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Having a vacation at home is a bit of a contradiction in terms. How can you really enjoy yourself when you can’t leave your city or even your own home?
Quarantine measures brought in to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic have left millions of people around the world with cancelled travel plans, me included.
When I first realised our May trip to France was never going to happen, I felt guilty for even being upset about it. How can I be complaining about a cancelled holiday when so many people are suffering at the moment?
Here’s the thing – it’s ok to be sad. It’s much better for your mental health to accept your feelings than it is to beat yourself up about them. Let yourself feel whatever it is you need to feel. Then take the sh*tty situation and try to turn it into some sort of positive.
So, in the spirit of trying to make the best of a bad situation, my boyfriend and I recreated part of our French vacation at home. We had a French day where we did some of the things we would have done on holiday, only at home! Clearly there are some things that are impossible to recreate (glorious weather, gorgeous scenery and sandy beaches to name a few), but we actually had a really enjoyable time!
Let yourself feel whatever it is you need to feel. Then take the sh*tty situation and try to turn it into some sort of positive.
While we only decided to do it for a day, you could easily do it over a few days to extend your vacation at home. Here’s how we did it.
Plan a special vacation-themed meal
Food is one of the most important parts of a holiday. Eating and drinking so much you can barely move is all part of travelling and your vacation at home should be no different.
Find some recipes typical of the place you were due to be travelling to and recreate them at home. Our French day meal consisted of an authentic cheese board, a delicious cassoulet and a tarte tatin to finish. It was so tasty and worth every single one of the many calories we consumed!
If you’re anything like me, you would probably indulge in some local wines or cocktails on your travels. Try pairing regional wines with your vacation-themed meal to really get into the spirit of things (pun intended)!
Dress the part
I couldn’t resist buying a fancy dress costume for our French day! It’s an inexpensive way to make your vacation at home that little more fun.
You can be the judge of whether I pulled it off or not, but I loved wearing it! I have to admit that the moustache made wine drinking a little challenging, but you sometimes have to suffer for your art!
Get everyone in the family involved. If you’ve got kids, get them making their own costumes. If it’s just the two of you, maybe surprise your partner. My boyfriend totally wasn’t expecting my outfit and loved it! He got some good laughs out of it (admittedly at my expense).
Learn the lingo
I love languages and always try to learn some key phrases of the country I’m visiting before I travel. Despite being able to speak fluent Russian, I’ve never been able to master French but I enjoy giving it a try!
Buy a phrasebook of the language you would have been immersed in on holiday and have fun trying to master the lingo! I bought Talk Dirty French to help get us in the French holiday spirit (don’t worry, it’s nowhere near as naughty as it sounds)!
If you want to take your language learning more seriously, book yourself an online lesson on language learning platform Verbling. I’ve been using it for years to keep my Russian skills up to scratch and highly recommend it.
Visit tourist attractions virtually (and skip the queues and entrance fees!)
From virtual tours of fairytale castles to online viewings of Louvre collections, there is no shortage of French virtual activities to do. While it clearly will never be as good as the real thing, at least it gives you the sense of culture you would have got if you were travelling for real.
Many museums and World Heritage sites are offering virtual tours now, so you can explore the world from the comfort of your own home. Some even integrate with virtual reality headsets for an even more immersive experience.
Quarantining alone? Fear not!
Each of the things listed above can be done with friends and family near and far. If you’re quarantining alone, get your friends involved on Zoom! Why not set a vacation-themed Zoom cooking challenge for your friendship group? Agree the dishes you’re going to cook then host a virtual dinner party. Get some fancy dress on while you’re at it!
Clearly, a vacation at home will never quite match up to the real thing, but it is still something to look forward to. I’m going to plan an Italy day to honour our cancelled trip later in the year. While my stay at home Italy vacation will surely lack sunshine, it will still have lots of fun, pasta and prosecco, just like the real thing!
