With quarantines, borders closing, public gathering cancellations, and many businesses temporarily shutting their doors, to say the travel industry isn’t really booming would be an understatement.
So many people have had to cancel or put off vacations, and so many of us could use a little escapism so I have put together a list of how you can experience a little bit of travel without even leaving your house.
1. Make a travel diary of places you have gone, or for places, you wish to go. It’s okay to plan ahead and do some dreaming. Now if I could only journal like this guy.
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2. Travel through history with Ancestry.com by building and researching your family tree. With Ancestry I discovered that I am 65% from the British Isles and 20% Eastern European. We think it is Ukrainian based on research since my dad was adopted. It’s quite a time consuming hobby, but also really interesting to try to puzzle things out.
3. Do a beautiful puzzle of a country, city or site that you want to visit. This Cinque Terre puzzle is lovely. I would be tempted to Mod Podge it after and then frame it because I hate destroying puzzles after I finish them.
4. DIY Houses by Night, Luminaries. I’d switch out the house images to historical sites from around the world. The original site where it is from seems to be down at the moment but the instructions are easy.
Find an image of a house/building, use the sharp knife to cut out the shape and some of the windows, doors, etc. Curve it into a circle and tape it. Light it up with a battery-operated tea light. Easy Peasy.
5. Learn a new language. There are so many ways to do this now without leaving your home. A million apps, books, and programs. I have been trying to learn French for the last 10 years. I have fallen both on and off the wagon several times but I am officially back on.
I have also added both Dutch, German, and Irish to the mix although very minimally. I have a decent collection of french resources from over the years, with my favourites being Assimil, and Duolingo.
I also have Rosetta Stone which is similar to Duolingo but with a heftier price tag, although they have lowered the costs over the years and now offer payment plans.
A few years ago my New Years resolution was to do Duolingo every single day for the year. It (both online and the app) keeps track of your daily streak and I managed 365 days. Shortly after I finished it. Since then they have revamped the course and added a lot so I have started again.
Both girls have Duolingo accounts too with French and a language of their choice. Roo’s choices are Korean, and Japanese, while Merle added Latin and Irish. I really enjoy it and it is free.
6. Take a virtual museum tour. There are so many that give you the virtual experience now, and while it is not the same as actually going to the museum it does give you the opportunity to see places that you might never see which is so amazing. The link I provided contains 12 museums.
7. Get a subscription to Universal Yums. Every month you receive a box filled with snacks from a different country. It comes with an information booklet, activities, and facts about the city.
You also get a clue as to where the next destination will be which is fun trying to puzzle out. My girls really love this box and it gives us the opportunity to learn and study the country after. This month was Brazil (which we just received on Friday).
8. Watch Venice Live with Classical Music in the background. Beautiful. I’d also suggest while drinking a glass of wine and the lights turned down.
9. Play GeoGuessr. I’m not overly impressed that they started charging to play it, but you can play one game free per day on a regular account. It’s a fun way to explore the world through Google Street Maps.
One time when we playing we were dropped somewhere in Greece and tried to translate signs on various historical ruin sites to see if we could figure out where we were which isn’t easy with the Greek alphabet 😉
10. Watch travel documentaries or series on Netflix, or Prime. I love Rick Steves Europe. I got the whole series as a gift many years ago on DVD and have watched it many, many times since. It is also available on Prime.
Or you can just start actually planning a trip. Pinterest is full of travel guides, start your research, do some reading, watch some videos and get inspired. Make a travel board or add to your travel journal, or check out one of my packing lists for some vacation outfit inspiration. Escapism at it’s best.
You may also like:
20 Things to do When You are Stuck Inside.
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