Inés Miró-Sans
Hotelier, Barcelona

On weekends, I try to stay fairly close to home; the faster I can get somewhere, the more time I have there. I often go to an area in the countryside called Empordà since it’s only a 90-minute drive from Barcelona. One Saturday, when I was in Empordà, I walked a trail in the mountains; there was this smell of the outdoors and I realized that I knew it from my childhood. I don’t experience that sensation as often as I should. But for me, it’s so valuable to connect with nature. If it’s a nice day, I also love to swim in the sea. Afterward, I’ll buy vegetables and meat from local farmers. There are a lot of artisans in the area, too. Recently, I discovered a man who has been making ceramics for over 40 years. We bought all the ceramics for the rooftop of our hotel, Casa Bonay, there. It’s a really interesting scene and the more people I meet, the more I feel that I’m planting roots here.

I’m not a big planner. Normally, I won’t know what my weekend plans are until Thursday, maybe Friday. If I’m in Barcelona on the weekend, I cook. It’s the thing that relaxes me the most.

If I do leave Spain on a weekend, I stay in hotels. There will always be people who love Airbnb, and there will always be people who love hotels. I’m a hotel person. For me, Airbnb is like experiencing local housing, but without the people. I do love meeting local people, so I look for small hotels where I can get to know the owner or that share a similar philosophy to Casa Bonay. When I’m traveling, I always leave my laptop behind. Actually, I think it’s important to turn off on the weekends, even if you’re at home. We always have our phones open, checking things and receiving information. You can really overdose on that. Buy something at the market, go home, cook and put music on. Or just turn everything off, and you’ll feel like you’re on vacation without going anywhere. With technology, everything is connected, and you have this feeling that you have to do and see so much. My advice is to do one thing and enjoy it. Don’t rush.

After spending three years with the Ace Hotel group in New York, Inés Miró-Sans returned to her native Barcelona to start her own venture, Hotel Casa Bonay. In a renovated 1869 building, Inés has created a home away from home not only for locals and travelers, but also for herself.

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Jenna Gribbon
Artist, New York

Weekends have become an important opportunity for people to devote more time to socializing in a political way. My partner and I originally founded The Oracle Club, a membership-based salon, as a social space and workspace for artists and writers. It was meant to be a home away from home for our members—and for us—to use for working, living and gathering. With the political changes going on around us, however, The Oracle Club has taken on a new significance.

The experience of being with people who care deeply about similar things is very fortifying. New York City can be quite competitive and cutthroat, so it’s vital to have a group of people that support one another. Ordinarily, during the day, people use the club as a workspace. In the evenings and on weekends, we use it to bring members and their friends together.

Lately, many of these gatherings have turned political; as artists and writers, that’s what we need right now. I think we all feel the responsibility to be active and to catalyze change, to keep things moving forward. It’s clear that many of us are paying the price for our past lack of political engagement, which is why we feel like our weekends are well spent when we’re gathering together and grappling with the issues.

The real challenge in cultivating a community, political or otherwise, is forcing yourself to leave your comfort zone and to engage with strangers. But right now, there’s no time for shyness. It’s important to speak up and form alliances, to band together and make a change. Use the resources and space you have, like your kitchen. Find people with a common goal and invite them over this weekend to share ideas. You never know where that can lead.

At the very least, it would keep people engaged in conversation. It would turn us from passive observers into active participants. The important thing is to start with what you have and with who you have, regardless of how small. These things tend to grow. For us, we benefit in so many ways from having all these people who were not in our lives before. Maybe the world can, too.

Between 2010 and 2014, artist Jenna Gribbon painted a series of people in conversation. At the same time, she and her partner, Julian Tepper, opened The Oracle Club, a membership-based salon in Long Island City, to encourage real-life dialogue.

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Enrique Olvera
Chef, Mexico City

When you’re deciding what to eat on weekends, don’t focus too much on health. I don’t even believe in “healthy” or “unhealthy” foods, per se. Everything simply comes down to quality. Many of the things that we assume are unhealthy, like bread or cheese, are fine for the body if they are high-quality. Seeking out unprocessed, unrefined ingredients is the best way to balance comfort food and healthy living.

My family likes simple recipes, so for dinner on the weekends we often opt for a nice piece of fish, which we cook in banana leaves with a lot of herbs and some lime. We serve it with a roasted tomato salsa and eat it with tortillas. I’d say that fish tacos are our family’s go-to weekend recipe.

