Pebbles and Bam Bam, our pet sitting charges

Pet Sitting & Travel: Why Do It and How It Works

October 5, 2016

If you have been reading this blog for a while, then you know we are crazy cat people who will do anything to get our feline fix. We've been stalking cat cafes and feeding street kitties for the better part of six months.

So, it's probably not going to surprise you that we just completed a pet sitting assignment, caring for two cats over two weeks in the UK. We weren't paid, but got to stay in a cute village for free in return for a few minor cat-related tasks: feeding, litter changing and, of course, cuddling.

Some might read that and be intrigued. 'Free travel accommodation AND adorable pets?!? Where do I sign up?'

Others might cringe in horror. 'OMG, stay in an actual stranger's house and scoop poop? Is that really a thing?'

Yes, this is an actual thing and a well-known hack (tip) in the long-term travel and retiree communities. We are huge fans of pet sitting while traveling and I'm going to break it all down for you here.

Why Pet-Sit?

Must Love Dogs (or Cats or Horses or Rabbits or Chickens...)

First and foremost, this is pet sitting. While there are some assignments that are house sitting only, the majority involve dogs or cats so being an animal lover is vital. Pet owners want their fur babies to receive lots of TLC and that should be a primary motivator in taking on such an assignment.

If you are that kind of person, then looking at the pet sitting opportunities online is like being a kid in a candy store. There are so many cute dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens, you might need to brush your teeth after the sweetness overload.

Not limited just to traditional pets, there are opportunities to look after rabbits, fish, guinea pigs and birds as well. Those looking for more action can select sits with farm animals like horses and chickens!

Livin' La Vida Local

For a more personal and meaningful experience when traveling, a pet sit can be ideal. Living as a local can help you immerse yourself into the culture and that is difficult to do when staying in a hotel or the main tourist district.

Pet sitting can also be a great way to experience slow travel, which we find very relaxing as it helps balance out the often hectic pace of packing up and moving every few days. We can establish a bit of a routine and go deeper into a location instead of just skimming the surface.

Another benefit is the potential to develop personal relationships with the owners and even neighbors. Many pet sitters and owners keep in touch after the assignment, which can be beneficial if you would enjoy a repeat visit at the same property with pets and people you know and trust.

Love Don't Cost a Thing

A huge advantage to pet sitting during travel is the free accommodation it affords. Pet sitting can help you experience an expensive area where hotels or even Airbnbs might be out of reach for a budget traveler. Additionally, many of the sits are in beautiful homes such as chateaus in France, luxury condos in Dubai, country cottages in England and ranches in Australia.

Choose Your Adventure

If an active vacation or getting off the beaten track is tops on your priority list, pet sitting might be the way to go. The most common house sits are available in the United Kingdom, USA and France, but there are plenty of exotic locales to tempt you such as Yellowknife, NWT Canada, the beaches of Greece or the mountains of Switzerland.

Plus, it's something completely different. There is excitement in trying new and interesting things and even if you find you don't love it, it is a great experience. You might just learn something.

Go for it!

Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, Canada

How Did We Do It?

Several sites offer the service of connecting home owners and prospective pet sitters, but Perry and I joined Trusted Housesitters for the following reasons.

Largest number of sits available
Built-in reference system
Positive reviews from owners, sitters and external sources, like Trust Pilot
Well organized website that is user friendly
Daily email with new pet sitting listings

A few others to check out include Mind My House, House Carers, and Nomador.

Step One: Check it Out

We spent a few days searching listings to get an idea of what was out there before we signed up and paid the $95 annual fee. That may sound steep if you are a budget traveler or just looking to take a two week vacation, but if you amortize that over a 14 day stay, it works out to just under $7 per night. For us, this was something we planned to do several times over the course of a year and well worth the up-front expense.

