I am a consumer and lover of entertainment of all kinds. I subscribe to streaming platforms, spend far too much money on movie tickets, read as many books as I can in my free time and subscribe many, many YouTube channels.

 

While I do spend my fair share of hours consuming entertainment from a theater or my bedroom I’m also constantly in a state of wanderlust and looking for the next place to travel. But, as of right now the ability to fulfill the need to adventure has been taken away by the coronavirus.

 

So, I have curated a list of three recommendations from a movie, to a YouTube channel to a book that will take you on a trip, a quest, a journey you might say, that will fulfill that itch to wander.

 

I can say after two weeks of social distancing and not really leaving my house these have, at least temporarily, cured my cabin fever and allowed me to travel from the comfort of my bed.

 

“The Grand Budapest Hotel”

This film, directed by Wes Anderson, takes you on a trip unlike any you’ve been on before. Following the adventures of concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and his lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) as they run from the police because Gustave was framed for murder. Directed in the one of a kind Wes Anderson style this film is unlike anything you’ve ever seen and will take you on a journey unlike any other through the mystical, yet real-world that these eclectic characters are living in. The world that The Grand Budapest Hotel lives in is one of intrigue, style and grace. From the first second of the film, you will be enthralled in these characters’ journeys and feel like you are living this story with them and have booked a room yourself in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

 

You can watch “The Grand Budapest Hotel” on Amazon or YouTube for $3.99 or if you still like DVDs or Blu-Ray you can buy it for $9-$12 wherever you prefer to buy movies.

 

"Kara and Nate"

If your wanderlust is really real, and you need a “getaway” that is more realistic than what’s listed above check out “Kara and Nate” on YouTube. They are a married couple who have been traveling full-time for the past four years. The goal of their channel was to travel to 100 countries and they just recently met that goal a few months ago. They have over 700 videos on their channel of their travels and they have covered so many little pockets of the world and are nowhere near being ready to stop traveling. Through their channel, you can go from Norway to Mount Everest to the Maldives to South Korea all in the span of an afternoon and that’s not even making a dent in their travels. Their channel will fulfill your need to travel while simultaneously motivating you to create a bucket list of destinations for when this virus is gone and it’s safe to travel again.

 

You can find “Kara and Nate” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/karaandnate

 

"Mosquitoland"

This book, by David Arnold, follows Mim Malone, a teenager who has been plagued by her parents’ divorce and is sick of living with her dad and stepmother. So, she hops on a bus and makes her way back to Cleveland to be with her mom. This book is unique in the way that it switches between Mim’s journal entries and first-person experiences. This book will take readers on an incredible quest to get to what she believes to be her home.“What begins as a simple road trip turns out to be exactly what Mim needs to confront her own fears and define for herself what it truly means to be okay,” says the back of the book.

 

You can buy this book wherever you buy books, but preferably a local bookstore for about $10.

 

Of course, there are many other stories of travel that are worth pursuing but these three are some I have recently found comfort in. They’ll take you on a wondrous journey around the world with some amazing people and will have you ready go on your own adventures whenever the coronavirus is gone.

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Target audience: 18-30-year-old people of any gender who cannot leave their house