I’m a big proponent of home exchanges. They allow me to travel much more frequently and for longer periods of time than would be possible paying hotel bills. Even the new AirB&B sites pale by comparison. Exchanges have also taken me to places not on my radar or wish list. I receive a request for an exchange, perhaps I’ve never been there or only briefly, and my first response is, “Why wouldn’t I want to do that?”

This method of travel has been my primary mode for the last eight years taking me to such disparate places as Berlin, Ghent, Marseille, Istanbul and, now, Bologna. Forgive me if I have failed to mention your city. I’m not a fan of long lists. Many cities, many excellent exchanges.

On to Bologna and that laundry. A crucial factor in exchanges is to leave a place the way you found it. This is one of the beauties of the exchange. You are in someone’s home while they are in yours. There is an assumed respect and I have never been disappointed. Only with a neighbor’s cat but that’s another story. Requirements vary to achieve that “as you found it.” Some people have cleaning services and just ask for broom clean, others ask that the laundry is done and shower doors are cleaned. It’s free lodging. You do it.

Oh, yes, the laundry. I am stunned to discover that my delightful exchanger in Bologna irons his sheets! I have done a lot of ironing in my life beginning with the handkerchiefs of my father but I have never ironed a sheet. This lovely man irons fitted sheets. I thought that’s why people owned fitted sheets–they fit, tight, no ironing. I was wrong.

The task is magnified by the fact that two additional people joined me on this exchange and had the foresight to leave before the iron-in. I am a third of the way through the sheets. I still have six days so I am not rushing plus it’s in the mid-90’s in Bologna this July.

I’m hoping my exchanger isn’t appalled by my efforts. His are clearly better ironed. I have tried, they seem flat enough and there are no scorch marks. I’m not advertising my ironing prowess. Next time, I find a laundry.