As time has passed and days have turned into weeks, the prospect of summer holidays and travel plans has started to look more bleak; the news is a daily reminder of border restrictions, airlines in crises and, quite rightly, the damage that re-engaging with travel would do to the tremendous global fight against Covid-19. Laura Ferguson gives us the lowdown of how to stay inspired.
With this comes the reality that we need to discover alternative ways to engage with travel and stay inspired during a 2020 where international exploration is off the cards. What is it about travel that leaves us yearning for more? For me, it is the undeniable connection that travelling to a far away place creates between you and another culture. It is the promise of new experiences in an undiscovered land with new faces and old. It is the tastes, the smells, the sounds and the sights of somewhere that isn’t home. It is the Spanish sun on my face; the Maldivian breeze in my hair; or the sounds of the Costa Rican rainforest in my ear. It is the explosion of language, cuisine, colour and personality of a country that leaves your head spinning and you heart full. We want more because we get back; we spend our wages on flights, train tickets and hotels because we get back more than what we pay or wish for. So in this time, these months of solitude and a home-based existence, how can we stay travel- inspired?
The key is to find what works for you, but here are my suggestions (tried and tested!). Read – everything and anything you like – to keep discovering Whether it’s a book, a magazine or a blog, reading about your favourite holiday spots and bucket-list travel destinations can help to keep you enthusiastic about plans and determined to make more. At the very least, reading gives you the escapism that is an intrinsic part of travelling, and lets you explore another land and culture from the comfort of your couch. Cook – find the recipes that tantalise your taste buds and escape to foreign soil for the night Cooking has been a lockdown essential for me and a source of travel inspiration as well as a therapeutic daily task.
Once a week, I sit down with a coffee and plan my meals. For a treat at the weekend, I create a cuisine-themed night, drawing on recommendations from foodie books and magazines. A personal favourite is Lonely Planet’s ‘Ultimate Eat List’, which ranks the world’s top 500 food experiences and has been the foundation of my inspiration for themed Saturday night meals. Experimental and a lot of fun, I’ve had weekends filled with food, cocktails and music, inspired by Greece, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, and Thailand. If you can’t get to Spain this summer, why not bring it to your home instead? Reminisce and plan – channel your nostalgia into planning that trip you always wanted to do .
Look back at old photos and remember the good times you had on your travels; talk about your past holidays with your family and friends and evoke the sensations from the time you walked through Times Square, the time you climbed Table Mountain, or the time you sat by the pool sipping on a cocktail in the South of France. Remember these times and plan; plan that dream holiday, plan that weekend break in Europe, or plan the next road trip (and make a savings plan too!). We face uncertainty and no promise of when we can return to our globalised world of connectivity. But we also live in an era of virtual connectivity, with far-off lands and cultures at our fingertips. I will be planning my next adventure and thinking of the day I can return to what I love, however distant that may be. For now though, stay at home, stay safe and stay inspired.
