(NC) Travelling can be a thrilling adventure, but you don’t always need to leave your home to explore the world around you. If you can’t make it to your dream destination this year, here are four ideas to experience new destinations from the comfort of your own home.
Cook it up
One of the best ways to get to know a place is through its food. So, for a creative way to expand your horizons, choose a recipe from your dream locale. You may have to buy some new ingredients, but there are endless amounts of free recipes online. There’s sure to be one you can enjoy, no matter your cooking skills. Your library may also have some fresh cookbooks for you to try out.
Fuel the fantasy
Once you’ve enjoyed your meal, maybe get cozy on the couch with a movie or television series set in another place, from a Canadian independent film to a hit series from overseas. Embracing entertainment with a serious sense of place can be transporting. Audiobooks, podcasts and local music let you experience places in an intimate way. And books offer that power too, so pore through your library’s collection for your favourite genre set in a new-to-you place.
Learn online
Whether it’s a history lecture, a language lesson or an art workshop, take a virtual course for a deep dive on just about any place. Massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, are free and wide-ranging, so see what you can find. Many museums and historic sites, including many across Canada, also offer immersive virtual guided tours on their websites or through Google Arts and Culture exhibits if you can’t make it in person.
Get historical
History provides some context for why things are the way they are today and helps you understand a place better, even if you haven’t been there (yet). And it doesn’t have to be boring or expensive. For example, you can immerse yourself in a creative non-fiction option like Parks Canada’s ReCollections podcast with episodes on some of the most significant historic sites in Canada from coast to coast, such as the Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia or Dawson City, Yukon. You can find it wherever you get podcasts or at parks.canada.ca/recollections.
