By Lisa Neff

Contributing writer

Now boarding…for domestic flights to New York City, New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta.

Now boarding…for international flights to Israel, Cuba, Iceland, Senegal, Jamaica, South Africa, Jamaica, Cameroon, Brazil, Finland, Serbia, Greece, Ireland.

Putumayo World Music makes travel across the country or abroad possible from the comfort of home—or the commuter’s car.

Putumayo releases about 14 CDs a year. New this season are “New Orleans Brass,” a jazzed-up collection of Big Easy sounds that raises money for hurricane relief efforts; “Tango Around the World,” a tapestry of music from Argentina to Athens, Greece, that raises money for LIFE Argentina; “World Hits,” a collection of crossovers and covers featuring Gipsy Kings, Peter Tosh, Youssou N’Dour, Mick Jagger and Jimmy Cliff that generates money for World Learning.

Putumayo’s kids’ music catalog includes this year’s lyrical “Celtic Dreamland,” as well as an unforgettable “Zydeco” party, the romantic “Mexico,” the jammin’ “Reggae Playground” and the soothing “Dreamland” collection of lullabies from all over the land. www.putumayo.com

Language lessons: Invite international travelers into the home with RosettaStone language-learning software, which has helped millions of students in more than 150 countries gain proficiency in 30 languages. Rosetta Stone is “the fastest way to learn a language. Guaranteed.” So, if you’ve ever planned to pick up Español, Mandarin Chinese, Italian or French, invest in the step-by-step immersion system. www.rosettastone.com

DVD Directions: You can only get to some places by imagination—or by film. New destinations and classic journeys can be made with the following films from Fox, MGM, Magnolia and Genius Home Entertainment. Journey into the animated town of Springfield and even take a side-trip to Alaska in “The Simpsons Movie,” spend the holiday with the Pink Panther in New York City in “The Pink Panther: A Pink Christmas,” see the dark and light sides of life in the American West in the Coen Brothers Gift Set, which includes “Raising Arizona” and “Fargo,” as well as “Millers Crossing, “Blood Simple” and “Barton Fink.” And get to know director John Ford’s America with “Ford at Fox: The John Ford Collection,” 25 films by the master director, including the inspiring, most-memorable “The Grapes of Wrath.”

Settle in with “Uncorked—Wine Made Simple” to understand the mystique of wine. The boxed set contains six 30-minute episodes on taste, the Napa Valley, Sonoma, the Central California Coast, wine traditions in France and the wine regions in France. www.liveuncorked.typepad.com

Pretty as a postcard: With Pomegranate’s postcard books, the armchair traveler can take a wide-ranging tour of “Houses by Frank Lloyd Wright,” visit New York City as seen through the lenses of New York Times photographers, journey through the landscapes of the “Hudson River School Paintings” and study the “Masterpieces from the Hermitage” in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Take off: Out-of-this-world travel is documented in DK Publishing’s “Space Flight” by Giles Sparrow and with a special foreword by Buzz Aldrin. Spectacularly illustrated and joyfully composed, “Space Flight” spans 50 years of pioneering work, beginning with that first spacecraft, Sputnik, in October 1957. www.dc.com

Tub travel: Shower in Venice, London or Paris, Brooklyn or Vegas. Izola shower curtains serve a perfectly ordinary purpose—keeping water in the shower and concealing the bather. But Izola shower curtains offer do the extraordinary, turning the bathroom into a tiny museum space, with stunning black-and-white photographs of global destinations. www.izolashower.com

Trivial pursuits: What New York amusement park features the Dragon Coaster? Which home boasts the first pool ever built in Key West? What historic Chicago store was the first to offer a bridal registry and in-store dining? These questions, and their answers, are found in “U.S. Historical Landmarks” flashcards from Kaplan. Book a seat at the table and play history buff. You will be surprised. You will be stumped. www.kaplanpublishing.com

Forecasts: Bushnell’s WeatherFX forecast station provides current weather conditions at a glance and real-time forecasts for more than 150 cities in the United States from AccuWeather. The gadgets need two AA batteries, but no sensors, no subscriptions and no installation. Think of it as a digital Farmer’s Almanac.