This week I am trying a new way of encouraging you to take a break by describing two days in my week of “down time”.  You need downtime to regenerate and to find new creativity in work – and life.  Doing something different gives you new perspectives and a change of pace and scenery charges your brain to find new solutions to the great problems in your work and life.

Photos are included.

Yesterday I wrote:

I’m Sitting on the train again and looking forward to another adventure again.

It’s the week before I May start correcting my students’ exams and I am relaxing a bit, well, actually, I’m going on a few adventures and meeting up with people.

On Monday I went to the Tessin with some guests. The Tessin (Ticino in Italian) is one of my favorite places to visit. It’s still in Switzerland, but feels like a different world (Italy, to be exact). The fluffy green mountains, lakes and wonderful food make it a destination of choice. We ate pizza in Bellinzona. The Croce Federale is a wonderful restaurant serving pizza from the best of ovens by a great cook. It’s cool outside seating made it comfortable even though the weather was quite hot. We then headed to Lugano for a walk by the lake after some gelato freshly made and sold in one of the stands. Because of the new Gotthard Tunnel, we were able to be home mid-evening. What a great adventure to start the week.

We set our guests “free” on Tuesday and they headed for a view of the Zeiger in Grindelwald. The next day they headed for the Lake Geneva region.

Today (Thursday) I have another big day at the “Flowers to Arts” show at the Aarau Museum of Art. I will meet up with a friend and take a tour over the lunch hour.

Friday (today) I write:

We met up and had a great time looking at art, at flowers with art, at people and then having a Palestinian lunch to “die for”.

The exhibition is still open till Sunday at 5pm and last minute tickets are still available online here: https://flowers-to-arts.ch/ausstellung-2022-2/ - there is an exhibition every year in June and I first went before COVID-19.

The restaurant, Al Ahram (https://alahram.ch/menu/ ), was really a tasty surprise, and it’s right by the tower entrance into the old city. My friend and I had the plate for two and had to take some home. I was full, and fully satisfied, for the rest of the day!  Not only is the food wonderful, but there is plenty of shaded outdoor seating for these summery hot days.

Thus, a couple of days to see new places, experience new sites, sounds, smells and tastes, and eat excellent food, and I am ready for the next big thing for myself at work.

What about you? What day trip or quick weekend away can you take to find new solutions and creative ideas for your life and work?