ISSUE 08 | || Magazine Hoogui - Bespoke lifestyle & travel

Si nous devions caractériser la Turquie, ce serait sûrement de prime abord par sa richesse culturelle son empreinte historique et sa mixité ethnique et réligieuse.

Nous imagirerons immédiatement ses palais, ses mosquées et le Bosphore, ce fleuve chargé d’histoire. Ce pays et sa capitale ont été tout au long des siècles, et sont encore, un véritable carrefour. Ils gardent les vestiges et les trésors de plus d’une civilisation antique. Mais ce serait réducteur et profane d’en rester à cette qualification de pays purement muséal comme il y en a d’autres et de nous contenter de cette image historique tournée vers le passé.

La Turquie et sa capitale sont des lieux où la modernité a su faire sa place pour nous montrer l’image d’une culture nouvelle, des idées et des tendances totalement avant-gardistes. Entre les ruines antiques, les mosquées et les palais privés, cesont aussi les galeries d’art contemporain, les bars et les hôtels design signés par les plus grands architectes, les foires d’art moderne et les lieux à la mode pour satisfaire les plus noctambules. La Turquie est un pays qui a su conserver ses traditions, les fondre et les faire cohabiter avec d’autres, dont ils ont héritéet en même temps construire une culture moderne, actuelle qui peut rivaliser avec les tendances des plus grandes capitales mondiales comme Tokyo,Londres, Paris ou New York.

Nous vous invitons à découvrir en quelques lignes quelques unes des merveilles de ce pays et surtout nous espérons que cela vous donneral’envie de le vivre par vous mêmes lors d’un prochain séjour.

Jorge Apesteguia-Peña

In this issue_

HERE&NOW

Skiing in Slovenia
PEOPLE&PLACES

Réjane Lacoste, a rider in the desert
ALL YOU NEED IS ART

Contemporary Caravan
ALL YOU NEED IS PLEASURE

Experience post-luxury
ESSENTIALS TRAVEL

Sandra Mulliez, contemporary art collector
BEST OF

Islands
TOP LUXURY

Jean Patou : A comeback
TOP DESIGN

Sleeping in style
LIFE&STYLE

Snow's up!

jubljana, the Slovenian capital, can be reached with a two hours flight from Paris. Located on the side of a river that gave the city its name, with a medieval castle that seems to be watching over it, the tiny country’s capital has the peaceful and welcoming atmosphere of Southern countries while impressing

with its baroque beauty inherited from the Austro-Hungarian empire. Its streets of romantic houses and its old picturesque bridges that seem straight out of a Grimm fairy tale make for dreamy walks. Since its independence in 1991, Slovenia, a member of the EU since 2004, has enjoyed a strong

economic development: the country is often nicknamed the Switzerland of the Balkans. All the more reason to discover the country’s preserved nature and the hospitality of its mountains this winter, before everybody else does.

The first ski resorts are just half an hour’s

drive from Ljubljana. Ski is an essential part of Slovenian culture. In the seventeenth century, the inhabitants of the Bloke region found a way of getting around in the snow: the first Slovenian skis called “smece” were made of wood. Since then, the people of Slovenia have been travelling long distances in the

snow, and the country is very proud of its professional skiers, who rank amongst the best in the world. Last winter Tina Maze, already crowned the world champion of Super G, met with astounding success when she broke a unisex record with over 2,000 points in the general ranking. With 11 victories over 35 races, the 30 year-old snatches gold medals at each and every competition. This winter, for the 7^th time, Slovenia will participate in the winter Olympics in Sotchi where it will be represented by 70 athletes.

You might as well say that snow culture is part of the country’s DNA: this small country plays in the same league as much larger ones in terms of winter sports. Depending on your level you can try your hand at snowshoe trekking, cross-country skiing, sledding, dogsledging or off-piste skiing! The country’s twelve skiing resorts are open from December to March, and in some cases until May. They all offer direct connections with the valley, thanks to a network of cable cars and gondola lifts that has been entirely refurbished since Soviet times. Still from these days the place has retained its old-fashioned charm. The best asset of this ex-Yugoslavia country is the sheer diversity of its ski complex. Each resort offers an original experience of snow sports.

