with the differences in a way that keeps us both sane. Here are my top ten tips for sharing your travels with others. 

  1. Be flexible. Especially if you can’t drive a stick shift yourself! There might be something very cool around that corner . . .
  2. Keep shopping time down to a minimum. Sure, souvenirs are necessary, but you’ve got more important things to do, so pace yourself.
  3. Make time to do something the other person wants to do that you would probably not do if you were traveling on your own. You could be pleasantly surprised.
  4. Do a little research before you travel so you don’t miss the things you both want to see.
  5. Stop before you get cranky. This means taking ample time for meals, beverage breaks, resting along the way and knowing when to call it a day.
  6. When one person senses danger, trust them and go with their instincts. If it turns out that nothing’s really wrong, at least you’ve got a great story to tell.
  7. Spend a morning or an afternoon apart. I like to roam around and take photographs; my husband likes to get up really early and see the sunrise, then watch the early morning hustle-and-bustle in the town. Later, share your experiences.
  8. Make one night a splurge. Go to a good restaurant, drink good wine (if that’s your pleasure), and stay there long into the night.
  9. Have a sense of purpose, but leave time for serendipity. If you only see the things you already know about, you could read about it in a book and not have to spend all this time and money.
  10. Interact with the locals. Even if you speak their language like a 10-year-old, everybody appreciates your effort. See the place from their eyes, answer their questions about the U.S., have a real exchange. It can bring you all closer. And that, to me, is what travel is all about.

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins is the author of Up at the Villa: Travels with My Husband and blogs about travel and travel writing at www.travelthewriteway.com.

She can be packed in five minutes and would love to be invited to speak to your organization or book club.

 

 

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Categories: Healthy Travel

Where Do You Dream of Traveling? Comment on my blog & win a chance for a FREE gift!

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

Every year about this time, I begin dreaming about where to travel on my next trip. Did you know there are 192 countries in the world? I learned this fact in the book my son, Dillon, gave me as a gift, The Travel Book, A journey through every country in the world. Each page displays fascinating facts about every country including: Top things to see, Top things to do, Population, Official language and Best time to visit.

Sometimes I make myself a cuppa and fall into this book. And then I dream.

I’m looking for ideas about where to go on our next vacation. And you, my gentle reader, have GREAT ideas. So, it’s time for a contest. Comment below and tell me where YOU dream of traveling next…

Share Your Travel Dream Destination and WIN!!!

Where do you dream of traveling? Comment below and you’ll be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

One winner will be selected at random on Mon. Feb. 25, 2013. Good luck!

 

 

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Categories: Travel Contest

6 Goof-Proof Strategies to Capture Your Next Home Exchange

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

You feel like a trained athlete. You’re in the zone, the home exchange vacation zone.

  • You’ve joined a home exchange club
  • Taken beautiful photos of your home
  • Created a fabulous home exchange webpage
  • Sent out e-mails to home exchange prospects                                                                                                                                            

Then… nothing happens.

New York City - This modern 2-bedroom/2-bath apartment is available from HomeLink.org.

New York City – This modern 2-bedroom/2-bath apartment is available from HomeLink.org.

Three house swappers have written to me within the last few weeks voicing their home swap travel concerns:

  • Diana from Australia said, “What I find so frustrating is not hearing back from other home exchangers when I write to them for a possible swap.”
  • Sonja from New Jersey said, “I’ve had 76 views of my beach house. I’ve sent about 15 messages and only heard back from one person. Am I doing something wrong?”
  • Maryann from Florida said, “We have just about exhausted all the home exchange club choices, yet last year we were so successful.”

If you find yourself feeling like these home exchange hopefuls (and believe me I’ve felt that way many times too) here are my 6 strategies for capturing a home swap:

1. Celebrate – You’ve got a home swap webpage and sent out e-mails, you’ve accomplished a lot. You’re ahead of the pack. Remember this.

2. Constant Contact – Send e-mails to your top 15 home swap prospects. If you don’t hear back from them within seven days, send them another e-mail. Let them know you’re really interested. Ask them a question at the end of the e-mail, which may prompt them to respond quicker. Something like, “Are you available to travel during June, or would another travel date work better?” Here’s my post about how to Catch a Fabulous Home Exchange With a Great Email: 9 Writing Tips.

