Besides going barefoot and talking to every kid you meet, all the other items of your list, Delia, sound great for daily activity.
I think the real challenge is to have this attitude in your daily life, both with your old friends and new ones. Will have to think more about this.

Hugh had a great post about this in the allure of wilderness discussion.

Change opens us up.  We see from a different angle.  It's easier to do it if you get out of the familiar.
Leaving home,seeing the larger picture and then trying not to lose it when you get back.
The art of travel is to leave familiar mindsets behind as well and absorb the new.  Mind expansion.
Give your brain and attitude a quarter turn and hang onto a bit of that when you're back in town just paying the rent.

If travel isn't possible libraries are good.
Rearrange the furniture (in your mind as well as in your home) , hang a new picture (a beautiful one that you love).
Travel is available in different forms.  Anything that gives your mind a good shake and airing is good.
It's rejuvenating, refreshing, illuminating if we let it be.  And a little scary but you have to be in the accepting business to learn anything.
You have to be willing to drink the water (judiciously), eat the armadillo (metaphorically) and use that toilet. 

Delia reading your post really brightened my mood :) – and I spent half an hour staring out of the window despite the 100 pages of stochastic calculus awaiting my attention.

My reply might be somewhat incoherent and will most likely degenerate into a stream of consciousness.

Well I noticed the things you listed not only while traveling but also when having a real break. To me a break is real when there are no immediate responsibilities stalking me. Unfortunately I am not the type of person who can easily switch from 100% workaholic to complete relaxation. When I stay at home I will relax for 1 to 2 days and then start working again – I know it sounds horrible but I find fulfillment in what I do and thus it does not weigh me down that much.

The reason most people experience a readiness to engage in something new when traveling derives in many cases from the awareness of being out of the sight of those who might judge or condemn you. When I travel I am not afraid to hit on a woman and be rejected whereas at home I am quite aware of the judging eyes of both my male and my female acquaintances and perhaps even some of my closer friends - Failing has never been known for promoting one’s standing within any kind of social environment.  “Let myself fail” – “Challenge myself” are actually two sides of the same coin. Openly committing oneself to a challenge inevitably entails a commitment to a possible failure.

What is more due to our genes we are automatically more alert in an unfamiliar environment (an essential survival skill) We see, smell, feel and experience more. At the same time travelling can also be very tiring depending on the environment – for being alert all the time and also digesting all the stimuli takes its toll. This is also why one is often happy to arrive back home (if home is at least a decently agreeable place). I also know people who travel to escape their problems. Those do not like getting back home at all.