HOW TO TRAVEL DURING LOCKDOWN by BELLA ST. JOHN

Until March 2020, my life was that of a luxurious nomad. I was travelling the world 24/7 and living a life most people only dream about…until ‘travel’ became a four-letter word. While none of us knows what the world will look like when we finally come out of lockdown conditions, for those of us who love to explore new places, here are some tips to keep your travel juices flowing.

Go on Virtual Tours

The majority of major museums and art galleries offer online virtual tours of their collections, and some even have the equivalent of headsets to listen to commentary as you scroll through the institution.

In my favorite city, Vienna, The Belvedere Museum of contemporary art invites you to take a virtual live guided tour on Facebook, every day:

https://www.facebook.com/belvederemuseum.

View Google Earth

The best way to explore an area when it’s not possible to physically go there is to take advantage of Google Earth. From the comfort of your laptop, you’ll be able to zoom in to any location—all the way to street level—and explore.

For instance, tonight I decided to explore a place I’ve never visited, but really want to: Italy’s Herculaneum. The flyover is quite astounding—you’ll get a feel for the size and complexity of the site, and by clicking on any of the marked exhibits, a window appears on the right hand side of your screen that has an abundance of high-resolution images.

For someone who doesn’t like crowds, this type of sightseeing has its merits!

Use Webcams

Many travel and tourist destinations have live webcams that broadcast day in and day out. Here’s one of the Trevi Fountain: www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lazio/roma/fontana-di-trevi.html. And you can have a pretend safari here: www.africam.com/wildlife/. Watch spectacular waterworks by Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming here:

www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm.

You can even travel aboard the International Space Station via webcam! Go to :

www.worldcams.tv/space/international-space-station where four webcams offer live streaming footage of what’s happening in that trip to the universe.

Decide where to go… and you’re there!

No tickets to buy or timetables to navigate, no luggage to pack, no lines to stand in, and no vaccinations needed, travelling the virtual way has advantages. Book a few hours out of your day to be entertained and inspired for hours. Then go water your plants, get your mail, make dinner in your own kitchen, and sleep in your own bed—to dream of where you’ll go with a ticket in your hand and a flight to catch!

Published In the Limelight Magazine (Summer 2020 edition)