3. Reverse Search: This feature is fabulous! It allows you to easily find specific exchangers who want to travel to your city or state, as opposed to looking at an entire home swap membership list and just hoping to find someone who wants to vacation in your region. If you want more info on reverse search have a look at this: In Less Than 60 Seconds Find Out Who Wants To Exchange In Your City. I also suggest contacting people who want to travel to a city close to you. Close can be good.

4. Response Rate: Some people join home exchange clubs and then don’t respond to home exchange requests. Don’t waste your time with them; focus on the members who are actively seeking and responding! Look for members who have a 75% and above response rate. HomeLink.org makes it easy to spot the response rate.

5. Expand Your Horizons – Do you want to house swap in a large city, for example London? Consider reaching out to members who live in a nearby town, in this case a town like Windsor. Public transportation is plentiful in Europe. You can hop a train in Windsor and arrive in London in 40 minutes! Personally, I prefer the smaller towns. Often travelers use their home swap as a vacation base to see an entire country, so the exact city isn’t as important as being located in your desired region.

6. Keep calm & carry on – Once when I was planning a vacation in Germany, I bet I e-mailed 30 home swappers during a two-month period. Eventually, my efforts paid off. We found a wonderful hospitality exchange with Gerhard and Monika. The second floor of their home was a darling 2-bedroom apartment! Your home swap vacation is out there. Persevere!

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ~ Thomas Edison.

Your Turn

Comment below and tell me your ideas. How did you find a home swap?

 

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Categories: Home Exchange, Home Swap, How To Home Exchange

Love Home Swap Triples Its Membership

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

International vacation home exchange company, Love Home Swap has acquired its former competitor 1st Home Exchange. What’s interesting is that last year, Love Home Swap had 7,500 members in 105 countries and 1st Home Exchange had 19,500 members in 150 countries. It appears that the small fishy ate the big fishy! Now a few months later, both companies have grown and by combining their memberships Love Home Swap boasts 35,000 members.

Alsace, France – This 3- bedroom/1 bath is available for exchange from Love Home Swap. The homeowners are ready to swap “anywhere, anytime!”

Alsace, France – This 3- bedroom/1 bath is available for exchange from Love Home Swap. The homeowners are ready to swap “anywhere, anytime!”

Debbie Wosskow, CEO, Love Home Swap said, “We’re excited to have brought 1st Home Exchange into the Love Home Swap family. 1st Home Exchange were one of the world’s biggest home exchange sites with particularly strong coverage in Continental Europe and North America.”

Love Home Swap now has more than 10,000 members in France and last week launched the French language version of their site – www.lovehomeswap.fr – to capitalize on demand for their most requested home swap destination in the world.

For comparison sake, HomeExchange.com has 6,293 members in France, Home For Exchange has 3,967 and HomeLink has 1,800.

“The deal allows us to accelerate the growth of the Love Home Swap business and offer the widest range of stylish homes and locations for our members to home exchange within 150 countries worldwide,” Wosskow said.

This acquisition isn’t too much of a surprise because in November 2012 Love Home Swap announced it had raised US$1.28 million in venture capital to be used to “scale” the company. Read, acquire other companies and implement some cool new business ideas. Love Home Swap isn’t done yet. They are planning another round of fundraising in Autumn 2013.

Statistics from One Poll research company reveals that twice as many people home swapped in 2012 than in 2011, an increase from 1.6 million to 3.3 million in the UK alone.

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Categories: Home Swap

3 Secrets for a Successful Home Exchange

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller

Home exchange vacation has been a way of life for my family since the year 2000. We’ve traveled to eight countries and enjoyed 14 home swaps. When I talk about home swap, and I love talking about home swap, I find that there are three secrets that people appreciate most, so I thought I’d share them with you.

St. John, Virgin Islands – This 5 bedroom/5 bath home is available for home exchange from www.HomeExchange.com. You could vacation here for free. Really!

St. John, Virgin Islands – This 5 bedroom/5 bath home is available for home exchange from www.HomeExchange.com. You could vacation here for free. Really!

