The last week of session 1 went off without a hitch. And the first session kids have packed up their bags, sung their final night songs, and promised that “we will always be t-o-g-e-t-h-e-r, but for now…Peace!” Inter-session has finally arrived, that blessed 48-hour period of freedom where we get to skedaddle out of town, and not think about middle school kids until Saturday afternoon. I seized the day and went mountain biking this afternoon. It’s been scorching hot and we have had no relief all summer, so getting up into the mountains helped cool things off a bit. Every now and then while cruising down a one-track path, I would feel an inexplicable waft of cool air, and I would think to myself, “This has made the past four weeks of hard work all worth it!”

I also had the chance to get away last Sunday and I drove a short distance to one of my favorite spots called Forge di Aranno. I took a mountain bike and was hoping to also get a nice nap in the cool grass just up the hill from the refreshing little river at this lovely little gem of a locale. (Think Atreyu and Artem before they reach the Swamps of Sadness.) But the place was mobbed with weekend-goers who were enjoying cooking out and playing loud music. So much for my favorite quiet refuge away from hectic TASIS life.

I had to retreat down a path a good ways to a more secluded spot. But the stream-bed above the waterline did not provide the most comfortable “bedding” as its name might suggest, so no Sunday nap.

I found myself snoozing while sitting in a traffic jam on the way back to TASIS this evening. Sleep is in order. Rest is urgent before we start all over again on Sunday.

99 degrees today and humid! Yikes, when will it end!

Tomorrow…a full day off, but plans are still up in the air. Perhaps a hike in the cool forests above Lake Lugano.

Mountain biking pictures today from Olivone to Biasca on Swiss Mountain Bike Route 65: