Virtual Fun Around the World

LIFESTYLE & ENTERTAINMENT Check out the eMAGAZINE www.countylinemagazine.com for extended event listings.

Have Some Virtual Fun Around the World

By P.A. Geddie

The possibilities for fun from the comforts of home alone or with family or friends are endless.

More and more museums, attractions, and individuals are getting on board with virtual tours and other activities.

Google Arts & Culture’s collection includes the British Museum in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Guggenheim in New York City, and literally hundreds of more places where people can gain knowledge about art, history, and science. See the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican museums and get a glimpse of areas usually off-limits to the public. See more at www. artsandculture.google.com.

UrbanAdventures.com also offers fun online experiences for groups or individuals. Their local guides from around the world lead guests through all kinds of activities including hands--on cooking classes, virtual city walks, and interactive trivia.

Check out Online Experiences on Airbnb.com for live interactive sessions, conducted over Zoom by guides around the world. Over the course of an hour or two, the hosts dive into a wide range of artistic, cultural, musical, culinary and athletic topics like “Dance Like a K-pop Star,” presented live by a guide in South Korea; “Cooking with a Moroccan Family,” from Marrakesh; “Tokyo Anime and Subcultures,” from Japan; “Day in the Life of a Shark Scientist,” from South Africa;” and “Harry Potter Magic” in Edinburgh, Scotland. The average cost is about $10 per person.

Another group, www.withlocals.com pairs up individuals and groups with activities by live local people: Loris teaches how to make tiramisu from his home in Venice. Omar takes visitors on a city walk of the Red City of Marrakech. Explore historic Berlin with Miha, ancient Rome with Simone, the wilderness of Sydney, Australia, with Matt, experience Nairobi through the Eyes of Street Children with Godfrey. These tours are about $45.

Alley Kat Adventures, www.alleykatadventures.com, is a global custom event design company offering hand-crafted, unique experiences for groups and individuals. They specialize in online virtual scavenger hunts. Company founder

Weird Homes Tour takes guests inside the eclectic and wonderful world of Barbie (above). The collection includes nearly 500 Barbies. This event takes place March 16. Go to www.weirdhomestour.com for tickets. (Left) Alley Kat Adventures specializes in virtual scavenger hunts for groups or individuals.

Steve Wiman, owner of Uncommon Objects in Austin, gives tours of his home with a collection of personal acquisitions from around the globe. It’s a Zoom experience on March 3. Tickets are $12 and available on www.weidrdhomestour.com. Photo by Thani Viriyaki Photography

Kat is a former teacher, a public speaker and SAG actor with national principal print, film, and TV credits. Cost averages $9 per person.

AtlasObscura.com offers a diverse selection of activities like Zoom shark exhibits, bat life talks, museum tours, trivia night, cooking and art classes and much more.

Others enjoy www.weirdhomestour.com which features virtual tours of collectors of oddities and rare art, performance artists, painters, sculptors, and architects in cities all across the world. Some highlights in March include homes of Austin’s Steve Winnan, a Barbie doll collector, and The Mannequin Queen. Other tours are available via video.

Don’t find anything here of interest? It’s easy to do an online search for something that might be more appealing or a specific location to tour. There’s likely a virtual tour of most anywhere ready to roll.

Buy a ticket, invite some friends, and dive in with a “when in Rome” attitude. Get in the spirit by dressing for the occasion and prepare accompanying food. Text with any friends or family not in the room after to discuss to keep the fun going.

Spend a fabulous day in Paris with a Parisian Online experience hosted by Anto Herbert Peter Tais through Airbnb.com. Learn why the Eiffel tower should not be standing today. Join us off the beaten path to where Parisians go to have fun. Find out the funnier side of the Louvre museum while breaking the rules. Discover the birthplace of an iconic drink in the Royal Palace. Go to the open-air market and learn to prepare a Parisian picnic!

At 5 p.m. March 25 join an underwater happy hour with New York Aquarium. This is a Zoom experience and guests can talk directly to the hosts, and pick their brains for selachimorpha trivia. Go to www.atlasobscura.com for tickets.