I returned last Sat, 15 Jun, from 9 weeks of crazy travel. It wasn’t all for work, but it was a long stretch. I spent a good portion of Monday and Tuesday just getting caught up on what was going on, what the status of my workload is, and what I might have missed.

While it’s been a hectic week, it wasn’t that hard, other than a little recovery from jet lag. The last two weeks were in the UK/EU, so I don’t think I was back on Colorado time until Tuesday.

What helped me deal with that long stretch was some vacation. My wife and spent most of the second week in the UK in Tuscany, Italy. We rented a small place in the Cortona region, just outside of Camucia. We rented a car and visited a few wineries, as well as Siena and Montepulciano. You can see the edge of our farmhouse down a private driveway with Cortona on the hill in the distance.

We had a very relaxing time there, and I’d highly recommend it was a vacation spot.

Part of my time in Australia was also a holiday with my wife where we mostly relaxed and did little, but explored Sydney a bit. Waking up to this view was amazing.

The point of this isn’t to make you jealous or brag about my holiday, but to remind you that getting away is important and nice. It can help you recharge, even when you’re busy. My trip to NY to see my daughter graduate was busy and hectic, but even then I felt better coming back to work after the change in scenery.

Whether you want one long break a year or lots of small ones (my preference) make sure you get away from work.