Step Two: Build a Profile

Pet sitting is competitive, and a great profile is crucial to stand out from the crowd. Many great resources have been written to help you create one that will get you noticed, and while I will hit the highlights here, for more in-depth information, take a look at this website.

HEADLINE

Stand out and quickly convey your experience, trustworthiness and love of animals. Some owners get up to 50 applications for one sit, so this is important.

PHOTOS

Select close up shots that show you are trustworthy, friendly and good with animals.

INTRODUCTION

Provide an 'elevator speech' with your unique experiences and why that would benefit prospective owners. I amended ours recently with a direct quote from our recent pet sit. Two paragraphs is just about right.

REASON FOR PET SITTING

Tell owners why you want to pet sit, but reply thoughtfully knowing that owners want someone who will care for their pets and home as though they were their own.

EXPERIENCE

Don't just stop with your house/pet sitting experiences and interactions with animals, be sure and talk about your abilities, knowledge, skills and expertise that might be relevant as well. Do you have a green thumb? Know how to fix a toilet? Good with your hands? Fluent in the local language? These are attributes that may be valuable to an owner and can help you stand out.

REFERENCES

Last, but not least, the most important step: you must have references. It is the number one thing owners look for when deciding who to choose to look after their home and pets. The more references, the better.

The best references are from completed pet sits on the internal Trusted Housesitter network, but the next best thing are pet/house sitting references from friends and family. You can also use a character reference from a landlord or employer. Just be sure to add something!

Here is our front page with headline, introduction and photos. It also shows how many internal network references we have (2) and external references (2) as well as our security verifications.

Step Three: Apply and Interview

Before we left on our trip, I completed two assignments in downtown Chicago to gain some experience and secure an internal Trusted Housesitters reference in addition to my external references (thanks Traci and Sue!).

Once overseas, we traveled for a bit before deciding to apply for a pet sitting assignment. The opportunities in continental Europe are fewer and more competitive and we didn't land any we applied for. Undeterred, we focused our attention on the UK and applied for five different opportunities since there are three times the number of sits compared to any other country.

We selected the sits to apply for based on date. We had a two week range to work with as the other three were filled with personal travel and visiting with friends. We also selected just cats for this sit since the UK has lots of them and we wanted to have that experience. Generally, you need to be more flexible than this, but in our case, it worked out.

Next, we narrowed it down to the counties surrounding Cambridgeshire so we wouldn't have too far to travel. No way to sort for that, it was a manual effort.

There were five potential candidates and we applied for all of them. Two had already been filled. One didn't reply back. We heard back from two and set up a Skype interview with one the very next day.

The interview was pretty low key, more 'tell me about you' than 'tell me about a time when you resolved conflict' variety.

We asked a few questions about the cats' needs and likes to convey that it was all about the cats and we were focused on their needs, not just ours. We liked the owners and they liked us. They emailed us 20 minutes after the interview to offer the sit.

The main lesson learned here is that applying for pet sits can be a bit of a numbers game-- don't be discouraged if you don't land the first sit(s) you apply for!

Step Four: Enjoy!

The luxury of staying in a house after many tiny apartments on the road was a thrill. Even better, we were in a small village where we could walk to the store or local pub and take long walks in the country whenever we wanted. There were regular home-cooked meals and even a bit of TV watching while the cats sat on our laps. We caught up on projects amidst this rare spell of peace and quiet. It felt so good to live 'normally' for a few weeks, and being in the UK with that comforting familiarity brought back great memories.

The verdict? We absolutely loved it and can't wait to pet sit again.

If you are interested in pet and house sitting, click on this link to receive 20% off a yearly membership on Trusted Housesitters.

Thanks for reading!

Next time on Gobsmacked: How the Grinch Toured Bucharest

Before:  March, 2016 — Before: March, 2016

Travel Packing Update: Winners & Losers

September 24, 2016

After:  September, 2016 — After: September, 2016

We are nearly finished with our breather in the UK before continuing our travels in Western Europe for the remainder of the year. In preparation, I've just finished sorting my stuff into piles of what's 'in' and what's 'out'.

