Armchair Travel to Italy
Italy! The boot-shaped country that fires the imagination in us all! Food, fashion, music, antiques and artifacts, amazing landscapes, volcanoes, opera & more!
Planning the Session
- Choose a date and advertise the session for good attendance
- Organize a comfortable room with a large TV for the occasion
- Print out passports and boarding passes for residents to add to the fun
- Hold a craft session prior to the day to decorate the TV room
- Organize someone to demonstrate cooking an Italian dish
- Purchase drinks, finger food (cookies) and ask your Chef to prepare an Italian dish to serve after the session. For example:
- Lasagne with Dean Martin
- Spaghetti and Rita Pavone
Sample Program (approx 2-3 hrs)
1. Welcome
Seat residents comfortably and welcome them. Hand out passports and boarding tickets.
5 - 10 minutes
2. Introduce
Announce your destination and read out some fun facts about Italy.
Ask residents what else they know about Italy.
10 - 15 minutes
Italy Fact File (Golden Carers)
3. Serve Italian Drinks
Offer light versions of Aperol Spritz, Prosecco & Peach juice, Mock Martini or Cinzano.
10 - 15 minutes
4. Enjoy a Quiz & Some Trivia
Enjoy some Italian themed activities
Italy Quiz (Golden Carers)
16 Snippets of Italian Trivia (Golden Carers)
15 - 20 minutes
5. Watch First Video
Rome, the Eternal City (YouTube) - 25 minutes.
At the end of the video allow residents to comment.
30 - 40 minutes
6. Italian Cooking Demonstration
Announce the demonstration for making Italian ‘Biscotti’ that will be served at the end of the session.The person doing the demonstration should be dressed as a Chef and have a fake Italian accent. After the demonstration, send the biscotti to the kitchen to be baked and continue with the session.
10 - 15 minutes
7. Watch Second Video
Milan and Lake Como (YouTube) - 25 minutes.
At the end of the video allow residents to comment.
30 - 40 minutes
8. Coffee & Biscotti
Serve biscotti with espressos or cappuccinos.
15 - 20 minutes
Ask which country would they like to visit next!
Thank the residents and invite them along to the next scheduled Armchair Travel.
Happy Travels!
The above example of Armchair Travel will last a good two hours or more. You may stop there, but if you want to take the session into lunch/dinner time or extend to an all-day Italian Theme Day event, check the related links below and choose what suits you.
Extending the Session
Tips on How to host an Italian Day
Tips on How to Host an Italian Day (Golden Carers)
Italian Themed Party Ideas (Golden Carers)
Video of Interest
Cinque Terre (YouTube) - 8 minutes
A coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It comprises the villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Namarola, and Riomaggiore.
Italian Cooking Class
Cannoli Dip (Golden Carers)
Italian Songs
Ask an Italian resident to sing with piano or guitar accompaniment.
Singing in Italian (Golden Carers)
Favorite Italian Songs (Spotify) - Songs + Lyrics
Opera Video
The Best of Verdi (YouTube) - 2 hours
Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi was the leading opera composer of the 19th century. Some of Verdi’s operas: Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Don Carlos, Aida, Otello, and Falstaff. Here is a compilation of his best work; you don’t have to listen to it all at once, make it into three or four sessions. Alternatively, hire an opera DVD from your local library.
Artist Impression
Beatrice (Golden Carers) by Amedeo Modigliani
Alice (Golden Carers) by Amedeo Modigliani
The Boy (Golden Carers) by Amedeo Modigliani
Coloring ativities give older people the opportunity to demonstrate their continuing capacity and creativity. Make it relevant by offering quality paints, pencils, canvas and anything else to make them proud to take part.
Word Searches
Italian Cities Word Search (Golden Carers)
Italian Pasta Word Search (Golden Carers)
The Legend Of Tarantella Word Finder (Golden Carers)
Good day,
This is very exciting, I am venturng into Armchair travel and was not sure how, and where to start. This information will come in very handy for my new venture. Kindly advice on how much you charge per person.
Thank you
Awesome. We will do this activity in mid-August.
Thanks for providing the ideas and resources
Thanks for this idea. Our residents enjoyed their virtual travel. I want to share some of their photos too.
I love this Melchor! Thank you so much for sharing these pics x
I did my first Armchair Travel to Italy today with 27 Residents! Thank you so much for all the information and activities. I was lucky to spend time in Italy in 2017 and shared two of my slide shows of pictures that I had taken. Everyone enjoyed it and are asking what country we are going to next! - Elaine Partsch Recreation Coordinator - Points West Living Stettler
This is wonderful to hear! Thanks so much for your feedback Lisa! Armchair travel to Greece was released today, maybe you could try that one next! x
https://www.goldencarers.com/armchair-travel-to-greece/6178/
When will the next month's country be released? I would like to inform our entertainers as in January they will include a few italian dances / songs.
Hi Nancy, the next armchair travel country will be Australia. It will be released in the next week!
Fantastic idea, we will be doing this from January, all activity in January will be based on Italy, looking forward to next country so we can start planning February.
I love the downloadable and printable fact sheets etc.
This is wonderful to hear Nancy, thanks so much for your feedback!
here is our Italy inspired January
https://www.goldencarers.com/uploads/20161612-jan.pdf
Wow Nancy! This is an impressive calendar!
Love this... We have been doing similar armchair travels for the past couple of years. Traveled the world in a year...then Destination travel this past year (did local or United States). Provide sensory, music, educational, movies, baking/cooking programs and travel videos. Each quarter we meet with the nutrition department and plan a program we call.. the taste of (destination for that month). Nutrition provides us with either a dessert or popular dish for that destination, and recreation does the opposite. On the day of the Taste, we decorate accordingly, and sample foods, desserts and drinks based on our itinerary. Our residents have looked forward to traveling monthly.
I have been thinking about starting arm chair travel sessions but didn't know where to start! I have a big set of travel DVD's to use, and now I have lots of ideas on things to do along with the DVD's! Thank you so much!
Thanks so much for your feedback Diane, this is wonderful to hear!
Love this new concept
Each month we have a meal - "Foods from other Countries" - introducing new flavours, new foods, different ways of cooking etc, so now I can extend this and incorporate more information about the countries we are eating from as an Activity for that day.
Thanks so much for your feedback Sue!
fantastic thank you
thank you Helen!
I love how comprehensive this is! Everything you need to carry out the event!
Thanks for the feedback Evangeline!