Winter Wanderlust [Satisfying Your Travel Itch In Quarantine]

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It’s inevitable.  The days get shorter.  The temperature gets colder.  And suddenly your huddled in a mountain of blankets, snuggling your dog while scrolling through endless Instagram pics of exotic tree swings in Bali and oceanic house slides in the Maldives.

Yup, you’ve got it bad.  The Winter Wanderlusts.  And of course this year the travel bug is especially strong since most of us have been cooped up in self isolation for the greater part of ten months now.

So what’s a dog mom to do?  Check out these ways of keeping the Winter Wanderlust fever at bay.

Learn A New Language

Sooner or later borders will open again and we will all be back to flying the friendly skies.  I don’t know about you but I often dream about walking Parisian streets or Italian vineyards and wowing the locals with my intermediate language skills.  While how’s our chance, babe!

Learning a language has never been easier with so many different online courses and apps.  Why not start preparing for that next adventure by adding a new language to your repertoire?  Break out that map, pick your next destination and give Babel, Rosetta Stone or even Language Learning with Netflix.  Yes that’s right THE Netflix.

Language Learning with Netflix allows you to enjoy your favorite foreign films and series in the language you are studying.  Any one else up for The Bridgestone in French?

Cinematic Travel

Another great way to cope with travel bug, especially while in isolation, is to check out a good travel movie.  After all, the next best thing to visiting far off places is observing them in a great movie.  So here is a list of some of my favorite films set in foreign places.

Far And Away (1992)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Under The Tuscan Sun (2003)

Eat Pray Love (2010)

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Up (2009)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Milan (2020)

Hamilton The Movie (2020)

LaLa Land (2016)

Novel Places

Last but not least, try curling up with a good book set in a different place or time.  There are very few things that can compare with the bliss of getting lost in a good novel.  Falling in love with a character, a time or place will transport you to another world.  Here are some of my absolute favorite novels.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

The Last Girl by Joe Hart

The Last Summer By Judith

White Girl Problems by Babe Walker

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Pride and Prejudice by Jane

The Bridgestons Series by Julia Quinn

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Feel free to add a glass of wine, a cocktail or even a hot chocolate to any of these suggestions above and you are guaranteed to satisfy your Winter Wanderlust — even when you can’t travel.