travel tips: how to cure the travel bug without a trip

if you're like me, you always have the travel bug.

it doesn't come and go, it resides permanently inside 

you. but - due to jobs, finances, & responsibilities, etc - 

sometimes it's not possible or realistic to go on an 

exotic trip in the near future.. so, what do we do? 

here are some simple tips:

1. try a new restaurant: it's easy to get in routines and eat at the same place over and over -- we do it too! but picking a new restaurant to try can feel like a mini vacation and something different you haven't experienced before. if you're REALLY craving a trip, pick an exotic restaurant with a type of food you haven't tried before! {peruvian, anyone?}

2. walk/bike/drive down a new road: there are times in the city where i look around and think: "i have NEVER walked down these street before!" i love seeing new buildings, corner stores, and just a new road. every week when we walk to church i make us take a little different route so we can walk a new road we haven't been on...chase is nice to put up with this :)

3. watch the sunset somewhere new: sunsets always connect me with a place and make me appreciate this world and how it's linked together. find a good view and watch the sunset and realize how lucky we are to be on this earth!

4. go OUTSIDE: sometimes we have the travel bug because we're spending too much time inside -- at work, in the car, at the movies, at the store, at home...it can be draining and dull! make a point to go outside -- even if you work outside for an hour, read outside, or go exercise you'll feel a lot happier and more adventurous :)

5. go see something you haven't: i can PROMISE you there is something in your town/city that you haven't seen. even if it's small, or odd, go see something new. of course i feel like we've done all the major SF sites so many times, but there are millions of new things and places to see! look things up online and you're bound to find plenty of uncovered gems in your own city.

6. book a tour where you live: this is one of our favorite things to do. as fun as it is to tour and learn about new places, shouldn't we know just as much about the place we live? we love learning and knowing all about where we live and feeling more connected to it.

7. read a new book about somewhere far away: one of the reasons i always loved books growing up is that they took me to other worlds when i couldn't. look up books that are set in the next place you want to go, and let that book take you there in your mind! sometimes imagining it is even more fun :) this is a good one that took me all over, especially paris + the french riviera...i wrote about it a little bit here.

8. bring a destination to you: this one sounds cheesy, but it's the best. plan a little themed dinner party or date night around a destination! if we're craving hawaii, we go get plate lunch at L&L with our favorite hawaiian sun guava juice and some pineapple. if i'm missing paris, we have a crepe night with friends and listen to carla bruni. i love being taken somewhere new in my mind!

9. write / paint / create something new: one of the draws of travel is that it allows us to feel creative and refreshed. we crave the newness of it that lets our soul loose. bring this energy in a different way but creating something of your own! i am not too crafty and i definitely can't paint, but i love to write, make books of our travels, or work with chase to make something for our place. create a travel wall, paint a wall a new color, do something to feel that creative energy!

10. plan your dream trip: even if you can't book it right now, do some research and plan details of your dream trip -- so when you book it, you know all about it! this also gets the creative juices flowing and helps you explore a place even if it's just online :)

11. learn a new language: craving a new culture? learn something new! take language classes online, a pasta-making class, or something that will connect you with another place.

12. re-live past vacations: part of the reason i love documenting our adventures is that i get to re-live them later! i can't tell you how many times i have gone back and watched this video or gone through pictures from past trips and remembered experiences. travel stays with you and that's why we love it! don't let the memories fade!

14. scrapbook: when you want to focus on adventures and travel, create a book from one of your vacations. this always puts my mind in a vacation mode as i permanently document a trip in a photo book.

15. photograph your home/hometown/ simple things. there's beauty to be found everywhere, and especially in the familiar! i walk around SF with our big camera all the time because as much as i love documenting new places, i love documenting the simple things in our everyday life even more. that's what i have the most fun looking back on because it's our real life in between all the big trips and events. so document what you love where you live.

those are a few of my tips for easing the travel bug

when it's not possible to take a trip soon.

what are your temporary cures?

(because there is no CURE, only temporary remedies :)

xo