After six months, I've come a long way since I first packed up in March. There has been a lot of learning about how and what to bring for life on the road, but the biggest realization is that you need to figure it for yourself. No matter how many blogs and articles I read cautioning to 'do this' or 'bring that', there is nothing like good old-fashioned experience to help hammer the lessons home.

PACKING LESSONS

Cheaters Never Win

A backpack only holds so much and you can't sneak something in like you might do when packing a suitcase for a weekend trip. You know, those 'just in case' pieces. Once you are over the limit, your backpack will simply ignore your pleas to ZIP UP YOU PIECE OF S&!T while you wrap your leg around it trying to squeeze it into submission. Not that it's happened to me or anything.

Atonement

Speaking of 'just in case', you will curse those items and the extra weight they contribute when you inevitably take a wrong turn on the way to your Airbnb from the train station and end up walking two extra miles in 90F degree heat with 25# of 'just in case' on your back. Not that it's happened to me or anything.

Not Just a Pretty Face

Once in a blue moon, a 'frivolous' item becomes a travel hero. Such is my trusty Michael Kors gold travel wallet- see the WINNERS section below.

The Price of Beauty

Toiletries & makeup are heavy and I'm sick of carrying them around. I've cut WAY back and no longer pack extra amounts of the face wash, lotion and tampons I prefer.

Top Gear

Yes, understand the limitations of your gear but don't let it stop you. You are not going to run a marathon in flip-flops, but you CAN climb mountains in a simple pair of sneakers. You can't pack for every contingency, but somehow things just work out. I wasted way too much time thinking about the 'what if' scenarios and trying to find the 'perfect' article of clothing. 99% of the time, it just doesn't matter what you are wearing. What if I need to go to a nice dinner? What if I get invited to go white water rafting? Blahblahblah! Just throw some stuff in bag and get out there.

WINNERS & LOSERS

As mentioned above, most of the clothes I packed turned out to be just fine. However, there were a few pieces that stood out on both ends of the spectrum. There were several winners and a few losers. Luckily, more of the former than the latter. If you read the original article on what I packed, you know I had high hopes for my gear and here is how it worked out.

WINNERS

CAPILENE MIDWEIGHT ZIP-NECK TOP BY PATAGONIA

The number one can't-live-without piece in my possession is this little number I picked up on sale for $50 at REI in St. Louis. I've worn it nearly every single day over the past six months, even in the summer because air conditioning makes me cold. Lightweight, yet warm and still looking great after countless washes, Patagonia, I owe you everything.

CITY JOGGER BY ATHLETA

My city joggers are SO comfortable, I kicked my leggings out of the pack. Even though they feel like pajamas, they look great.

3/4 SLEEVE BALLET NECK INDISPENSIBLE DRESS BY TRAVELSMITH

I've worn this dress more than I thought I would. Not just for going out to eat, I've worn it frequently on travel days as something that is not constricting but looks respectable.

NIKE FREE 5.0 RUNNING SHOE

These shoes are so awesome, I'm on my second pair! I was lucky to find replacements in Bucharest for $80 which was perfect timing because of the 800+ miles I had put on them up to that point. It's a relief to be in a pair of shoes that are not only comfortable and super lightweight, but my feet still feel great after 7-12 miles per day of walking. They have even tackled some mountain hiking.

MICHAEL KORS JET SET WALLET

Originally, I bought a nylon travel wallet from Travelsmith, but at the last minute I decided to go with what I had been using. What makes this wallet great is the removable strap so I can go from cross-body purse to clutch in seconds. In my previous life, it lived inside my big work tote along with the strap in case I needed to go hands-free.

This wallet has worked like magic on road. It's been a workhorse as I carry it nearly every single day. Not only does it hold my passport, phone and lipgloss in addition to the usual money and credit cards, it's cute AND waterproof. Cue the song of heavenly angels.

