one-day vacation

You’ve been a tad greedy on Net-a-porter.com or you just sold you vacation days to your employer because of an important investment (a new bag), but you have this sudden urge for a vacation. Then I have a solution. A one-day vacation. Sometimes it’s all you need to chill-out and get all that clutter out of your head. Here’s how it works.

Monday or friday

When I returned from Paris, broken and partially ill, but had to roll through to the look of the year awards (champagne included) I was a total wreck on Saturday and dead tired on Sunday. So on Monday I took the day off, what a great day that turned out to be! As I had already slept in the whole weekend it got up a reasonable time (nine-thirty) and spent the whole day doing things I liked. Playing around in the shopping mall, watching tv-series, going out for lunch, having coffee with friends and then more TV-series.

So take a day off on a Friday or a Monday, you’ll have three days of weekend, that’s a three-day mini vacation for the price of one.

Get on up

What good is a day-off if you lay drooling in bed until two in the afternoon. What a waste. 10 o’clock sounds reasonable, this way you’ve slept in and still have a chunck of the remains of the day.

What is it you want

What is it you really want, but never get around to doing? Series binging? Reading a tower of books? Hording magazines? Clearing out your wardrobe? Strolling though furniture shops? Make a plan. Having a whole day off with nothing to do can be boring.

Do something with a spa

I don’t particularly go wild for a visit to the spa, but loads of women do. I get the idea of relaxing, pampering and all that, so, book a spa date. According to the rest of the world, you’ll feel reborn.

get a room

For one night only. Check in around noon and enjoy room service all day while lying on that big soft feathery duvet. At night visit the hotel bar for dinner, or room service of course and top this all of with a drink. You’ll be all happy-go-lucky when you bike to work the next morning.

Paris in a day

Get the 8 o’ clock to Paris and you’ll be standing on a platform at Gare du Nord by eleven. That means you can be having lunch and a full glass of wine on a terrace at l’Avenue by noon. Walk down Avenue Montaigne for a quick window-shopping stroll (some of us can really shop) past Givenchy, Céline or Balanciaga. Passing Ladurée on your way to the Champs-Elysées to Tuileries where you can sit on a bench to take in the sun and have a look round. Because, hello, you’re in Paris! The walk goes on towards Rue Saint Honoré and takes you to the terrace of Café Ruc, for a ridiculously expensive but utterly delicious glass of white wine. From there it’s a 30 minute walk back to the station where the last train will take you back at eight thirty.