Free travel by house-sitting

A few of my friend asked me whether it is possible to have a free travel trip. Well, to say yes for that question is a big lie but there are a few ways to score for a free trip. One is called house-sitting kind of baby-sitting where you will be asked to take up residence in someone else's home for a specified period of time.

Your job is take care of that house and no worries about the rent. Off course you still have to pay for transport and foods but can you imagine how much could be save for lodging if it takes place for a 3 months period. And it is not for everybody: Research, patience, good timing and often a bit of luck and sweat are required.

Instead of waiting for your rich aunt in the Hampton to go away and ask you to watch over her place, look into a service that lists house-sitting opportunities. If things work out, you might be chilling out at a Caribbean villa or caring for cats and hens in an adorable French farmhouse.

Before signing on for any assignment, you as a house-sitter should ask questions. Namely, who pays the bills? Many homeowners state upfront that house sitters pay for utilities, at the least. If there are pets, find out how many and what their special needs are. If there's a garden, ask how big it is and how much attention it requires. At some point, the work may make the "free" lodging not worth the trouble. Also, ask the owner for the names and contacts of previous house sitters, and grill them about the experience.

Where do you find these gigs? Caretaker.org posts more than 1,000 house-sitting openings per year, most of which are in the U.S. ($30 per year to see listings). At last check, housecarers.com listed 226 opportunities, including 82 in Australia ($32). There's also housesitworld.com, where homeowners can search for registered sitters with availability and skills that match their needs ($40). And sabbaticalhomes.com is a site where the houses are all left behind by academics on teaching assignments (free for house sitters, from $25 to post a home).

Link (thanks, Sophie Alexander)

Sightseeing in London

If I want to have a metropolitan sightseeing, London is probably the one in my mind. Okay, let us start the day by taking Bus or Underground to St. Paul’s station off the Central Line. St. Paul’s Cathedral is an architectural wonder, full of history and breathtaking beauty.

From there, make way toward the River Thames. Here we can cross the famous Millennium Foot Bridge. Nearby is Tate Modern and on the south bank of the river we will come across Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, a reconstructed outdoor theatre from William Shakespeare’s time.

Afterwards, continue sightseeing tour along the Thames’ south bank then stop in at Vinopolis where we can enjoy a Classic Tour. Here we will learn about different wine growing regions and cultures and enjoy some taste testing as well. Along the river we can visit the HMS Belfast. This a 1938 light cruiser that survived WWII, today it is a floating museum.

For one of the most famous sites in London and for one of the best views of London, let us make way across the Thames and experience the Tower Bridge Exhibition. This is truly a great way to see London. The bridge is one of the most recognised in the world and the views of London are impressive.

Once reach the north bank, we will visit the Tower of London which holds so much of London’s history, including the Crown Jewels. It’s a ‘must see’ when visiting the city. Just down the road we can enjoy The Medieval Banquet for a meal with live music and dancing. It’s a real treat to attend a meal with so much entertainment.

Tips. To save time, skip queues and save energy with itinerary planning assistance and to make fantastic money savings, you should have a London Sightseeing Pass and the most popular one is London Pass package.

The Wonders of St Ives

St. Ives is one of the most famous holiday towns in Cornwall - a jewel situated at the south-western tip of this island kingdom flanked by miles of magnificient coastal scenery, surrounded by tranquil sub-tropical gardens and country lanes that are hedged with wild honeysuckle, foxgloves, montbretia and fucias. Beside its wealth of history and tradition amongst its cobbled streetsand old fisherman cottages, it's also famous as an International Centre for the Arts with more than forty craft shops and galleries as well as the Tate Gallery.

Approximately 6 hours driving from London, St Ives is readily accessible by road, rail and air. Its warm summers and Britain's mildest climate make it's perfect for all seasons but reaching highest tourist attraction in the summer because of it’s sandy beaches and pretty harbour. It's one of the UK’s top summer destinations, and it’s easy to see why. Four sandy beaches , a pretty harbour and good weather, all you could want for a summer holiday.

The streets of St Ives have strange names, and it’s like being in Gulliver’s Travels. The top of the town is called Upalong and the bottom is Downalong. Fore Street is the most popular shopping street, packed with all kinds of quaint little boutiques. For more unusual items Sloop Craft Market is worth a visit. The Tate Gallery is also worth a visit.

The Tate overlooks Porthmeor Beach, and is one of St Ives best-known landmarks. The exhibitions here show the best of contemporary Cornish art in the area and atmosphere in which it was created. There are lots of artists living and working in the area, and during the annual Arts Festival open up their studios to visitors.

St Ives has some amazing scenery, and a good way to appreciate it is to get out along the picturesque coastal path. It links St Ives to another hotspot of artistic activity, Zennor. It will take at least five hours over rugged terrain, so you will need your walking boots. Zennor is also popular place to visit as it was home to DH Lawrence during the First World War. It was here he found inspiration to write Women in Love.

You can take various sea-going excursions from St Ives’ Harbour front. There is also a ship that has been built according to designs for the old Cornish fishing vessels, which were over 100 years old. A 30 minute journey takes you round the coast to Seal Island where you’re likely to spot Atlantic Grey Seals.

At night, there are a choice of small restaurants and bars. When the Festival is on, there are lots of live entertainment, including free performances in Norway Square.

Okay! Go Travel

Vanuatu...a happy island

My first dream destination would be Vanuatu, an island located in the South Pacific which tops the ranking of Happy Planet Index. So how you measure happiness? Can you use numbers to decide how happy (or unhappy) you are? Happy Planet Index is an innovative new measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered around the world. It is the first ever index to combine environmental impact with well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which country by country, people live long and happy lives. The results are surprising, even shocking, but there is much to learn from what they show when some of developed country like United States ranked at 158 out of 178 (Zimbabwe is the lowest).

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