Even the workaholics among you are going to find it hard to put in an honest day’s labour for the next 72 hours, so in that idle time between unpacking your stocking and undoing your belt, I suggest you start planning a house swap for 2010.

I’ve done two now–one to Paris and one to Berlin–and it definitely takes a bit of time and focus to court and correspond with potential exchangers. And in my experience, seasoned exchangers seem to like to have their summer travel plans sewn up by February.

So take advantage of the seasonal lull and make this the year you actually get your act together to do a house exchange in Canada–or wherever your compass points.

These 5 past posts will help you get started:

• Top 10 tips for a successful home swap
• 66 practical home exchange tips
• Ready to try a home exchange? Check out this Slow Europe article
• Home exchange tip: write your own guide book
• Cheap sleeps: check out these home exchange alternatives

I’m happy to answer questions on this topic, so feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you.

Happy holidays to everyone who has supported TheseBoots this past year. Love and joy come to you–and happy travels too.

It was the perfect kick-off to summer: Shakespeare and Vancouver both at their sunny, sparkling best.

Vancouver’s little-Shakespeare-festival-that-could welcomed 90,000 people under the tents at Kits Point last year–up sharply from the 6,000 who came during the first season in 1990. This year there are two stages cycling four plays: the roster includes Much Ado, Antony and Cleopatra, Falstaff and Henry V in rep until the end of September.

There’s much to love about the Bard experience: the Chanel-and-tattoos audience mix; the waterfront setting; the enthusiasm of the many long-serving volunteers. And of course, the reliable quality of the productions themselves.

This festival sells out; get your tickets now.

Win a tickets-and-picnic package:

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy about would-be lovers who need a little help from their friends to find romance.

Leave a comment below explaining how winning two tickets to the Saturday, June 26th (8 pm) performance along with an Emelle’s picnic dinner would help you–or a needy friend–to create a little romance in your/their life.

I’ll do a random draw on Thursday, June 24th at 6 pm and notify the winner in a post here and also by email. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to Amber whose entry read: “My Belly/Baby Buddy and her husband would love a night out away from the cute babe! Money is tight but their love is strong.” Watch your email for details of prize pick-up and thanks to all who entered!

It’s free, fun and ridiculously simple: just plug in a starting address at citytours.googlelabs.com, select your dates and bingo–you’ve got the first draft of your tour complete with highlighted destinations, recommended length of stay at each site, and time to complete the walk.

A few more clicks and you can amend the tour to include–or remove–particular sites.

Prefer food to fashion? Music to museums? No problem. Just enter your preferred choices–or click on the options provided–and your tour is instantly updated. Import the map to your handheld and off you go!

I test-drove the service by entering starting addresses in cities I know well and was impressed with many of Google’s suggested itineraries.

Still, it’s not perfect yet: I concur with some of the criticisms in this Jetpacker post, especially the point that some of the walks seem unreasonably long.

It’ll never take the place of personal tours like the ones offered by TourGuys, of course. But with a bit more tweaking (imagine if Google included the transit information it already has with the tour itineraries?) it could do a real number on printed guidebooks…

Have you ever used Google to plan a walking tour? Do you plan to? Can you recommend it? Any tips or tricks?

In support of Metro Vancouver’s recent campaign to promote the city’s excellent tap water (and significantly reduce plastic waste) the hotel is stocking rooms with reusable bottles in addition to the one-off disposables. The co-branded metal bottles cost $12.95–but the refills are free!

It’s an industry first apparently, but it’s an idea that’s so simple it’s, well, sustainable.

Kudos to Fairmont for getting with the program and let’s hope it’s not too long before other hotels start picking this low-hanging greenfruit…

With these sorts of crowds, public transit is the only way to get around the roads during the 2010 Winter Games.

I just did a post about Vancouver’s “Top 5 public transit sight-seeing tours” over at InsideVancouver.ca.  Check it out and add your own route recommendations!

Feel free to add your own recommendations!

I just got back from Whistler where things are ramping up like crazy. Steve Podborski was bringing the torch down the mountain and you could feel the electricity in the air.

This little video by Classified–someone sent me the link via Twitter–says it all: Oh Canada. Go Canada.

From January 22 to March 21, it’s going to be a feeding frenzy for culture vultures in BC’s Lower Mainland thanks to the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

(And yes, it is weird that in this time of brutal funding cuts to the arts we are about to enjoy 600 international-calibre performances in a period of 60 days.

My only hope is that someone with a bit of political clout will be so inspired by the experience that they will deliver a demon-crushing come-to-Jesus speech in Victoria as a result….)

