When steam builds to a certain point in a pressure cooker an escape valve comes into play; without it you get an explosion. The same principle applies to people: work accumulates to the point where, if we don't want psycho-steam coming out of our ears, we'd better empty our minds of the office, the dreary commute, the house repairs, sliding stocks and grinding study. In short, vacate or die. Hence vacations, the escape valve now coming into play for millions across Europe: families piling into station wagons with the kids and the dog, teens squeezing onto trains with bulky backpacks, buckling...
