"Daily dose of travel dreaming" what are you doing to get your fix?

As a result of very good fortune, I have continued to enjoy friendships with tour guides in Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. We correspond, regularly via phone, email and snail mail. These are very special people and I greatly honor their kindnesses. My debt to them cannot be measured as all of them have enriched my life - did I mention a certain Flamenco Dancer in Sevilla? Hola, Esperanza!

As a result of the $5 sale I've consolidated all of my RS guidebooks, too, and given them a shelf of honor high over the piano. They're in the spot where I used to keep an art history encyclopedia set.

I'm doing something similar to keep the memories alive. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Europe, especially at this time of year as I usually travel in September. A few of the things I've done.....

• when I renovated my bathroom last year, I placed several pictures and a print of my travels, and they really brighten the room up.
• I have a digital photo frame in my living room, and I have it loaded with a hundred or more of my favourite photos, and it brings back wonderful memories every day.
• I've been using large prints of some of my best photos to decorate parts of my house.
• I also renewed some of the RS guidebooks in my library during the recent sale, and they're all prominently displayed in my "library" (which is also my music room).

Zoom activities have really been essential over the past few months. Cooking classes broadcast from Nice and Tuscany this summer have enabled seeing some of the locations, the chance to see and talk with wonderful people there, and sights, aromas, and tastes that bring back the sense of being there, even while still at home. I’m still working on getting potato gnocchi right - dough not too wet and sticky yet without too much flour. We’ve grown abundant basil this year, so that’s been rewarding!

And the National Gallery in London has presented a lot of talks on art, and interactive sessions that have been fun and educational. It’s as close to being there as we can get right now.

Regarding Rick Steves guidebooks, this at-home time has given the opportunity to clear bookshelves and a lot of other things that have accumulated over the years. What can’t be donated has been put in recycling. Going through the collection of Rick Steves guidebooks from as far back as 1998 was sentimental and nostalgic, which still had receipts, museum stubs, hotel cards, coasters, and other printed memorabilia tucked into the pages - a real time capsule of travel to wonderful places. And we hope to return, but the old books weren’t going to help enough to keep them, and a lot of stuff is now being ruthlessly eliminated, so the books are now gone. Farewell to those old guidebooks, hello to more travel opportunities to come - whenever that’s feasible.

I’ve been displaying my photos and postcards in my home office to have close by so I can relive some of the beautiful places and experiences I’ve had traveling. Every couple days I change them around. Also, I made a display of my RS tour patches, 8 of them. I’ve taken 7 tours, the 8th patch is for the Best of Poland tour I would have taken in a few weeks, Sept. 8-17.

Then I look through the 2021 Tours to daydream.

Even though I have Rick’s latest book when I have a few minutes to read, I bought his e-book and downloaded it to my iPhone to listen to on my daily walks.
Ken, great idea of a digital photo frame. Did you buy it on Amazon? I want to have one.

I’ve joined several Facebook Groups that post wonderful photos of their home gardens, views from their car windows, and groups from areas of the world I’ve visited and of areas I want to visit. It’s been fun.

I've been getting tour company brochures and catalogs again! It gives me hope to look at them before they get recycled.

Margaret, sounds like a wonderful office set up. I worked in a small grey cubicle for some years with little to no natural light...and a godawful darker grey. I found a small poster from the local art gallery - Rome circa 1600s. It helped.
As an essential hospital worker, my energy after work is limited. I enjoy a few travel FB pages, and thankfully had a wide variety of travel guides from the library before it all was shut down. I hope to do a 3 month trip to southeast Asia when I retire Nov 2021, so that gave me some things to do. I also admit I didn't expect this to last as long or as restrictively as it has, so created some mental travel plans if things opened up in June, September, November, February. Of course, those are being mentally tossed every month. I did rebook a cruise for April, but I have little hope that is going to happen either.

In other years, when I couldn't stand Ottawa winters any more, and I didn't have travel plans, I would grab a book about Italy, and head out to a particular restaurant on our Little Italy neighbourhood. Sitting by the fireplace, I would have a nice glass of wine, veal (as I need gluten free), and listen to their Italian music. I made sure to keep my back to the window to avoid looking at snow. Even though I rarely cook for pleasure, I suspect with more time, I would start cooking food from countries I miss.
Thankfully, I have some more time and energy to return to this forum as I was AWOL a number of months. Members here are kinder, more imaginative, and more positive that other sites I visit. Thank you all for that.

I'm reading all the RS guidebooks I bought during the sale.

I'm also taking virtual tours with London Walks' top-notch guides: https://www.walks.com/london-virtual-tours/

So far, I've done:

• Inside Covent Garden
• The Magic of London
• Sick London
• Dickens' London
• Along the Thames
• Spies and Spymasters of London
• Old Westminster
• Old London
• National Portrait Gallery
• London at War
• A Village in Piccadilly
• Bath: From Roman to Georgian

Next up is a virtual tour of Greenwich this Sunday Aug 23 at 2p Eastern https://www.walks.com/our-walks/glorious-greenwich-virtual-tour/

Margaret, your office sounds like a traveler's dream! It would be so fun to come to your office for afternoon tea!

I would have been traveling to Poland in 2 weeks. I'm reading two books, both historical and one set in Warsaw, to increase my knowledge about my destination.

Like others, I've given my travel books (some newly acquired in the $5 sale) a more prominent, more decorative place. And I've started reading the RS Istanbul guide to begin imagining a new trip.

Margaret, I love the sound of the new office setup!
You will have people clamouring to be invited in to your sidewalk café!
We renovated a bathroom last fall, and have since put up enlarged and framed black and white photos of Naples and Amsterdam that I took, in there.
Yesterday I ordered a really nice carryon/tote bag through my Air Miles miles program....may as well use them up.
Also bought a great pair of Clark's walking sandals in a good sale for my next trip.
Always bookmarking rental apartments for future trips to Europe.