LOSERS

TENCEL INDIGO TUNIC BY J JILL

I thought this tunic would be great, but shame on me for not giving it a test drive prior to leaving. Tencel may be easy care, but it wrinkles like crazy! Even after hanging up for several days, the wrinkles won't budge. Ironing on the road? Nope.

RIBBED SLIM TEE BY ANTHROPOLOGIE

How wrong can you go in a simple long sleeve top? Plenty, it turns out. After one wash, it shrank up. Boo!

CLASSIC V NECK TEE BY RAG & BONE

Normally, high performance material is good on the road. In fact, I will probably bring it to SE Asia where cotton just doesn't dry very well in the humidity. The reality is that I didn't reach for this shirt very often as it just felt like a baggy square and was not very flattering.

WUNDER UNDER LEGGINGS BY LULULEMON

I take back what I said about leggings being a must have travel item. I hardly wore mine even though I thought they would be used for both exercise or relaxing. Instead of gyms however, we walked everywhere but I wore either my City Joggers or shorts. If I wanted to relax, it was my City Joggers or pajama bottoms. Caught in the dreaded middle ground, I sent these back to the UK with Alison when she visited us in Split.

THE REPLACEMENTS

If a piece didn't make the cut, I mainly just did without, but there were a couple of items that I did pick up on the road that especially helped during the hot weather period.

CUT & PRET PEASANT BLOUSE

I picked up this shirt in Tallinn and it was a lifesaver. It provided lightweight coverage without making me sweaty. It washed up like a champ and air dried in a couple of hours. It wrinkled a bit when packed but after hanging up overnight, the wrinkles disappeared. Good enough for me!

H&M TANK

When the weather was really hot, even a t-shirt was too much. This tank checked all the boxes- cool and lightweight, good looks, easy wash/dry and packed up in the tiniest ball in my pack.

Thanks for reading!

Next time on Gobsmacked: A Walk on the Wild Side: Bucharest, Romania

Wrong Turns Made Right: Belgrade, Serbia

September 13, 2016

Why is it that when things go wrong, they often make for the best life lessons?

After our travels through the small and war-recovering cities of Mostar and Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina, we were ready for some major city action. We had heard good things about Belgrade, Serbia, but my view was slightly on the unfavorable side, especially after visiting the Bosnian War Museum where I learned about the genocide committed by the Serbs against the Bosniaks while the rest of the world did nothing until over 10,000 people were slaughtered.

Serbia has been a typical source for 'bad guys' in pop culture including the television series Sherlock (he was beaten up in a Serbian prison in Series 3) and one of my favorite video games of all time, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves with the lead villain being a Serbian war criminal by the name Zoran Lazarevic.

Lazarevich is a baddie, right down to his cliched facial knife scar

It was early morning when we left Sarajevo in a van with nine people. Three Bosnians in the back (a mother and her two children), three Americans in the middle (Perry, me and a middle aged man) and three Serbs in the front including the driver, his chatty girlfriend and an older woman who gave me the stink eye as we stepped into the van.

It felt like we were refugees escaping via any means possible. Right away, I discovered my seatbelt was tied in a knot and rigged up such that it wrapped around my torso like a noose. As we crossed never-ending mountains with hairpin turns, my body slammed against the van door when we curved left and then heaved back into Perry when we curved right. Over and over and over.

The confluence of the rivers Sava and Danube.

Movie watching on my laptop, my intended entertainment, was out of the question so I focused on the scenery. It was gorgeous, but instead of being relaxing, was a horror show as the driver, seemingly possessed by a death wish, passed cars on double yellow lines and sped around logging trucks on clifftops with no railing. I comforted myself that if we drove off the road my seatbelt noose would bisect me before we hit the ground.

