The Fishers house in Irvine was a perfect base for enjoying all that Orange County and Los Angeles had on offer. On arrival Gerald and Ellie left us a concise set of notes that we used almost daily. Loads of “locals tips” to ensure local trips were hassle free. The house is very spacious, spotlessly clean, tastefully furnished and perfectly located on a quiet cut-de-sac in an upscale neighbourhood. With numerous beach communities, MLB baseball, shopping malls, parks, cinemas and Disneyland nearby we were spoilt for things to do. We could have stayed much longer, very easily. Having only visited France/Belgium/Spain/Italy before our children, with no hesitation, said this was their favourite holiday. As far as they’re concerned the bar has been raised somewhat. We are a family of four with a 9 year old boy and a 13 year old daughter. A big thanks again to Gerald, Ellie and John for sharing their amazing home with us.

We could not fault any aspect of this exchange experience. Gerry and Ellie had everything organised to a level of detail which was amazing and really made our trip all the more enjoyable. I am now a big grenola and natural yoghurt with fresh fruit breakfast fan after experiencing Ellie's beautiful home made cooking. I cannot say enough about this exchange experience as it was so much better than expected and this really was down to Gerry and Ellie ensuring that nothing was left to chance. A big thank you from us and hope to meet you again some day. Barry, Marian and Sarah.

Dear Gerry and Elly your house is beautifull, silent, clean, confortable; nothing else than a fantastic stay in Irvine! It was a great pleasure for us to know and meet you. At any time of your life you, and anyone of your family, will be welcome in our home in Florence. Americo, Antonella, Eleonora, Fabrizio

Irvine is a safe and friendly city close to everything you need and all that LA has to offer within an hour drive. We enjoyed different beaches close by. The Fishers were very easy and friendly to work with. It seems they thought of every little detail we needed to know and made great efforts to make us feel welcome. They even wrote the welcome dinner menu in Swedish! Since they are used to children, they also made our children feel very much welcome and everything our kids needed to amuse themselves with were accessible in their well-equipped home. Communication with them were easy and it was easy to negotiate all the details that needed to be cleared out. Their house is spacious and they prepared space for us to feel comfortable. Our house was immaculate on our return. Because we stayed in California for a longer time, we even had the great pleasure to meet with them as they invited us to their home for a wonderful lunch. We can truely recommend a stay in Irvine at the Fishers!

A big thank you to the Fisher family for a very successful stay in their lovely home. They hosted us for a couple of days before they set off for the UK and were very friendly and welcoming,and eager to share their home with us. Gerry liked to get arrangements in place in good time, which is always important to us when organising an exchange. I have no hesitation in recommending them to any future exchange partner.

We all had a wonderful time at the Fishers with something for everyone. Really close to Anaheim for Disneyland, 20 minutes to beautiful beaches and approximately 1.5 hours to legoland, LA, Universal! Irvine is lovely as is the Fishers home so a big thank you for a memorable vacation for us and our 6 year old!