7 minute read

See the world (without leaving home)

Who else was going to write that great novel during lockdown? Or reorganise the entire house? Perhaps you were going to make the most of the time at home to finally learn a new language? If you’re like me, you started the recent period of forced isolation full of good intentions, but the only thing you actually got accomplished was keeping the kids fed, washed and relatively up-to-date on their multiplication tables.

Every day started with a “flight” complete with baggage checks and passport control

Learning Arabic calligraphy in the markets of Marrakech

But aside from those thwarted ideas of self-improvement (as I discovered, when I said “if only I had the time to tidy everything thoroughly”, it wasn’t actually time that I was lacking…), the one major thing that we have all had to give up is any dream we had for a long, culturally-exotic holiday in a country far away. If the COVID-19 crisis has taught us anything, it’s that as well as those eye-opening, soul-boosting experiences, far-flung international trips also bring with them a fair number of problems. And anyway, even if I didn’t care about their impact on the planet, the borders are closed now, for who knows how long.

In Seville the kids made their own fans out of paper plates

As it turns out, though, the virus has also taught us to be resourceful, to make do with what we have lying around the house, and to see the positives in every situation. Let’s not forget that in the age of the internet we don’t actually need to go anywhere to get our culture fix, and thanks to a relatively large choice o f ingredients available, we can even sample most foods from the comfort of our own ho me. That’s why, frustrated that I wouldn’t be able to take the “trip of a lifetime” that I had been promised for a significant birthday this year, I decided to make the most of the absolute explosion of creative outlets online to take the kids on a round-the-world holiday, from within the safety of our home.

Making a ‘Statue of Liberty’ crown

The premise was easy enough: each day, we would visit a city on the map, anywhere at all, with no consideration for jet-lag or the hours needed to travel there. YouTube has a surprisingly large selection of videos of flights taking off and landing, seen from the cockpit or from a passenger seat, so we even had an accurate experience of what it would actually be like to land there.

“Each day, we would visit a city on the map, anywhere at all, with no consideration for jet-lag”

We “flew” all over the place, and I sometimes thought the kids enjoyed making their own passports, packing their suitcases and climbing aboard Corona Airways (our two sofas reshuffled to sit one behind the other) more than the destinations themselves. The in-flight meals on tiny trays might have helped, of course.

Upon arrival we made the most of the huge amount of virtual content available to visit museums and monuments, used music streaming services to hear playlists of local sounds, and cooked typical local meals with whatever ingredients we had available to us. We explored the fantastic virtual collections of London’s British Museum and New York’s MOMA, took a rickshaw ride through the streets of Tokyo and watched a flamenco performance by Sara Baras. We saw a performance of Treasure Island at the National Theatre, an improv show at Second City and had a Studio Ghibli marathon in Tokyo.

Oscar learns to write his name in arabic

It wasn’t all virtual though – as much as possible, we scavenged the house for items that would make us feel like we were there. For our trip to Marrakech, two runs on the sewing machines soon converted old bed sheets into kaftans, and an old clothes rack hung with tablecloths turned the living room into the souk on Jemaa el-Fna. A race with the kids to find anything with a cactus or coloured blue transformed the garden into the Jardin de Majorelle, where we sat drinking green mint tea, listening to the sounds of the oud while we painted our names, which we had translated online into Arabic… if it wasn’t as good as being there in person, it wasn’t far off!

A trip to Morocco wouldn’t be complete without some time at the hammam

Mini Lady Liberty in New York

“We travelled from France to London, Morocco and Seville, before heading transatlantic to Chicago and New York”

Within the space of a week we travelled from France to London, Morocco and Seville, before heading transatlantic to Chicago and New York. Our trip ended in Tokyo, and we came back as fresh and rested as the day we’d left. We ate tagines to the sound of the muezzin one day, tapas with a show of freshly-mastered flamenco the next, and then enjoyed hot dogs and a Budweiser with a game of baseball at Wrigley Field before a feast of homemade sushi (turns out, it’s totally achievable at home).

The kids got a real education and I got a well-deserved bubble of escapism, with none of the fatigue of jet-lag, none of the expense of flights and restaurants and none of the stress of avoiding the germs of a worldwide pandemic.

We are living through a very odd time right now, but with a little creativity and a good internet connection, the world really can still be your oyster.

Salmorejo, tortilla and croquettes for a tapas dinner in Spain

It’s always more fun to wear a yukata to visit Japan

Where are we going to next?

Close to home

You don’t need to choose far away locations to get your fill of fascinating and exciting experiences at home. Here are our favourite virtual activities to make the most of in the region…

Visit a museum

There’s nothing like seeing a work of art up close, but swanning through a museum’s collection without the foot ache has its upsides too. The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau has digitised its collection for all to enjoy online (bit.ly/ lmmbapau), and in Gironde, there are over 8,000 works to discover thanks to the online collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux (bit.ly/ lmmbaba).

Learn about local history

The best way to learn is through play, and there are tons of great games to help you navigate the region’s treasures, such as the online board game created by the Refuge de Grasla, the historical reconstruction of a village in 1794 (bit.ly/lmgresla).

You could also see what’s like to become Athanas Carteau, a “poilu” in the first world war, thanks to the “Serious Game” written by the EDAP in Vendée (bit.ly/lmedap).

Or if you fancy something lighter, the Puy du Fou will teach you one of the choreographies from its shows, available via its Facebook page. Braver lockdown travellers could even learn how to fight like a gladiator!

The Centre de Minier de Faymoreau (bit.ly/lmcmven) will give you the tools to recreate the conditions of a mine in your own home (minus the mess!) and for a complete, in-depth discovery of the Nouvelle Aquitaine from the peanuts of Souston to the beaches of Bayonne, the minds behind the always entertaining Terra Aventura have created an online Escape game for explorers who were frustrated by their physical geocache sites being down (bit.ly/lmteav).

Catch a show

Just because you aren’t leaving the house, doesn’t mean you can’t get your glad rags on and catch yourself some culture.

The Opéra de Bordeaux has been streaming its performances for those stuck at home on their Facebook page, as has the Opéra de Limoges via YouTube. The Cité du Vin is also streaming the diverse list of its cultural calendar. Try their sound naps, a 15-minute relaxing soundtrack created to help you take a quiet break.

While it prepares for its pared back, reduced audience concerts in August, the 1001 Notes Festival has been streaming its concerts on YouTube for all to enjoy, and film lovers will be able to attend the Festival du Film de Contis in their pyjamas, as it will be streamed online this year (bit.ly/lmcinc).

Who says you need to go out to get the good stuff?

A sushi feast in Japan is easier to prepare than you’d think!

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