The passengers sat in sullen resignation and did not speak except for the young woman in the front whose deep, husky Serbian sounded like Russian. The Serbs, Bosnians and Croats speak the same language and the only difference is that the Serbs use Cyrillic letters while the Bosnians and Croats use Latin letters. Yet, they sound completely different, at least to my Western ears.

Pedestrian street, Knez Mihalova with Austrian era architecture

We crossed the border into Serbia and instantly, the mood changed. Our driver rolled down the window, turned up the radio and began to sing. He joked around and everyone loosened up except for the crabby lady in the front seat who looked back at me as if to say 'I've got my eye on you, American.'

It turned out this trip was a lot like Belgrade itself. Stoic one minute and ready to party the next. A little gritty, but heart-pounding excitement around every corner.

When we reached the outskirts of the city, I was shocked to see miles of high rise apartment buildings that seemed to go on forever. This was Yugoslavian Belgrade, all drab and practical concrete blocks. Passing these, new Belgrade began to look like a modern Western suburb with lots of fashionable homes and shopping malls. As we neared the heart of the city, the former Yugoslavia and modern Serbia collided with elegant Austrian era architecture, imposing Yugoslav buildings and sleek skyscrapers blending together warily.

Architectural mash up:  Austrian era (left) and Yugoslavian era (right) — Architectural mash up: Austrian era (left) and Yugoslavian era (right)

Belgrade's modern history is as the current capital of Serbia and the former capital of Yugoslavia, but sits on a ancient crossroads serving as a battleground in 115 wars and subsequently controlled by a long cast of characters including the Thracians, Dacians, Celts, Romans, Byzantines, Franks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Ottomans and Austrian Habsburgs. Whew.

Ruled by Marshal Josip Broz Tito for nearly 30 years, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia began to break apart after his death in the 80's with a series of revolutions and wars in the early 90's. Serbia (along with Montenegro) tried to hang onto the FRY moniker which the other former republics (Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina) opposed. In 2006, Serbia and Montenegro finally broke up into separate states with Kosovo proclaiming independence from Serbia in 2008. This has been bitterly disputed and Serbia's strife filled history continues.

Despite a bit of lingering animosity between the former Yugoslav countries, all of the people we met gave high marks to Belgrade as a culturally exciting city. We booked an Airbnb in Skadarlija which has a Greenwich Village-type feel to it. Formerly the home to artists and writers, it is now a confluence of university students, urban hipsters and elderly people that have lived their entire lives in this neighborhood.

I found Belgrade (and Skadarlija in particular) to be surprisingly sophisticated with elegant wine bars and cafes mixing with local bakeries, cevapi shops and even a brand new upscale supermarket. The nearby famed pedestrian street Knez Mihailova throngs with tourists and locals alike. I found the people of Belgrade to be proud and dignified, yet not unfriendly. This is was what I imagined St. Petersburg to be, but it wasn't.

Our time in Belgrade was busy and exciting, full of sightseeing, great food and people watching. It was a relatively mishap free week until I suggested a shortcut.

The only remaining item on our list was a visit to the island of Ada Ciganlija. Recommended by our host, this urban leisure hub contains a popular beach, large park with walking and biking trails, and a golf course.

We walk everywhere and even though it was six miles away, we were up for it. I mapped out the route on my phone and off we went. About a mile from the island, I realized the road didn't go through because of the train tracks. It was hot and we still had the park to walk, so I suggested we cross under the freeway and cut through the neighborhood directly across from the park.

*Top Tip* Don't take short cuts unless you know where you are going.

Initially, I thought it was just fine. We saw two women cross in front of us but I lost sight of them as we got caught up in conversation. Suddenly, it was eerily quiet so we stopped talking and looked around. It was slightly dark with several highway flyovers above us and I blinked to adjust my eyes because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A three-legged horse was tied to a tree with a broken cart beside it. Behind a nearby tangle of brambles I could see what looked to be several wagons and old campers.

