How to Travel the World Without Leaving Your Home
We here at Just the Travel miss travel a
lot. Bound to our homes as we are during this pandemic, though, we’re
determined not to let restrictions dampen our spirit of exploration.
When travel restrictions are lifted in the
coming months, we’ll give you some travel ideas for places that might be a
little closer to home. Hopefully they’ll let you get out, support local
economies that need it and keep a little more cash in your wallets. If you’re
anything like us, we’re guessing you’ll need that, too.
In the meantime, let’s focus on travel
ideas for the one place we should all definitely be spending time: the home.
Culture
Lots of museums have virtual tours that you
can take without leaving your computer. Google Arts &
Culture has collected virtual tours from museums around the world. Take a
trip through the British Museum, the Met, the Van Gogh Museum, the Uffizi Gallery,
the Acropolis Museum, even the Palace of Versailles. Check it out - their list
is extensive.
More of a theatre goer? Britain’s National Theatre is streaming
some of their previous productions on YouTube. Head to their website to see
what’s playing. The Metropolitan Opera
is also offering free streaming, if opera is more your jam. Both institutions
are asking for donations, which you should consider. The arts have been hard
hit by this pandemic.
International Flavour
Is there somewhere you’ve always wanted to
go? Bring that place home to you. Order take-out from a restaurant that serves
that country’s cuisine. If there’s a grocery store that specializes in that
cuisine, place an order there and then make a few of that country’s signature
dishes. Put on a playlist of that country’s music, either traditional or
contemporary. Watch a film that’s big in that country.
Find virtual tours, documentaries or video
footage of the tourist attractions you would most like to see. You can even take
the weekend and do some online language classes so you can learn a few phrases
and speak the language with family or roommates.
Retreat to the Country
Clear your furniture to the sides of a room
and have a picnic on the floor. Screen video footage of a mountain or forest
setting in the background for some authentic nature sounds. If you have lots of
house plants, bring them all into one room to surround yourself with greenery.
If you have kids, set up a tent in the
living room and let them sleep in there. Let them use the stairs, the couches
or the counters as mountains to climb. Climb them yourself. You’re at home. No
one is judging you. Just please be safe.
If you have a yard, you can do all these
things outside and actually, actually be surrounded by nature. There’s lots to
explore in a yard. Hike the perimeter. Learn the names of the trees and plants in and around you. Take up bug and bird watching with the same enthusiasm you would have if
you were on safari. These creatures might not be huge or spectacular, but they’re
still really cool. This is your chance to get reacquainted with just how cool
they are.
Romantic Getaway
Turn your home (or part of it) into a
high-end hotel. Think chocolates on the pillow, flowers, crisp towels, all the
details you love about staying in a hotel.
Now take the morning and clean your bedroom
and bathroom really well. This part sucks, but stay with me. Put personal
mementos away so everything looks guest-ready. Change the art in your room,
even. Watch a tutorial on turning towels into swans. Whatever. Just make your
space a little less familiar.
For dinner, make the kind of meal you’d
only find at a high-end restaurant. You can find inspiration by looking up the
menus of famous restaurants and recreating at least 2 courses of dishes. After
dinner, the night is your oyster. Yes, you can set up a martini bar and make
your living room a lounge. Or go clubbing in your kitchen with the music turned
loud. Or take a romantic bath with rose petals and candles. Or a moonlit stroll
through your neighbourhood, staying 2 metres away from everyone else. It’s all
up to you.
The more fun and imagination you put into
this, the more you’ll get out of it. We can’t really recreate the wide, wide world, but we can recreate the feeling we get exploring it.
Feature image: Kelly Lacy; image 1: Mabel Amber
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