busman's holiday

n. Informal
A vacation during which one engages in activity that is similar to one's usual work.

(BUS-manz HOL-i-day)

noun
A holiday spent doing things as at work.

Etymology
Imagine a bus driver having a day off, 'enjoying' a bus ride and you'll have a pretty good idea of this term. Going on a long drive might be a great vacation for many of us, but not for a bus driver. Of course, when the phrase came up some 200 years ago, bus drivers had charge of horse-drawn buses. The term is sometimes seen as 'businessman's holiday'

Usage
"Boundless energy and vaulting ambition carried Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency of France. Now that he has had just over 100 days in office (including a hyperactive busman's holiday in New Hampshire), it is a good time to take stock of where all this energy may be leading." — The World According to Sarkozy; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 30, 2007.

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Free time spent in much the same pursuit as one's work. For example, Weather permitting, the lifeguard spent all her days off at the beach--a real busman's holiday. The term alludes to a bus driver spending his day off taking a long bus ride. [Late 1800s]

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The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a holiday where you do the same things you do at work

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