We were in a Roma camp. Roma, known in the UK as 'travelers' (and everywhere pejoratively as gypsies), have a reputation for being hot-tempered, free spirited and petty criminals. They have been historically persecuted since they left northern India in 500 AD and arrived in the Europe around 900 AD. I had no reason to fear them, but my gut said we should get out of there immediately as it just felt super creepy. As we speed walked up the street, the scene became even more troubling with dumped garbage and broken buildings everywhere. We spied an establishment on the side of the road that looked to be a restaurant, so we decided to stop and call for a taxi. TRIGGER WARNING There was an animal roasting on a spit which I swear looked like a greyhound although maybe it was a goat. A man popped his head out of the door and before we could speak, slammed the door shut.

Alrighty then!

My imagination was running wild now and we walked faster until we reached the top of a hill with a fork in the road. The street to the right led to the park, but appeared to be another scary street like the one we had just come from, complete with a complex of buildings that looked as though they had been bombed. At this point, I lost it. In the throes of a full-on anxiety attack, we spotted a bar on the corner with three outdoor tables, two of which were occupied by patrons. Thinking we would try again for a taxi, we sat down at the empty table. They all stopped talking and stared at us. At one table sat two toothless old men drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. At the other table was a large older woman in a housedress and sensible shoes and a young man with long greasy hair and a knife scar across his face.

No one approached us, so after a few minutes we poked our heads inside the building where four men were watching tennis on television. It was just a room with chairs and no discernible bar. They turned simultaneously to look at us, then turned back to the television silently with no further acknowledgement of our presence.

River Sava at sunset.  The boats and barges contain bars and restaurants. — River Sava at sunset. The boats and barges contain bars and restaurants.

Back outside, we sat down again, not knowing what to do. Finally, the woman spoke to us in Serbian and we smiled while apologizing for not knowing Serbian. Undeterred, she gestured to the table and then to us. I finally understood she was trying to serve us so I pointed to her beer and held up two fingers.

The beers arrived, huge 20 oz bottles of strong, dark Serbian brew. I chugged mine down and felt the alcohol begin to soothe my frayed nerves. Perry hates beer, but this was not a vodka and tonic establishment so he drank it, grimacing with every swallow. All the patrons had a permanent grimace, so he fit right in.

Government building.  Signs outside are protests of Albanian 'terrorists' — Government building. Signs outside are protests of Albanian 'terrorists'

I was on my phone hunting for a taxi service and conveyed this quietly to Perry. Scar guy suddenly spoke to us in English. "You want taxi? Where you want to go?"

Startled, I stumbled over my words explaining our quest to visit Ada Ciganlija. He appeared puzzled and stood up pointing down the sketchy street. "Taxi? No taxi. Park is there." Now, I stood up and pointed down the same street. "The park is there?" I questioned. He laughed. "At the end of this street. Three blocks."

The ice broken, we began chatting in earnest. In another installment of 'Never Judge a Book by Its Cover', he turned out to be a pretty good guy.

Sufficiently lubricated, we said our goodbyes and walked the three blocks. Sure enough, there it was. Happy beachgoers and ice cream stands amidst a lovely park setting. A sharp contrast to the scene just a few blocks away.

We walked for a long time and just when we thought the day couldn't be any stranger than it was, we came upon a baseball game between the Serbian and Hungarian national youth baseball teams. Taking a seat in the stands, we could hear the unmistakeable sound of English with a southern drawl "Wait for your pitch" and "Throw to first". The coaches were American.

Baseball is not huge in the Balkans, so as fans of the game we felt it was our duty to support Serbia even though they were crushed by the much larger (and apparently older?) Hungarians. What are they feeding those kids for breakfast? We laughed that on the other side of the world, we were partaking in the most normal American afternoon activity- baseball in the park.

After a wrong turn in the morning, everything had turned right. Sketchy people turned out to be saviors. Serbian parks turned out American sports. A strange place on the road had once again turned familiar.