Fun ways to keep the travel spirit alive

Food and travel have always been an inseparable combination. Now, Online cooking classes from Rosa Jackson, from Chicca Maione, and from Mawa McQueen, via Zoom, have provided literal tastes of France and Italy. Sometimes we’ve had to substitute or compromise on ingredients, but it’s been fun, and delicious!

Haha, DJ. I thought my H and I were the only ones who watched those shows. We've done those 'Slow Travel' shows. And we are almost thru any train trip show we can find. For the last few days I've been watching new and old "The Amazing Race" shows...boy, do they not know how to pack! My recent sleep routine is pondering what I would pack in my TAR backpack so it would be at least 1/2 of everyone else's (and studying the different backpacks used)...but I'll admit I'm feeling a bit old for appearing on that show now. ;)

@Cyn, great idea! You inspired me to break out my copies of "Dr. Oetker, German Cooking Today" and "German Baking Today" (for those curious, Dr. Oetker is like the German Betty Crocker).

@Wray, I know what you mean about the way some contestants pack on TAR. My wife won't watch anymore as it makes her too anxious to see a lot of them make simple travel mistakes. But I guess that is what makes good TV!

I found a series in a similar vein on YouTube. It is a person driving round Oahu filming his drives with a dash cam. He is Hawaii John. There is no commentary, no music, just the ambient sounds of the traffic and wind. He has driven to many places around the island. It was interesting to see how the amount of traffic has changed from before the lockdown to during and now after. The beginning of each video shows a Google Earth view of the route to be taken. I find it very enjoyable and can loose myself in the videos almost feeling like I am there in the vehicle. There are other similar videos from other posters, but I find his the most enjoyable.

Absolutely this is a VERY deep rabbit hole ! Here are two of my favorites - Vienna tram # 38 from Schottentor to Grinzing - https://youtu.be/ukvH5L8ydOg This next one is a travelogue from 1978 , part of a series " Great Railway Journeys of the World " . This episode " Changing Trains " , takes you on the old night ferry from England to Paris and east to Budapest . A world of rail travel that recalls times gone by . https://youtu.be/hlZaicAXnFA This is in four fifteen minute segments . I also regularly indulge in my massive collection of photos . As they are all in digital format on my computer , which is connected to a 50 inch HD flat screen TV , I can relive my trips regularly , next best thing to being there !

There are so many! I am fascinated by the live tram through Prague. It just goes wherever the tracks need cleaning but I love the views and can lose lots of time here!
And I like ProWalks Tours for walking views in different places - it encourages me to actually get on the treadmill, while seeing Paris, various cities in Italy, and more. Just ambient sound but some have captions to tell you a few well-known places you are passing.
After Pamela mentioned it, I am now a fan of the livestream concerts on Thursday and Saturday (1:00pm Central time) of Elsa Jean McTaggert from Harris & Lewis.

For art, I've been watching YouTube videos from the Frick Museum in NYC:

Travels with a Curator

and

Cocktails with a Curator

Also, I'm reading Sicilian Carousel by Lawrence Durrell (1977). It's about a bus tour that he took in Sicily - parts of the book are a bit tedious but I enjoy descriptions of tour stops (Siracusa, Agrigento, Erice, Segesta and more) plus details about his quirky travel companions. This was written in his later life. A fun depiction of his early life is shown in a TV show - The Durrells of Corfu.

Not the same as traveling but it helps!

There is another vein of youtube videos you might consider -- motorcycle reviews and skills videos from riders all over Europe, but especially in Italy and Portugal and France -- you can see the view from their go-pro or other cleverly mounted cameras as they zip along the corniches of the Riviera and other coast resorts, and do the twisties in the mountains of your European travel dreams. Many of the sites get followers in the five figures who enjoy not just riding on two wheels but doing so in enviable locales.
Lots of this in Pacific Rim and east Asian places, too.
Not to be outdone, a handful of Brits post similar videos of zipping through the hedgerows in the countryside.

I am reading “Four Seasons in Rome” Anthony Doerr, a memoir/ travel book about his sabbatical year in Rome with his wife and newborn twin sons.
It puts you there, totally immersed in Rome, beautifully written as are all his books.

Here is my favorite tram ride in Budapest.... look fast and you can see me .... https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ai7Zk-szxfTJhs87dBhauHslbFDr9Q?e=4deHzj

I've enjoyed vicarious trips with Steve Coogan and Rye Brydon in their movies on Netflix: The Trip 2011 (Haute Cuisine in the British Countryside), The Trip to Italy 2014 (Four Star locations including a Palace), The Trip to Spain 2017 (Including a side trip to Morocco), and The Trip to Greece to issue 2020. There are a lot of scenic road trips involved so that you feel that you are on an actual journey. The two actors discuss life full of semi-comic angst while dining superbly with incredible views. I received some education about male attitudes and opinions. I enjoyed their company, but I don't think I'd marry one of them.

Kathleen, they also did a Trip to Italy, and in the brief bit in Rome, they are staying in my favorite hotel off the Piazza del Popolo, and the snooty front desk woman has a cameo appearance - I've had a couple of trying interactions with her over the years.

Kaeleku, thanks for the reminder, good to see izoizolyatsiya is still going strong. Some of the early works were unbelievable!

In the meantime, I keep watching and rewatching bald&bankrupt videos, especially the ones from India and Belarus. Now, THAT's some rabbit hole :-)

I've heard the BBC are planning to launch a 3-part series revisiting Michael Palin's original travel series from the late eighties and mid nineties. Can't wait!

When I can find them I watch "Great Continental Railway Journeys", presented by Michael Portillo as he makes is way around using a Bradshaw's 1913 train timetable.

Here is one.

Jim , Are you familiar with Portillo's other series , " Great British Railway Journeys " ? If not , these started in 2010 and are now into series 10 . They are great , and available on DVD from Amazon UK . I am hooked on these and bought them all !

James , Watch the " Changing Trains " travelogue I posted above . The trip ends in Budapest and includes a visit to the Children's Railway .

Jeremy Minsberg (https://www.theberlinexpert.com/) is giving virtual tours of Berlin using Zoom/FaceTime. Some friends of mine from Seattle and I (in Zurich) did a two-hour tour with him through Prenzlauer Berg yesterday. It was fun, educational, and a reminder of what makes travel so exciting. Jeremy is an excellent guide - incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. I've done his in-person tours and now this virtual one, and I highly recommend both!

I’ve been watching JoolzGuides.com. He has many London Walks on his website and YouTube. He has a nice way about him, easy to understand, and gives you interesting facts about the city. I especially like when he tells you about the things on the street you pass by and don’t notice, like an 19th Century water fountain, or the inscriptions on mailboxes/call boxes, plaques or strange appendixes on buildings.

Joolz Guides is quite good, thanks for mentioning it! I like how he covers the small, but interesting, details around London. Some of my other favorite London/UK YouTubers:

• Geoff Marshall's London and UK transport channel (He also has contributed to Londonist and has a separate All the Stations channel documenting a train adventure visiting every station in the UK)
• The Whitewicks, a channel covering disused and abandoned UK transportation infrastructure
• Jay Foreman and his excellently entertaining Unfinished London Series
• Mudlarking with Nicola White and Si-finds Thames Mudlark

DJ

We have been watching Travel Man, Mighty Trains, Taste the Nation and An American Aristocrat’s Guide to the Great Estates of Britain. All of these shows are on Hulu.

You can find old "Unpacked" programs on YouTube.
Loved that series and their enthusiasm and minor disagreements!