Your GTG’s top 10 things to do on a rainy day away

Well globetrotters, the irony of this week’s topic has not been lost on us here in drought-stricken Australia, or I’m sure by our friends wading through torrential rain or sky-high snow fall… When on the road there is no choice but to embrace the weather as it is dealt to you (yes even on a cruise or beach holiday), so this week as always we channel our inner Gene Kelly and turn things on their head as we look at how we can make the most of a shower or 2.

• Read up on the area you’re in- It’s so easy to hit the ground running and leave yourself short of the time needed to reflect on a trip or enrich it with a bit of background knowledge. A showery Sunday can give you a big chance to catch up.

• Eat eat eat- Each ‘eat’ is intended to symbolise one of the three recommended meals a day that will give you ample opportunity to try as much of the local food as possible. A rainy day will give you chance to enjoy a more leisurely meal that may have been substituted with some tantilising street food on a busy day.

• Visit museums/Art Galleries- Another one of those activities that we would always love to have more time to enjoy.

• See some live music- An Irish pub session or some live Flamenco in Andalucia, Spain come to mind as fantastic ways to happily keep your feet dry (and warm from all the foot tapping).

• Catch up on your travel diary- We all know what it feels like to have been too busy having a good time to note the details of what we were doing and how we felt at the time. A little cloud cover can grant us the time needed to get ahead before our memories go the same way.

• Meet some other travellers wherever you’re staying- The biggest plus of this one is the short cut to learning about a handfull of places that you haven’t visited already or new things about ones you have.

• Visit the local parliament- Well this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, or possible in every place you’ll visit but It can be a unique insight into how a country operates and a heads up on what to keep an eye out for. A sitting in Hollyrood Edinburgh turned up a lively discussion about the security of budget projections for the entire Scottish economy (and you thought politics was boring).

• Watch a local movie- While possibly more rewarding for those travelling in India or France, movies are a great way to learn language or pop culture and get a sense of where the hang out zone is in your local area

• Washing and mending- Finally you have the chance to freshen up your luggage and fix any loose threads that caught on your latest adventures. As much as we all hate it, washing is the only thing that keeps our luggage down to its optimum size. Mending also falls into this category, especially if you are anything like me and are always losing a button or a cuff hem. The good news people is you can combine your laundry hours with quality travel chat or even halve the cost of a full machine load at a launderette by sharing with a new friend.

• Correspond- The other big job we never have enough time to do is keep in touch, send an e-mail, skype, write a postcard, make a phone call, all the stuff that reassures your loved ones that you are alive and well.

Well folks, if you still manage to find yourself ‘board abroad’ there is always the old option of solitaire or even catching up on a few hours of lost sleep that have no doubt been acccumulating over the course of your trip. Your GTG is as always keen to hear your additions to this list through the contact form below. Thanks again for stopping by and untill next week.