Newbie question on VPN interaction with home router and ISP

VPN
1

Hello everyone, sorry if this question is super basic. Trying to get my head round how VPN’s actually work, and I think I get the basic premise, that the internet site you connect to thinks you’re in another location because of a virtual IP.

What I can’t understand is how the website is still accessed? So how does a VPN interact with 1. An ISP, and 2. A home router? How does a computer make a request for the website to either of those and resolve the DNS etc. and not have to give up it’s real IP, or MAC address?

Question is just theory - scratching a brain itch. So, I’m sorry if my examples are a bit too dim or misunderstood.

TIA!

2

thanks that’s very helpful

3

I used to explain this with digging a tunnel invisible to anyone so you come out at the exit point (VPN IP) before you start your actual journey from there. And I think the letter/envelop analogy is a better take.