GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It’s a holiday 15 August in canton Valais and in Evian they are celebrating Liberation Day while up in the Jura they’re celebrating the middle of summer, so you have plenty of excuses to take the day easy. Here are a few suggestions, besides the usual go to the beach or pool (not bad either). Ditto for tomorrow and the weekend, with great weather lined up for us, sunny and warm.

Learn something useful

Improve your French and enjoy life by reading Swissmilk’s recipe for chocolate and red fruits muffins, not too complicated.

Do yourself and those you love a big favour and join the 1.6 million people who have been watching Warner Herzog’s 34 minute video on texting and driving. You won’t quickly forget it.

Discover things you didn’t know about Switzerland, starting with the low-down on its snakes and birds, particularly useful if you’re going hiking.

Explore someplace new for you in Switzerland

The beer festival in Landeron is a hoot or you could explore the medieval world at the Grandson castle. Check out the options: what’s on in the region on our new sister site, Events.GenevaLunch.com

Reflect on how the world, or at least China, is changing

I was in China 28 years ago and if you forgot your toothbrush you could buy a teeth-cleaning stick. There was one MacDonald’s in Beijing. Here is a BBC report on major Western brands in China. Forget the clichés and political blather about the place – it’s changing too fast for anyone to keep track.

Make and eat something wonderful

I took time out to bake a peach pie, with peaches at their finest right now. Try baking a crust from scratch. I also went into the garden to cut some roses and spent a couple minutes learning the difference between the smell of a fresh peach and that of a fresh rose – surprisingly similar. In my case, it’s part of training for wine tasting, educating the nose.

Here’s the pie, mmmmm, as good as it looks!