Bonjour from spring in Paris!
I hope this letter find you well on a Friday afternoon.
I’m currently posted up in the worlds cutest hotel room- enveloped by floral wallpaper, under a ceiling of old wooden beams and a dangling ornate chandelier. A little green beetle is perched on one of the glass teardrops. Outside the open windows is a flower box, and a few floors below the streets are bustling and alive with people going about their afternoon. It’s spring indeed!
Historically, spring has always my hardest time of year- I know those close to me will laugh because I do complain annually. I love spring skiing but I’m mourning the dark, cozy winter days and deep winter storms that I love so dearly. I can’t find my rhythm when one day it’s blazing hot and the next, a heavy wet storm. Flowers bloom and then freeze again. The first time I put on shorts feels like I’m naked and my skin feels foreign. If in the winter I’m a warm candle flame, then first days of spring, an overhead florescent light. It the hardest time to dress of all the seasons for me.
But here in Europe I’m finding rhythm in the first glimpses of spring! As it often is with traveling, I’m inspired by a new setting, new styles, new people. I’m happy to feel some rain and smell blooming flowers on every corner. It really feels like people are emerging from their winter hibernations well rested and turning their faces into the sun- not so different from the tulips in the parks.
Now that it really is spring, I’m reflecting back on the winter. Something I have tried to adopt more in my life is not fighting the seasons- a concept not novel to many other cultures who winter. The Nordic countries really embrace slowing down and resting in the winter months. It’s not natural to be in a state of go go go all winter long. This is not to say that’s it’s good to be on the couch for three months, but rather to give extra time for restoration during the winter. But it can be so hard to balance rest while existing in the ski industry- it is the busiest time of year.
“What’d you do today?” A question posed with good intention that I hear often in my little mountain town. Answers with something like “skied really hard bell to bell” or “ I’m so crushed I went for a massive tour” or “worked my yabos off on a double shift- made a ton in tips!” get the most affirming reactions. I don’t think I’ve ever answered completely honestly while knowing this lens is in front of me- we are rewarded for our stress. A gauge of success in our society. If I say I rested, I feel the need to give an explanation for the reason for why. If I was crafting or doing a hobby of some sort, it’s often expected and encouraged to be a monetized side hustle.
(I realize the irony that this is indeed a monetized side hustle but holy cow do I find joy from it. It really fills me up being able to merge my passions in one place. And I can assure you I won’t be selling my wonky hand knit hats, pathetic watercolor paintings, or a cd of me learning the tin whistle any time soon. [I heart hobbies.])
Inviting what naturally comes along with each season has made me a better person in so many ways. During the winter, it’s going inward. Exploring new interests, inviting rest and restoration and thinking about what actually recharges me as an individual. Going going going all winter long in years past has made me hate spring because I was exhausted, I never achieved everything in the winter that I wanted to, and when everyone else was reemerging back into the world with energy, I just wanted to rest.
How can we expect to avoid burn-out if we are constantly pushing against things that will not budge? The seasons, time? Getting a few more miles out of a tank with no gas?
For me, creative expression and individuality fuels me, often through mediums like style, skiing, art, and writing. And if I have fuel in my tank, then and only then can I go out and advocate for the bigger things in the world that matter outside of myself. Or just tackle my taxes or make dinner. Giving time and energy to putting that fuel in your tank, whatever it may be. Whether you’re good at it or not! If you know something fuels you and makes you feel restored, make time for it. Don’t bury it on your to-do list behind “more important things.” How can you have the energy for the things you (or society) deems important if you are running on empty and not stopping to do what want and need?
This tangent is to say that there is never justification needed for your rest or for your joy. Even when there are horrors happening all around us in the world, the need to find outlets of expression and do things that recharge you is still there. More so.
Find your outlets, let it fill you up, and the go out and leave this place better than you found it. And don’t fight the seasons.
Which brings me back to Spring. In Paris. I can’t think of a lovelier thing!
This letter is about what I’ve packed for this trip. And a bit of what I should have packed and what I really didn’t need to pack. Hopefully this is helpful for our travelin’ TOGS readers who may be going on spring ski trips and also want to have some cute versatile things for the city. Pieces that you can also wear back home in “real life.” (oof I can’t bring myself to think of that just yet.)
First leg of the trip started in Switzerland to ski in Verbier. What a glorious place. Nothing like traveling so far, but being at home in the mountains. To be embraced by familiarity after feeling drained by planes and trains and language barriers… what a comforting thing. One of the many reasons why we all love the mountains. A feeling I’ll never get tired of.
I packed my lighter ski layering togs- you can read more about that in a pervious letter, here.
I wore a hand knit sweater I got used off of Depot, and silk necktie from Cafe Du Cycliste for when I took my jacket and balaclava off at lunch/après. To both guard my neck from the itchy wool and to look very cute!!
In my pockets were these sunglasses, sunscreen and spf chapstick.
What I didn’t need to pack: two other pairs of skiing specific sunglasses. Even though they’re small I really didn’t need them. And like 4 other hats. Same thing- one or two was plenty, even though they technically all fit.
For dinners I packed a couple of thin sweater options, with the ability to layer if needed. I wore my black loafers with everything.
Travel day: I think we can all agree comfort is paramount on travel days. With that being said, I find I’m always happier when I try and put a little effort into the outfit. I always feel kind of haggard after a plane or train but for me it’s exacerbated in a schlubby outfit. When you see a chic European woman doing your same travel day in nice slacks and a crisp shirt?! Ugh. The worst. This is what I put on for the train to France.
Very comfy cargo trousers, and older staple from Mango. These were the ‘Frank’ pants, but these look quite similar. I like them because they don’t wrinkle and hold good shape. I also have on comfortable sneakers, (these are Aime Leon Dore New Balances) plain white t-shirt, and this big coat from LE that you’ll be seeing in nearly every outfit. Favorite socks from Aritzia. These socks from Bombas also look amazing.
Paris outfits:
Yay Paris! Our first day was a bit weathery in the morning- a little rain but a very mild 50-something degrees.
I’m wearing the softest linen blend sweater from Banana Republic- a perfect spring staple. In the color of the season it seems: butter yellow.
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