Armchair Travels – Take a Virtual Vacation to New York City

Posted by .

Armchair Travels is an ongoing series where we create an itinerary for virtual vacation that you can take from the comfort of your own home. We would love to hear how your armchair travels go, photos are most welcome!

To Do Before Your Day in New York City:
  • Find a busy park (that would be good for people watching)
  • Find an art museum near you
  • Buy anything that you don’t have on the list below.


What You Need:

Note: We give suggestions for authentic ingredients/supplies where it makes sense, but you can substitute items that are easier to get if you want to.

Required

Optional

Your Itinerary

8AM Happy Morning!

1. Put on your I love New York T-shirt  and get ready for a day of fun big city style.

2. Full Screen this great Billy Joel song to get yourself into a New York State of Mind (yes it’s true, Billy Joel used to have a lot of hair and smoked cigarettes while playing piano).

3. Imagine you just opened a window and this was your view. Sing along with Billy Joel while you imagine this.

4. Follow it up with some Frank Sinatra.

9AM Breakfast


1.   What New York breakfast would be complete without freshly made bagels?  Go out and grab a bagel from a local bakery, pretend people are moving around 2X as fast as they really are & have your money in hand when you reach the cashier.  If you ordered authentic New York bagels, skip the bakery & enjoy one now.

2.   Make some fresh coffee and drink it out of New York Paper Coffee Cups while reading the New York Times.

10AM Museum Hop


New York has amazing museums galore.  We’ll spend part of our morning touring some creative exhibits around New York City.

1. Check out over 119 fabulous works of the haute couture at The Museum of the City of New York.

2. Take a virtual tour of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum or experience the life of an immigrant in 1916.

3. Listen to historic audio clips from the Guggenheim’s Reel to Reel collection.

4. Visit the Arms and Armor Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (My favorite place to be in the Met) and then visit the connections gallery where curators give their personal perspectives on art from the Museum’s collection.

5. Buy something awesome, like tone of these sky umbrellas, from the MoMA store and then take a free online course about exploring the work of Jackson Pollock.  While you are at it, spend some time exploring the murals of Diego Rivera.

6.  In the mood for more? Visit a museum that is local to you or draw something New York City themed (think skyscrapers, taxi cabs, the statue of liberty…you get the picture) right now.

11AM Explore


1. First let’s immerse ourselves in the sounds of New York City with this sound tour & then play this video, close your eyes and imagine you are there.

2. Now for a subway ride!  First familiarize yourself with NYC subways by browsing subway pictures from as early as 1910 all the way to current day. Next full screen this and pretend you are trying not to make eye contact with your friends across the car. Finish your trip to the subway by watching a subway performance by the Blue Man Group.

3. Meet the lost tribes of New York City and next time your actually in New York say hi to them (it’s New York City after all, no one will think you are crazy).  After that check out some spontaneous street performance and if you are feeling brave write your own rap.

4. Now on to the largest park in New York City, Central Park.  Visit some must sees like the Great Lawn and the Obelisk.

Watch this visual love letter to Central Park and experience the seasons in the park. Finally, create a virtual bouquet using flowers from the Conservatory garden and email it to someone you love.

5. Now it’s time to see our lovely lady of liberty, take a free ferry ride to Staten Island and look at the  beautiful views of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, & the Statue of Liberty.

And then for fun, keep a straight faced, barely bothered New York attitude as you watch dancers take over the ferry.

Next let’s get a closer look. Take an e-tour of the statue and then check out these views live from the Statue of Liberty.

6.  Next we will visit nearby Ellis Island.  First look at the view from Ellis Island and imagine what it must have been like for the immigrants who were turned away or were quarantined because of illness, to be so close to their dream yet to find it unreachable.

Next search to see if your family name is in the records at Ellis Island.  Then follow in the footsteps of immigrants in this interactive Tour of Ellis Island.

7. Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge.

12PM Lunch and a Walk


1. If you are lucky enough to live in a city with food trucks or food stands get ye to one and enjoy a quick bite to eat.  If not, time to make a New York fav, falafels!

Make some falafels & tahini sauce and if you are feeling really ambitious make some fresh pitas (I’ll forgive you for store bought ones).

2. Now you and your falafel sandwich are going to go on a walk. In New York there are food stands and quick lunch spots  all over the place and one of the easiest quick lunches is to buy some food and eat it while you walk around the city. Explore your neighborhood while eating your falafel sandwich. Make like Bill Cunningham & bring your camera and take some pictures – after the falafel eating that is!

If you have extra time & a netflix account check out this great documentary on Bill Cunningham.

2PM People Watching


1. To get you in the mood, watch this, but I really really want you to go and do this activity in real life.

2. Go to a park, find a fountain or a park bench and just watch the people that pass you. That’s all, just watch the people who pass, wonder where they are going, where they’ve come from… you get the picture.

4PM Make NY Style Pizza


1. Take a moment to learn about the history of New York City pizza.

2. If you had some pizza shipped to you, heat it up.  If not, time to start making some pizza pie.

5PM Watch a movie while eating a slice

Pick one of the following movies to watch while you eat your pizza.

8PM New York at Night


1. Enjoy a trip to the empire state building. First check out what colors the lights will be tonight. Now enjoy the sunset from the viewing deck.