Public library let me know that my hold on Rick Steves' new book "Europe's Top 100 Masterpieces" was ready for curbside pickup today -- so we will be doing some reminiscing about museums we have visited / dreaming about ones still in our future.

I applaud and greatly appreciate everyone who posts and shares here at the RS Travel Forum and I thank you, Margaret, for this inspiring question. It does my psyche so much good, as I slog through this pandemic alongside my fellow earth citizens, to take time to dream, to escape, to experience joy by the digital connections I can have with those in locations far removed from my own home. It's been a real life saver and sanity inducer to get my Italia-fix via the fascinating and entertaining FB posts/videos from some intrepid and pretty wonderful women including Sarah Murdoch, Anna Piperato and Lisa Anderson. I whole heartedly agree "Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer" and I look forward to (and am hopeful for) when I may next have the privilege to do so again.

Judy B,

Actually I'm not sure where the digital photo frame came from? My sons bought if for me for a Christmas gift.

You should be able to buy them at just about any consumer electronics store, such as Best Buy, Staples or online at Amazon. The model I have is made by HP but there are lots of different models available.

When Rick's new art book came out this spring I ordered it, figuring it was the same price as a ticket to a major art museum, which of course I can't visit right now. Reading it I realized I'd actually seen many (most) of the entries, during my various European trips. This led to my looking through my photos to find my photos of those art works. This led to more works of art - and lots of architecture - that's I've photographed. When I'm traveling I have a limited amount of time I'm willing to spend inside a museum - there's so much else "out there" I am anxious to get to. So I often photograph things, including the little descriptive plaques next to them, telling myself some day I'll have time to really look at this stuff and learn more about it. Well, now I am. This led to wanting to learn more about art and architecture history and the abundance of information and even entire art history courses available for free on line.

So my daily dose of travel dreaming is studying art (and architecture) history. And putting together the information I'm learning with the photos I've been taking on my trips. It's not quite as satisfying as the research I do when planning trips, but almost.

Today would be my second day of the five week trip I'm not on. I should be in Paris right now. Soooooo sad. Last evening I told my husband I was going to sleep sitting up in a chair because I should be on a plane. (I didn't)

For those people who are talking about getting a digital picture frame so they have have a loop playing of their photos. You can do something similar on your computer. You can make your screen saver a file of photos and put the photos you want into that file, then whenever your computer goes to sleep/screen saver mode you have a loop. I've spent hours just staring at my computer. The fact that there's no caption so I have to 'remember' what each photo is of turns into a game (I have about 2000 photos in my loop). Whenever anyone else comes into the room with it they get caught up in it too. Highly recommend.

Isabel, I did not know about Rick's art book. How did I miss this? I love architecture. I had to laugh about your sleeping sitting up in the chair. Did you also get flight reminders that evening? My phone was sure I need to get on a flight last week!

I have had lots of compliments on the office decor and some promise to stop by for tea when the craziness of the first few weeks of school are over. My other co-worker said I looked more like a travel agent than a school psychologist. Some have just been amazed that I actually took some of the photos, (I have a great camera sony a6000). I even have the Spanish teacher wanting a poster of the Alahambra. It is making me feel extra positive for a great school year and I think I will get a digit photo frame. (Can't do my own photos on the work computer).

Thanks for all the great ideas and stay positive! we will travel again someday.

I’m actually reading my $5 RS guidebooks like books. I also found a guide, Vero, in the RS marketplace who does walking of Paris and other travels in France. She is prolific blogger, so there has been something to see nearly every day. Not only am I stunned by the street views of an empty Paris, but she is exploring places I will probably consider for future travel. There was a debate here awhile back about the city of Bordeaux and after seeing her walk of the city, I’m more encouraged about going.

Patty, can you provide a link. France is my next destination. I have been before but many years ago.

We have a digital PHOTO Frame. Ours is a Skylight. We turn it in each morning and i sometimes get caught up in watching.

I'm spending much more time on this forum than I probably should, posting topics and replying to others. It has kept my highly entertained and less frustrated that all my travel plans were interrupted. I'm enjoying questions like these.

Here's the link to the website of Vero that Patty was talking about (at least I think its the same place) http://frenchgirlinseattle.com/

Recently I binge watched some of The Amazing Race and Allt för Sverige for a taste of travel again. Now I'm time traveling via Pioneer Quest, 1940's House, etc. Sadly, I think it will be more like years (hopefully just 2 more) before I travel across the pond again. At least I feel I was prepared for this delay, by not waiting to travel.

Fortunately, every week I get to pack my bag for an overnight or 2 babysit for my grandson...so I at least retain my packing pleasure! That being said, while I love my new ebags weekender for this travel, which is car to house, I still don't see any benefit to a backpack for anything but the shortest carry unless it is attached to the top of a wheeled bag. ;)

I’m going back on old threads here and on Trip advisor and just getting ideas. While, sure, hotels may likely look very different when travel returns it’s likely neighborhoods will stay the same. And, of course, attractions will mostly be the same. In fact, places that I may have given a pass to before Covid might get put on the agenda if post-Covid travel is down.

I’ve done tons of photo clean up. It’s been hard to purge tip pics but I want a nice overview to remind me of the trip, not so many pics like I’m writing a dissertation on it. Photos can capture some of a trip, but much of it is stored in my mental memory.

I’ve had to do the same with non travel photos, I just don’t ever see a time when I’ll go through 100 photos of a blues festival from 2013. I can remember the memories just as well with 5-10.