We also love soup with chicken and vegetables on the weekends—we eat that constantly. It’s an easy and complete meal if you add a little lime juice, some spice and some avocado. Keeping a garden encourages us to use fresh greens, and there’s something special about pottering around in the garden on the weekend.

Another great weekend dish is mushroom tamales. They’re quick and healthy. If you don’t have access to masa, just roast mushrooms in the oven by themselves and add a fresh green salsa.

When I’m traveling, I do my homework. Before I leave, I read up on what’s going on in the place that I’m traveling to, and I get recommendations from friends and other chefs. But there’s also a real value in just walking around and discovering places for yourself. There’s no need to do homework about coffee, for example. It’s better to wander hungrily, and try out whatever grabs your attention.

In all things, it’s good to stay loose and flexible enough to change your mind. If you wake up one morning and feel like staying in bed, you should. I like to do that, too.

Famous for his reinterpretations of Mexican classics—and his 1,000-day-old mole—Mexican chef Enrique Olvera’s restaurant Pujol has been a mainstay on the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list since 2011.

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Anja Aronowsky Cronberg
Editor-in-Chief, Paris

Saturday:
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Eat croissants.
Read The Guardian online.
Bum around.

2 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
Argue with husband about bumming around.
Eat leftovers or more baked goods for lunch.

3:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Walk around the Marais with my husband.

6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Go to the gym and read The New Yorker on the bike that allows you to sit comfortably.
Pedal slowly.

7p.m.–1a.m.
Come home super hungry and moan about dinner not being ready.
Eat when dinner is ready. (Usually my husband’s pasta carbonara; if lucky it’s got asparagus in it. Then proceed to ruin the flavor by adding too much chili.)
Apologize about moaning.
Watch illegally downloaded series or movie in bed.

1 a.m.
Sleep.

Sunday:
As above but with pancakes for breakfast.

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Kyosuke Kunimoto
Fashion Designer, Tokyo

I often start my weekend by taking a walk. I like to walk to quiet parks and shrines, places with fewer people, where I can read a book. I love André Gide, Franz Kafka, the Japanese author Kōbō Abe. During the week I can find the time to go to my favorite places—record stores, theaters and bars—but I can’t find the time to read. I think that’s because I need to be at a certain place, a very quiet place, where I can enjoy the combination of literature and nature. That’s my ideal spot on a weekend.

I often visit an area in Tokyo called Jinbōchō, where there are lots of vintage bookstores and record stores. Music is one of the most important forms of inspiration for my creations and my aesthetics. But at the same time, it makes me feel very relaxed; when I want to unwind from a long week, I listen to music.

I believe that suits aren’t only for weekdays. I’d like to see more people get dressed up for big nights out on a weekend with a tie, pocket square, cufflinks. I’d love to see people wearing suits at cafés and bars. Wearing a suit on the weekend can make you feel different—more put together.

But I don’t usually dress up on a weekend, unless I have parties to attend. I often wear a black leather sports jacket with a lapel, maybe a lighter jacket and a shirt underneath, something vintage like a western, poplin or silk patterned shirt. As for trousers, I don’t wear much denim; it’s too stiff and heavy for me. I like to wear a pair of broken–in cotton corduroy trousers. When I buy them, I go home and wash them until they get really soft. After 20 or 30 washes, they’re very soft and comfortable to wear. That’s my weekend uniform.

There’s really no such thing as dressing too casually on the weekends—people should wear anything they feel comfortable in, as long as it’s their style. You should always keep your style, even when you’re at home.

Tokyo-based designer Kyosuke Kunimoto launched his label Maison Lance six years ago. He has since designed bespoke suits for clients including St. Vincent, Yoko Ono, Frank Ocean and Alejandro Jodorowsky.

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Hisham Akira Bharoocha
Creative Director, Brooklyn

Saturday:
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Take supplements on empty stomach, as instructed.
Drink coffee and eat an English muffin with peanut butter and jelly.
Go to the gym with wife.

12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Go to the farmers market to buy the week’s supplies and drop off compost.
Return home and prepare to face world.
Leave house, one hour later than planned.
Absorb art at museum or in Chelsea with friends.

6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Discuss dinner plans with friends or my wife.
Eat dinner.

9 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Either I’m in sweatpants on the bed about to watch a bunch of Daily Show reruns or ready to head out the door to a club.
If it’s the latter, I usually go to a DJ gig or a live show. Home by 1 a.m. and fall asleep on the couch, fully clothed.

4 a.m.
Switch from couch to bed.
Finish sleep cycle.

Sunday:
Like Saturday, but with less grocery shopping and an earlier bedtime.