Actually, I wanted to write a story set in France. This meant research. Since I’m not in a position where I can hop on a plane to France (planning a trip usually means months of waiting in eager anticipation and lots of scheduling and travel logistics), instead, I was too impatient. I decided to stay home, make it a Staycation/research trip.

This is how it worked.

For about two weeks at the beginning of June, I cooked French recipes, I watched French movies and anime, and read travel guides. I lived vicariously through these media and, most importantly, I started writing the love story I wanted to set in France.

The story is a wonderful, messy, in-progress, first draft. I’m aiming for that big, dramatic finale and giving my couple a happily ever after. Or at least, the happily for now ending, which I crave in a good romance book.

How to take a research trip from home.

Step 1: Watch movies with a French language track and subtitles.

I tried a couple of French movies, but I won’t even bore you with the details. Instead, I suggest finding a movie you like with a French-language track and watching that. Bonus points if it’s set partially in France, like the old-school romcom French Kiss starring Meg Ryan. 

After all, by exploring movies made in other countries, you might discover a new favorite, like the excellent classic anime about the French Revolution. Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles deserves its reputation. I highly recommend it for a fascinating historical fiction about the life of Marie Antoinette (with some 1970s Japanese shojo sensibilities on revolution and challenging gender norms).

Step 2: Eat the local food

Here’s the French Food I tried:

• Decadent French-style  hot chocolate
• Fresh homemade Mayo (made from scratch)
• Crudites (raw veggies)
• Monsieur Crochet (grilled cheese and ham sandwich)
• Madam Crocet (grilled cheese and ham sandwich with a soft-cooked egg on top)
• Basque Chicken (which I according to my cookbook, is a Spanish dish, but it claims it is popular in French cafes, so I say that counts.)
• French bread and fancy gruyère cheese
• Croissant sandwiches, toasted until its a little burnt and with melted cheese and ham. 

I searched the shelves of my local shops for French wine and splurged on two. The red was excellent, and the white wine was okay. 

I made my own baguettes, although breadmaking is a dangerous activity in the summer, as it heats up my apartment.

While you can’t replicate the exact experience of traveling abroad and dealing with foreign-speaking waiters and menus. You can experience the taste of a grilled cheese sandwich, French-style.

Step 3: Appreciate the Local Art

I watched a video about Art Nouveau history and learned new things about the Impressionists and their motivations. Like how Monet had bad eyesight at the end of his life, yet he kept painting his lily pond up close and in more abstract detail each time. Closer and closer, and bigger and bigger paintings. Immersive French art at its finest.

Benefits of not actually traveling anywhere

No jetlag

No getting lost or waiting in lines

Not nearly as expensive

What I forgot to do during my “trip”

Visit museums online. There are often collections you can view online. I should have gone to the Louvre!

Practiced speaking French. I fell out of love with Duolingo, but there must be other language learning apps or games I could have tried. Learning at least tourist-level French would have been a more authentic experience (Bonus points if you learn to speak some French for when you actually visit again.)

Tour the countryside. I could have been wandering around Google Maps at street level, pretending like I was in France. If you have VR, then you can really feel transported abroad for an evening.

Read books or comics set in the country, or translated from that language

Picking up a Tintin comic transports you instantly into an adventure. They are great lessons in how to make tight, thrilling action pieces. The history of the artist is also fascinating and gives you a perspective into the era when Tintin was made and how widespread the popularity was.

Marian Barbery is a wonderful French author. I recommend reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog for a taste of what it’s like to live in a fancy apartment block, whether you’re the concierge or the privileged young woman. The novel has some decidedly philosophical chapters, which I have come to associate with French novels, but is perhaps more a Marian Barbery style. It doesn’t detract from the excellent character writing.

An Artist Date idea

I’m always trying to come up with artist dates… Here’s one based on my research trip.

You study a painting, memorizing its details (which is good for your memory). Then you pull out the art supplies and have a go at making the same, or a similar piece.

It was a fun two weeks, and while I’m still finishing the romance book, I would do this again. Now that I have the basic idea of how to do a staycation, I can try planning for other countries. Immersing yourself in a different culture and way of living is one of the reasons I travel. Now, of course, the challenge will be a research trip for my romcoms in space. Space food? Space movies? Maybe a game set in space? (Stay tuned!)

If you could travel anywhere for two weeks, where would you go?