The world in your kitchen

Maybe I've watched way too many movies, but I believe life could be more fun if we had our own soundtrack, playing at all memorable times.

I decided to give this a try. In the kitchen. So far, I've been transported to so many places, just because I've been playing traditional songs from where my cooking was from.

Sometimes we don't have enough money or time to go on vacation or maybe just take a couple of days off, but we do eat everyday, and we can bring the world to our kitchen in a very simple way.

So, how do you do that? First, decide on what type of food you would like to prepare. By the way, this post works better if you're having a homecooked meal, it's the whole experience involved that counts. Are you in the mood for Italian, Chinese, French or Indian? I'm not a professional cook, and I don't know all the tricks, but online recipes and videos are there to help us!

Once you have decided which dish to prepare, make sure you have all the right ingredients, check the expiration date, and servings. Leave them all on your counter, including scale, knives, spoons, and whatever else you might need.

Time to be transported to another country! Go on Youtube and type: "French songs for cooking", "Italian songs for cooking", "instrumental Greek songs for cooking"..., you got the picture. You'll find many videos with these themes, some of them are 3o minutes and others 3 hours, only intrumental (my favorite!) or with singers.

Press play and enjoy! In seconds you'll immediately start feeling you are in Portugal preparing a delicious bowl of soup, or in Italy having the best pasta ever, or in India with that wonderful smell of curry, or in France while you cook and take sips of wine, the world is in your own kitchen and everybody can smell it!

Music and smells are memory triggers, when we combine them we create a whole different experience in the kitchen. Cooking something new can be challenging, and a background song can also help soothe you and create a nice atmosphere. And don't stop the music when you're done, keep playing it for you or your guests; you may be at your kitchen or dining room, but that food with that song, will definitely make you feel you are at a bistro, tavern, pub, coffee house... All of a sudden, with no big expenses, you just brought the world to your kitchen!

pst: all the pictures are mine, and I cooked those delicious foods while listening to my cooking playlist!

How to contribute to the traveler's community

I used to use all tools at my disposal to do my travel research: books, internet, apps, social media and also simply asking people. However, I never gave them anything in return! So, I started to share my feedback with other travelers. Here is how I did it and how you can do it, too!

One of the best tools for travelers, in my opinion, to search for hotels, flights, tours and sightseeing, is definitely TripAdvisor. Be it the desktop version or the mobile one, it has never let me down. One of the reasons that make it an excellent resource for travelers is that it is full of updated feedback!

I used to read all the other travelers' opinions and that was it, thanks. Nowadays, I am also a contributor, I have a badge and everything! I share my feedback, pictures and also click on the like button if another traveler's feedback has helped me. I try to share what would be nice for the other visitor to know. "Beautiful", is not the feedback I need, "Beautiful place to relax and low budget cafeteria nearby but don't forget to bring a jacket because it can be a little chilly up there", this is helpful feedback! So, please, do share your feedback, I need to know if it's chilly so I can bring my purple jacket. :) 

What about Youtube videos, huh? I'm sure you have already checked on "how to" something. Taking the subway in NYC, packing for Ryanair, ferry to Ireland, the list is huge!

Maybe now you're thinking: no, no, no, I'm too shy, I'm not going to do videos! But, here's the thing, if you simply click on the like button, you're already helping other travelers, because then we'll all know that it's a helpful video with good content just by the number of likes. And if you keep watching the videos from the same channel, what about subscribing to it? You'll be sending positive feedback to the vlogger and to her/his subscribers. That way everybody will try to keep doing a good job, it's a win-win situation. Maybe later, you'll decide to have your own travel channel on Youtube, sharing your own experieces, you never know...

In the world of selfies, sometimes there's just too much ego for such a breathtaking scenery. Try taking pictures from different angles. All kinds of pictures: landscapes, what's in front of you, behind you, between trees, the reflection on a pond, the possibilities are infinite. Even selfies nowadays, travelwise, are broadening the angles: eyes, arms and feet are just some of the selfies we've been seeing around. 

Wanna help the traveler's community? Go after the secret spots! Find the photographer in you! Maybe it's Mickey's reflection on your sunglasses, the Statue of Liberty seen by a tourist cell phone, not to mention those beautiful sunrays going through a famous monument. All I am saying is: explore!

Ultimately, your traveling experience can lead you to what I am doing right now: blogging! If you are anything like me, before traveling you make a ton of research, which is also exciting, you check tripadvisor, you watch youtube videos, check some online pictures, read articles and posts. So, why not also write your own post afterwards? Well, this is what I'm doing, giving back to the community all the free and wonderful advice other travelers have shared and which have helped me prepare a more informative travel project.

Once I saw a phrase on the internet, sorry I don't know the author, which described the whole traveling feeling in one single short sentence, and this is the one I chose to end this post with: "Traveling makes you speechless, then turns you into a story teller". Do tell!