The good news is that there are still tickets available for most of the shows; the bad news is, they’re going fast. In fact, had not a kind stranger handed me a friend’s unused ticket to see Streb:Raw at the Roundhouse on Sunday afternoon, I would have been shut out of the (insert superlative here) performance.

Repeat after me: I will not wait ’til the last minute to buy a ticket.

Ask 100 people for their pick-of-the-litter performances and you’d get 100 answers. Best to browse the program guide (pictured above) available from libraries, theatres, and community centres around town, or visit the Olympiad’s events listings page.

Here are my top 5 picks (feel free to disagree!):

• Robert Lepage’s The Blue Dragon/Le Dragon Bleu
• Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq and the Kronos Quartet
• Nix’s The Only Animal, set in Canada’s first theatre built of snow and ice
• Maria Pages’s Flamenco Republic
• U Theatre of Taiwan’s Sound of the Ocean

What are your top picks for the Cultural Olympiad?

These are the souvenirs of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games–stores here can barely keep them in stock. They cost $10 a pair and a portion of the money goes to help Canadian athletes.

I bought a couple of pairs in Whistler two weeks ago just as a new shipment came in…and just before Haiti’s earthquake nightmare.

It’s a small thing, but I’m going to auction off a pair right here. Just tell me how much you’re going to donate to a registered charity to help Haiti and the most generous gift wins the mittens. I’ll send them anywhere in the world.

(I gave to the Red Cross, but there are others out there. And if you’re Canadian, remember that the federal government will match whatever you give…)

If you’re the winning bidder, you’ll have to send me proof of your donation: either an e-mail or screen-shot of the confirmation page.

The bidding ends Friday, January 22 at 8 pm PST. May the biggest heart win!

Update January 25: And the mittens go to Nancy Lee, who donated $200 to World Vision. Thanks Nancy!

[This post originally appeared on Sept. 24/09, but since we're just a month out from the start of the 2010 Winter Games, I've brought it back...]

Just back from Whistler where a small group of international travel writers were this week treated to an impressive dog-and-pony about British Columbia’s upcoming Winter Olympics.

Let it be said that I did not cave to the hard-sell. There is no bandwagon in my future. Surely anyone with half a brain understands that the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are the worst thing that has ever been unleashed upon an unsuspecting Canadian public.

Consider the evidence:

Sea-to-Sky Highway improvements will threaten family values.

Even before they spent $600 million straightening out the death-trap turns on Highway 99 between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler, this long and scenic road was named among the world’s top drives by Britain’s esteemed Guardian. Now, with the rough edges smoothed off, you can actually take your eyes off the road long enough to appreciate the glorious views–and that can only lead to one thing: motorcycle riding. What will happen when decent men—and even women—are tempted to leave junior with a sitter so they can hit the highway on two wheels?

The Cultural Olympiad will make children want to grow up to be artists.

It’s insidious how these things happen: one minute you’re a well-intentioned parent taking advantage of the Cultural Olympiad’s artistic bounty to introduce your youngsters to the wonders of Robert Lepage’s multi-media theatre spectacles or Tanya Tagaq’s mesmerizing throat-singing and the next thing you know they’re clamoring to enroll at Arts Umbrella. Then they’ll hit voting age and start lobbying the government to increase funding for arts and culture and before you know it, Canada will be a hotbed of creativity and innovation.

Taxpayer-subsidized video footage will bring more tourists to Canada.

Believe it: Canadian tax dollars helped produce stunning, professional-quality B-roll of Canadian destinations for use by international broadcasters before, during and after the 2010 Games. For months and possibly even years, friends, family and even total strangers from around the world will see this dramatic footage on TV and web sites and be inspired to come and spend money in our country. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Canada Line will lead to decreased workplace productivity.

No joke: the clean and green light rapid rail service that will whisk the Olympic masses from Vancouver International Airport to downtown Vancouver in 25 minutes for less than a cabbie’s tip will also be used by local commuters. Every day these hard-working Canadians will be surrounded by international visitors and their suitcases. How long will it be before they begin to waste precious hours day-dreaming about their own world travels?

The Squamish-Lil’Wat Cultural Centre will promote co-operation and cultural pride.

The striking new $30-million aboriginal cultural centre at Whistler is just one example of what can happen when Canada’s First Nations are consulted and included in the planning and execution of major projects. There are, in fact, four separate First Nations working together as co-hosts of the 2010 Winter Games. And to see what can happen when a nation’s racial rifts begin to heal, you need only look to the example set by our good neighbours to the south…