This week, my husband and I have been out of town- and a trip is a great time to try new things and step outside your comfort zone.  This week has seen:

1. Trying  all sorts of complex juices and contemplating a Juice cleanse after we get back home;

2. Going to a great Burmese restaurant, where things included a tea leaf salad, some interesting new curries and coconut fritters;

3. Going to a fun little Greek restaurant and trying several new things- by the way, fresh pita bread is a totally different animal than what you buy in stores.

4.  Using Zipcar to explore San Francisco and Napa, including visiting Francis Ford Coppola’s vineyard (in one word- Amazing.  Go.  The food is outrageously good.)

5.  Going to places like Golden Gate Park, The Cable Car Museum, and generally learning more about San Francisco in the process, while walking all over.

While in any city, there are plenty of opportunities to stay within your comfort zone, such as eating at chain restaurants or doing only things on the tourist path, the fun part of travel is exploring the new and unusual.  The tricky part about coming home is trying to look at your own daily life and neighborhood with the eyes of a newcomer or tourist.  What should we see, that we don’t take advantage of because it’s “always” there?  What can we take from our travels and incorporate into home, like new foods, new activities, and more?

I hope part of this year of exploring will involve not only pushing comfort boundaries, but help me just learn more about the world, along with what I learn about myself.

What have you tried that’s new lately?  What should I add to my list?

Next up for me:

1. Finally trying aerial yoga when I get back home

2. Setting up another deep tissue massage- the first one was so awesome- time to finish the work we started.

3.  Trying the Pilates program my friends Elizabeth and Christina gave me for my birthday, and trying to become generally more flexible

4.  Trying this juice cleanse thing.  Looks interesting, and my preliminary research says while it’s no miracle cure for anything, it won’t hurt me either, so, let’s give it a whirl!