doing these tours,” says Kniewel, a self- proclaimed history geek.
She loves to take guests inside Art Deco and Beaux Arts buildings they may have passed before without realizing the gorgeous art and architecture that exists inside, such as the library-turned-cultural center, Chicago Cultural Center, boasting two impressive glass domes, one designed by Tiff any Glass. Another favorite excursion is taking guests on a water taxi tour. “It’s a cheap and unique way to see Chicago. T e water, both the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, is so much a part of who we are as a city.”
During the limitations imposed dur-
from commitments, to fi gure out what my next chapter in life was going to be,” says Paige Conner Totaro, of Alexandria, Virginia, the founder of Unquote Travel, a web-based tour agency focusing on small group, off -the-beaten-track adventures. “You can change your environment without going very far, and that in turn can change the way you think about things. Little things like sleeping on the other side of the bed can help you shake up your brain.”
Local Attraction Local-led excursions are another way to see our home turf through a new lens. Airbnb Experiences, off ered virtually everywhere that Airbnb lists lodging, are one-of-a-kind tours and classes designed and hosted by locals with unique expertise. Experiences run the gamut from neighborhood tours on foot or bikes with athletes to museum tours led by local artists or art historians. Many include a hands-on learning component, like how to make mosaics in a community art space or cook a local delicacy from a family recipe. Similar tours and experiences can be found on TripAdvisor’s T ings To Do listings.
WithLocals.com, whose mission is “to break down the barriers between travelers and locals worldwide,” also off ers foodie fun and off -beat adventures. Kelly Kniewel stumbled onto tour
guiding aſt er experiencing burnout in her previous career in the beverage industry. An Airbnb Experiences host, Kniewel now leads small group tours of Chicago, introducing locals and visitors alike to many of its little-known facets. “I’ve fallen in love with my city all over again
ing the COVID-19 period, Airbnb and other websites began off ering experiences online, allowing people from all over the world to connect and make pastries with a Swedish baker, draw with a Mexican car- toonist, learn about apartheid from a South African or experience a day in the life of an American Olympic bobsledder.
Traveling the World Without Leaving Home
Hosting travelers can bring new meaning to a staycation, off ering a rich opportunity for cross-cul- tural exchange without any exchange of currency. T e popular CouchSurfi
ng.com connects travelers with lo- cals off ering free use of a couch, air mat- tress or spare bed- room. Available in more than 200,000 cities worldwide, it has 14 million members and sponsors local language ex-
changes, dance classes, hikes and dinners, so there are
opportunities to make new friends and have new
experiences even without off ering a place to sleep. (During COVID-19 restrictions, these activities were moved online.)
Similar organizations that off er
opportunities for local hosting (including low- or no-cost lodging) include
Servas.org, established in 1949, which stresses world peace and cultural exchange, and pre- interviews potential guests and hosts to ensure safety;
GlobalFreeloaders.com, a free registry for hosts and guests that do their own online screening and matching; and
EvergreenClub.com, in which hosts provide a bed-and-breakfast homestay for travelers over age 50 for $20 a night. An exciting option for homeowners is
HomeExchange.com, a $150-a-year service that allows people in far-fl ung places to switch homes, either directly or through a staggered point system so they can truly live like locals. John Fackenthal, of Rockville,
Maryland, has hosted more than 100 couchsurfers from 29 countries, and loved every experience. “I had a big apartment in the heart of Washington, D.C., when I fi rst started
hosting, but lived alone and felt a little isolated. I wanted to bring back the youth hostel feel from travels in my younger days, where you’d
hang out with fellow travel- ers and go
hiking, share
a meal or play cards,” he says.
A web developer,
he recalls such memora- ble guests as a carpenter in his 60s from the
Pacifi c Northwest that helped him with fi xer-up- per projects, a pair of pro volleyball players from the Czech Republic and two young women from China that prepared him a massive traditional Chinese
feast “with all four burners going,” he says. “It’s restored my faith in humanity. I’ve encountered nothing but wonderful
June 2020 17
Iakov Filimonov/
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Iakov Filimonov/
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