Travel Around the World like a Foodie
Your Daily Iso-Inspo! If you're feeling a little overwhelmed, that's ok – you're not alone! Take a look at the list below for a distraction, something to calm the mind, or just something outright not Covid-19 related!
Travel from your living room. It downright sucks not being able to travel right now, but the good news is you can keep inspired with tv shows and documentaries! Here are a few to keep you occupied (for a while anyway):
Street Food (Netflix) – All about the food! This show takes you to the streets of places around the world, introducing you to some of the most flavourful dishes available.
The Wine Show (iTunes, Amazon) – What better time to top up on your wine knowledge? Across two series, actors Matthew Goode and Matthew Rhys team up to explore the world of wine. Maybe a tasting is in order?
Dark Tourist (Netflix) – Get ready to be taken across the globe and see the dark side of tourism. From haunted forests, to a nuclear lake and even real-life vampires – this enjoyable and sometimes comical series hosted by Kiwi filmmaker and journalist David Farrier is one to watch.
Pedal the World (Netflix) – Over the course of one memorable and adventure-filled year, German Felix Starck records his 18,000km bicycle journey across 22 countries.
Free Solo (Disney+) – Explore Yosemite National Park with rock climber Alex Honnold as he attempts to solo climb the El Capitan peak – no assistance, and no equipment, harnesses or other protective equipment. An amazing test of endurance in one of the most beautiful natural areas on the planet – this documentary won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Travel Man (SBS On Demand) – The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade teams up with a different celebrity each episode to explore destinations such as Iceland, Marrakech and Istanbul with the likes of Paul Rudd, Adam Hills, Jon Hamm and Rebel Wilson.
Go to the zoo. If you haven't heard already, zoo's from around the world have started live streaming their animals. There's a penguin party happening at Edinburgh Zoo; baby snow leopards at Melbourne Zoo; Pandas at Washington's National Zoo; elephants at Tembe Elephant Park (keep your eyes out for impala, leopards and warthogs too); Koala cuddle trains at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary; and Beluga whales at Georgia Aquarium – we're sure there's probably more if you look.
A botanical garden in Seattle, USA is doing daily livestreams of their calming greenhouses every day. The Volunteer Park Conservatory is currently closed – however they are offering up some soothing daily live streams (via Instagram) of their amazing gardens. The glasshouse itself was built in 1912, has five different temperate zones and has hundreds of different plant varieties. The time of the live stream is generally at about 2pm, 7 days a week, but also depends on the gardeners maintenance. Find them on Instagram – @vpconservatory.
Go to Hogwarts. This virtual Harry Potter escape room is thanks to the muggles at Peters Township Public Library (in McMurray, Pennsylvania). It's your first year at Hogwarts – watch clips from HP movies, answer questions, visit Gringotts, figure out how to do different spells and much, more. Best of all, it's free and you can go on this magical adventure on your own or with friends. Find it here.
Take a virtual tour. It's time to get cultured! Some of the best galleries in the world have incredibly detailed online tours. Nobody can visit The Louvre in Paris right now – but you can explore the world-famous landmark from your lounge room. You can also explore the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, The British Museum, the Great Wall of China, and even The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. You can now explore Disneyworld from your lounge room! Experience the happiest place on earth without spending a cent!
Go to a concert. Now is a good time to re-live some great moments in time by our favourite singers and songwriters. Head back to 1993 for Nirvana's Unplugged performance, Tina Turner's 1982 Nice & Rough tour, Beyonce's Glastonbury performance in 2011 (or Homecoming on Netflix), Queen's 1982 Live at The Bowl Buckinghamshire in England, Led Zepplin at the Knebworth Festival in 1979, Woodstock Festival in 1969, and the recent Fire Fight concert (on 7Plus) – just to give you a few ideas.
Give the right side of your brain a workout. Working the creative side of your brain can transform daily life as you know it, helping relationships, your mental state, your work and more. The Right-brain Workout is written/created by Russel Howcroft Alex Wadelton (2019) and includes 70 questions posed by some of Australia’s most creative personalities from comedy, art, advertising, music, literature and photography. The questions will probe and challenge you to be more creative, every day. It's an exercise regime for your brain! If clay was discovered to be a new superfood, what would it be renamed for consumers? Only you have the answer. Find it online through any good book store.
Re-gain Some Control. You might not be able to control much right now in your life with everything going on, but there's one way you can at least feel like you can (and be distracted in the process) - by downloading the much-loved game The Sims. Buy it online, through your computer, Xbox or PlayStation, and unleash some imagination. Funnily enough, it's been reported that there's been a surge of downloads recently - have a look here.
Tonight Show: At Home Edition. Jimmy Fallon has taken it upon himself to create his iconic comedy show from home – featuring camera work by his wife and the occasional segment with his two daughters which you'll find on YouTube. He also kicked off the hilarious social media trend: #MyQuarantineInSixWords with “Fine. You can paint daddy’s nails” – find the thread on Twitter for a good laugh!
Get Oversubscribed. Local women Alana Dagwell and Laura Jackel are up to season 3 of Oversubscribed, a podcast for women hell-bent on squeezing the most out of life. Find episodes on wellbeing, juggling kids and work, the rocky road of motherhood and loads more. Find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Revel in kindness (and be inspired). Random acts of kindness are more important than ever at the moment. When we hear how a small act of generosity has made someone's day, we are reminded that humanity ain't all bad. Visit www.kindnessfactory.com or The Kindness Pandemic on Facebook if you're in need of a (good) cry. Don't forget – kindness is free!
Become the Zumba dancer or yoga enthusiast you always wanted to be. Have you ever wanted to learn Zumba, but was always too embarrassed to do it in public? What about bringing more Zen into your life with yoga? Home workouts in general are a great idea to keep the body and the mind healthy. Fitness Blender has hundreds of free workouts to choose from online, and Yoga With Adriene runs a ’30 Days of Yoga’ challenge that’s perfect for any level. This is a great chance to learn, and there's plenty more free videos online!
Get appy. Did you know both Newcastle Libraries and Lake Mac Libraries have apps you can download on your phone or tablet? Download them and register to have access to loads of kids activities, e-books and magazines, listen to audiobooks, learn a new language, watch movies and loads more. Find the Lake Mac Libraries and Newcastle Libraries apps via the App Store (IOS) and the Google Play Store (Android).
Virtual happy hour. Don't let the social distancing take away the social part – why not have a virtual party! All you need is for everyone to have a device (phone/ipad/laptop), and all be using the same application to get online. If everyone has Apple you can use Facetime, if not some alternatives include Skype, Houseparty and Facebook.
