I recently discovered a new way to travel - more fun, more relaxing, being at home in a home and much less expensive than hotels. And to top all those benefits I had my own private guide - one educated in the US, totally fluent in English, totally knowledgeable in the hidden treasures of his native Provence, and a delight to be with - not a guide but a friend.

How is all this possible and where does the line form?

Home exchange companies: There are now several organizations many of them in existence for as many as fifty years that offer up the opportunity to trade one’s home for that in another part of the world. If you’re reading this article then you are a candidate for making this happen. Sure you have to be willing to make room in the closet and empty out a drawer in the bureau - but what kind of a issue is that for the chance to go to another part of the world and to see and live and love someplace you have never been before.

The world of airline miles: many of us and that certainly includes those of us with some gray hair have accumulated some airline miles. There can be no greater way to use them than for a plane ticket to another part of the world. In a time when the airlines are increasing their charges and looking for new ways to do even more, there is this unique chance to get a real benefit from all those trips to the grocery store and to open up another country’s window of new experiences. Look at it this way - you’ll get something back from all those dollars going into the gas tank of your SUV.

The stress of travel: Simply put - who needs it? I found a way to have the guide meet me at the airport and return me to it two weeks later. You’ve seen those drivers who stand just outside the customs area with placards with a name on it - well, my name was on one of them. And the driver was my guide for the next two weeks so while we drove the distance to my home away from home, we got to know each other and to plan the next few days. It’s almost as good as having your granddaughter standing just outside customs with an infectious smile and a bunch of flowers. Talk about simple!

Who needs more than carry-on: Of course, I long ago learned the art of traveling lightly. I’ve not given any airline my suitcase or carry-on for so many decades, I can’t remember the last time. Being in a home with access to a washing machine and a dryer eliminates the need for packing multiples of anything; and your friends, if they are truly friends won’t give a hoot if you’re wearing that blue shirt yet again. If you can’t travel for three weeks out of a carry-on, then you need me to show you how.

Home away from home: I’ve done exchanges almost a half dozen times in the last two years; and I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is to sit in a comfortable chair in the living room and watch CNN, to have a kitchen in which to cook or fix breakfast, lunch or an evening snack, and to have the privacy and space that just doesn’t exist in that hotel room. Sitting on the bed while your companion sits in the desk chair is not my idea of comfort!

Stay away from the euro: Wow, what a problem this is becoming! In my most recent trip to Provence I never even put a euro in my pocket. My guide, Fabrice, kept a wallet; and my companion and I replenished that supply of euros on the couple of occasions when the euros were in short supply. If you are going to travel these days in a euro based country, you need to find all the ways you can to avoid spending more of them than you absolutely have to. Buying cheese, baguettes, meats and fruit at the local farmers’ markets and wine from the local cooperative (wine distribution store) works like a charm when it comes cutting down on costs - and you’d have to really work at it to convince me that breakfasting on your own patio or winding down the day with wine and a light supper in the quiet charm of your own home isn’t better or easier than standing in a line waiting for a table to become free in some noisy restaurant. And you are saving big time!

A good guide is like choosing the best wine on the menu!! This decision is the most important one you will make. For me the planning and thinking and reading about a trip is perhaps even half the fun of the trip itself. A knowledgeable guide, like a Fabrice Renucci, brings an intimate knowledge of his part of Provence that cannot be found anywhere. Use the unique perspective he brings, use his web site, travel the itineraries he knows. His understanding of the nuances of what we in particular wanted to do, the subtle but instantaneous shifting of plans like a change in the weather, and the sheer joy of traveling with a Frenchman who was educated in the US and is as American as thee and me is a reward for those who are savvy enough to choose to travel with him in his Unknown Provence.

Driving is for the guide - but not for you: There is no way, unless you have traveled recently, to remember the frustration and stress of driving your rental car in a country whose language is not one that you speak fluently and where the signs are often flashing by as is your car. Knowing how to avoid that back up on the motor way, knowing the back roads and how to get back to your house and a glass of wine perhaps makes the guide the most valuable element of your vacation experience.

Want to lead the simple life? Using the guide with his in-depth knowledge of the region in which you are traveling doesn’t eliminate the stress - it simply never lets stress become a factor, Why not go to the best of everything in the village, find the shop without the tourists, know which street is leading to a fabulous view. Know which back country road will take you through glorious countryside and let you see the locals at work. Not worrying about the daily decisions of what, where, when and how will make your trip a pure delight - enough said!

Stress free - totally stress free is my idea of the way to travel. Hire a guide who knows it all and can take you where not only you want to go but also the unknown places that the tourists haven’t found - that’s traveling smartly. Who needs to have to worry about the art of balancing the directions from one place to another - whether the farmers’ market is on Tuesday or Thursday and in the morning or the afternoon. The guide knows all this and a whole lot more; and he can keep the stress factor waiting for your return home. Why not go to the best cafe in the walled 18th century city - why not have the guide say that we should drink beer since it’s half the price of a white wine. There are so many endless details the guide knows and you don’t.

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