After all the panic, the cleaning, the organising and the last-minute “did we forget something?” moments, we finally arrived in Galway.

And then something unexpected happened.

The funny thing about a house swap is that you spend so much time preparing your own home for someone else that you almost forget you are actually going away yourself.

For two days, my husband and I had been on a cleaning mission and our house was ready. We were not. By the time we left, the house looked like a show home and we looked like we had been dragged through the cleaning aisle of a supermarket.

And then, suddenly, we were in someone else’s home. A bottle of wine was waiting for us with a note saying: “Welcome to Galway, hope you enjoy your stay.” It was a simple gesture, but it meant so much.

That is the difference with a house swap. It is not just somewhere to sleep. It feels like someone has opened their front door and invited you into their life.

I had arranged for my parents to drop in fresh eggs and a jar of my homemade raspberry jam for Ciara for when they arrived at our house. They left us wine. We left them jam and eggs. A small exchange, but........

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