1.  My favorite home exchange clubs

There are more than 70 home exchange clubs throughout the world. The United States is home to about one-third of these agencies; the remaining 40 are sprinkled around the globe. I like different home exchange clubs for different reasons. Here are a few thoughts about three of my favorite…

  • HomeExchange.com has the most members, 41,000, and a great website. Their reverse search feature is awesome!
  • HomeLink.org is the granddaddy of them all. They’ve been around since 1953. I like the Response Rate feature on their website.
  • LoveHomeSwap.com is the new kid on the block. They have lots of fresh energy and beautiful homes for exchange.

Bottom line: To receive a free comparison checklist of seven home exchange clubs sign up in the red and yellow box on the upper right side of this blog page.

2.  Great photographs = A great home exchange

Notice how real estate agents market their homes. Do the photos show dishes in the sink or unmade beds? No. The home is spotless. It looks like a place where you’d like to relax. Enjoy your family and friends. Well, people looking for a home exchange vacation want the same thing. So give it to them! Wait for a sunny day and open your window coverings, place a bowl of fresh fruit on your table and set a spray of flowers on your nightstand. Then snap your home exchange photos!

Bottom line: High quality photos of your home are single most important way to attract a top home swap.

3.  How to make your home exchange vacation safe for your family

Before you agree to swap your home ask your home exchange prospect any questions you may have. Exchange e-mails, perhaps speak on the phone and maybe even Skype. Be sure to review photos of their home, their yard and their family. Politely enquire about where they work and how many home swaps they’ve completed. They’ll want to know the same things about you and your family. Within a short time you’ll be e-mailing them your favorite restaurant tips and the perfect place to go for a hike. Soon your home exchange prospect will begin to feel like a friend. The world has become more comfortable with meeting people online. Social media has fostered friendships, built business partnerships and made marriages. Now thousands of people are realizing that a home exchange vacation really makes sense because a home exchange vacation is an affordable (read free) and authentic way to travel. And it’s eco-friendly! We all feel good about that.

Bottom Line: When all your questions are answered, trust your gut. If you don’t feel at ease with someone, go looking for a different home swap partner. There are oodles to choose from.

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Categories: Home Exchange

The Dordogne; Domme, France; and A Contest!

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Shelley C. Miller
A view of the Dordogne, from Domme, France

A view of the Dordogne, from Domme, France

Recently I was asked, “What’s your favorite off-the-beaten-path destination?” Immediately I recalled a fortified village or bastide in southwestern France named Domme. When my husband and our two children stepped through the 13thcentury arched gateway of rock wall it felt like we’d entered another time. Narrow cobbled streets cleaned by a summer rain, cozy honey-hued cottages with pitched tiled rooftops, turquoise doors on one home, red shutters on another.

We strolled through Domme like we’d never seen a village before, lots of pausing to look up and stopping to point. Land ended beneath our feet and we came to a sudden halt on an outcropping, 800 feet above a river. The 180-degree view forced silence. It was the broad Dordogne (pronounced Door-doan-ya) snaking through the valley floor of the French countryside; lush green hillsides of oaks, chestnuts, and pines climbed up to us.

An unusual sight in the middle of town, oui? But not in Domme.

An unusual sight in the middle of town, oui? But not in Domme.

Henry Miller wrote, “It was most important for me to have seen the Dordogne. It gives me hope for the future of the race, for the future of the earth itself. France may one day exist no more, but the Dordogne will live on just as dreams live on and nourish the souls of men.”

My 8-year-old daughter, Michele, shook me from my reverie when she took my hand and pulled me to a carousel nestled near a copse of green, ruffly walnut trees. I lifted her onto a white horse donned in a pink and purple saddle. I selected a grey and white spotted filly. The carousel journey began; twinkle lights glowed from the carousel ceiling.

The famous accordion song “Under Paris Skies” serenaded us. My daughter’s face radiated pure delight. I leaned my head against the brass pole and closed my eyes—the nostalgic music, the sparkling Dordogne, the village of Domme. The camera of my life closed in on Michele and me swirling round and round and round. My mind emptied. My heart opened. At that moment, nothing else mattered; all that mattered was love.

 

Europe Through The Back DoorShare Your Favorite Off-the-beaten-path Destination and WIN!!!

What is your favorite off-the-beaten-path destination? Comment below and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Rick Steves’ EUROPE Through the Back Door, 2013.

One winner will be selected at random on Jan. 28, 2013. Good luck!

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Categories: Home Exchange