2. Follow that up with the bright lights of Times Square at night and then add your wish for the next year to the New Year’s Eve Wishing Wall. Your wish will be printed onto a piece of confetti and added to the ton of confetti that is dropped in Times Square on New Year’s eve.

10PM A Bedtime Story

1. Soak your feet in some warm water (you would be definitely doing this after such a busy day in New York)

2. Listen to an excerpt from the mixed up File of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (near the bottom of the page).

3. Go to sleep & dream big city dreams.

Armchair Travel: A day in Paris from the comfort of your own home

Posted by .

Virtual Tourist is an ongoing series at TripLogic where we create an itinerary for an amazing trip that you can follow from home. Each post in the series includes a shopping list, instructions and links to resources. Let us know how your armchair travels go, photos are most welcome!

To Do Before Your Day in Paris:

  • Find a small family owned bakery near you.
  • Find a café or restaurant that serves espresso or hot chocolate and where you can sit outside.
  • Find a French restaurant or a restaurant that you’ve been wanting to try.
  • Buy anything that you don’t have on the list below.

What You Need:

Note: We give suggestions for authentic ingredients/supplies where it makes sense, but you can substitute items that are easier to get if you want to.
Required

Optional

Your Itinerary

8AM Bonjour

1. Brush your teeth, wash your face, and welcome the day with an enthusiastic Bonjour to yourself in the mirror.

2. Take a few minutes to check out Paris in this beautiful panoramic view.

3. Go to Pandora (you will have to create a free account if you don’t have one already). Create a new station: La Vie En Rose (the Edith Piaf version). Turn up the volume and set the mood for the day. All the songs are not French, but this station does a great job of creating a Parisian atmosphere.

9AM Le Petit Déjeuner

1. Parisian breakfasts tend to be simple. Your breakfast today will be a large cup of café au lait and a croissant. If you bought the special french sugar we included on our shopping list, enjoy some of that now.

If you have a balcony sit outside and enjoy.

If not, open a window, pause this video at 3 seconds, make it full screen and enjoy your view.

10AM Apprendre le Français

1. If you are going to be in Paris, you are going to have to learn a little French.

First watch this video and use the visuals to guess what the words mean.

2. Next it’s time to speak this beautiful language. Frenchtoday.com has a wonderful selection of poems that you can listen to and recite. Choose one and memorize it.

11AM Explore

Time to explore! Let’s visit the Notre Dame Cathedral.

1. Open up this panorama of the area surrounding Notre Dame. Imagine that you are walking along the banks of the Seine towards Notre Dame. Maybe you pause on the bridge to take in your surroundings, maybe you stop to listen to street performers or watch tourists taking pictures of their loved ones in front of the massive stone walls.

2. Listen to the bells of Notre Dame from atop the bell tower.

3. Now explore the actual Cathedral. Look at the details of the stained glass windows and the timeworn floors.

4. If you are religious, you can submit a prayer request online just as people do in the prayer books at Notre Dame.

Next let’s visit the Louvre.

5. Like many visitors, your first stop is to see the Mona Lisa. Little did you know what you are in for. There is always quite a crowd.

6. Play this in the background while you watch the video above.

7. Choose an online tour from the Louvre.

Or watch this video to take a 20 minute whirlwind tour that gives you a feel of the museum and the crowd (hey we only have one day right).

12PM Lunch and a Walk

1. If you are lucky enough to live in a city with a creperie, go there, now! If not, time to learn some crepe making skills.

Make a crepe (be sure to use the savory recipe version) and fill it up with all your favorite veggies and some cheese. Check out this chowhound forum for some savory crepe filling ideas.

2.Now you and your crepe are going on a walk. In Paris there are small creperies all over the place and one of the easiest quick meals is to buy one and eat it while you walk around the city. Explore your neighborhood while eating your warm and yummy creation. Bring your camera, take some pictures, play the tourist!

2PM People Watching

1. To get you in the mood, watch this, but we really really want you to go and do this activity in real life.

2. Go to a restaurant that has outdoor seating, order a coffee or hot chocolate and people watch. That’s it, very simple, just arrange your chair so it faces the area people walk by and unapologetically watch and ponder.

3. On your way home go to a bakery and buy a fresh baguette and some pastries – keep these around for whenever the urge strikes.

4PM Make Macarons

1. Take a moment to learn about the history of the Macaron.

2. Time to start baking! Make Macarons! How to.

5PM Watch a movie while eating macarons

Midnight in Paris
Cleo from 5 to 7
Amélie
Breathless
Paris Je T’aime
Ratatouille

7PM The Eiffel Tower at night

1. Watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night.

2. Now look at your view.

8PM Dinnertime

1. Read How to Eat in a French Restaurant.

2. Use your new found skills at the dining establishment of your choice. Dinner in Paris is usually late so resist the urge to eat earlier. If there is a French restaurant near you go there. If not, treat yourself to someplace you have been wanting to go to for awhile. Order an apertif or cocktail of your choice to begin your meal. The French typically order apertifs that are local to their region. Ask your waiter if any of the cocktails use locally made liquors. If not, pick something fun that you haven’t tried before.

Alternate: If you like a challenge and want to cook, make this French Farmhouse Dinner and be sure to enjoy an apertif before eating.

10PM A French bedtime story