First stop: Vogel, in the heart of the famous Triglav national park. The park spreads over 835 square km, with forests, lakes and snow-covered mountains. Less than two hours away from the capital, this protected area was named after the country’s highest summit, which rises at 2,864 meters: mount Triglav, a true pride for the country. Its stunning beauty is partly due to UNESCO’s regulations, which have made it possible to keep the nature intact since 1924. The station can be reached by car. A lift then takes you to the ski resort of Bohinj, 1,500m high. It offers striking views over the Bohinj valley, the Julian Alps and Triglav. On a good year, the skiers can enjoy six months of natural snow on 92 tracks that cater for every level, from

skiers to snowboarders. After a morning on the slopes, everyone gets together on the peaceful, sunny terrace of the Ski Vogel Hotel. The crowds here are nothing like in French ski resorts, even at the peak of the season. You can take your time and enjoy a plate of the famous Struklji, a local tarragon-stuffed pasta. Like cannelloni and Italian ravioli, they exist in different versions: they can also be stuffed with fresh cheese or spinach.

Fans of extreme sensations will love Kanin, in the valley of the Soca. The mountain spreads across Slovenia and Italy. This is the highest resort in the country, at over 2,300 meters. It is guaranteed to offer plenty of fun for amateurs of “difficult” tracks. For the record, some of the scenes of the film Narnia were shot in this valley! It is best to hire an experienced guide, who will show you to the best off-piste and freeride spots on pure natural snow, in a true atmosphere of high altitude, far away from the world. It is now even possible to join Italian pistes thanks to a lift situated at the pass, which joins the complex of Kanin to that of Sella Nevea. The complex is so vast and uncrowded, you feel like you have the mountain to yourself.

Now for a bit of hard-earned comfort. The Slovenian tradition is to finish a day on the slopes with a typical dinner in a tavern. Risotto, ravioli, goulasch or strudel… Although Slovenian cuisine is influenced by those of its neighbouring countries, fish is its main speciality. But in the evening, nothing is more tempting than the famous böreks: savoury pastries stuffed with cheese, spinach, meat and potatoes.

Another resort is popular with thrill seekers: Planica. This is the place where the world championship of ski jumping took place in 2004 and 2010. Athletes go there to take off and break length records on one of the largest ramps in the world. In Planica, everyone is looking forward to the next ski jump competition (men’s qualifications) which will take place on the 20^th March 2014, and will be another great opportunity for a party. Folklore is just as much part of the event as the competition itself. Since 1934, on the resort’s historical ramp, jumpers from around the world come together to compete. The record of 239m in Planica is still held by Norwegian Bjorn Einar Romoren (2005) but in 2012, the Slovenian Robert Kranjec won the title of world champion of ski jump on the Vikersund ramp in Norway with a 244 meter jump. Another national pride… Since the ramp is only open to professionals, you can instead go for a long trek in snowshoes. The Planica valley, just like the Triglav park, is perfect for walks in the forest. After enjoying deep breaths of the vivifying mountain air, loaded with the pine trees and spruces’ scents and goodness, you can unwind your muscles in the sauna of the Olympic Sports Centre – the resort’s most famous hotel. Built in 2007, this beautiful spacious chalet offers bespoke relaxation and fitness programmes for champions and for amateurs.

Finally, Mariborsko Pohorje. The resort is famous for its famous Golden Fox competition. Every year, the event brings in over 20,000 spectators who come and see the best female skiers in the world

race against each other. In February 2014, the resort will host the World Cup’s women’s finals in slalom and giant slalom. The two men’s finals will take place in March in Kranjska Gora.

Mariborsko Pohorje is probably the most suited resort for skiers who are used to France’s Les Trois Vallées, even if some find it insufficiently spread out and lacking in steep slopes – which is why this resort is not ideal for snowboarders. However, it has stunning tracks in the forest making for fantastic ski treks.

There is a cabin lift going straight to the Bolfek summit, at 1,050 meters. The highest summit in the resort, the Black Peak, rises at 1,535 meters. Skiers can enjoy 33 km of marked tracks for every level, while cross-country skiers have 20 km of dedicated tracks to slide on. Mariborsko Pohorje even has a 10km lit up track and 5 lifts

for skiing at night. If you go for this option, it is best to avoid an après-ski of the traditional blueberry-flavoured cognac.In Slovenia as in Savoie, winter sports have become accessible for the entire family to enjoy together, such as dogsled rides, ice climbing or snowshoe treks.

In Bled, you will be able to experience the shiver of a sled ride on the side of a frozen lake. This is exhilaration at its best. The huskies leap in the snow at high speed while the sled whizzes through the snow, firmly led by the musher who balances his weight with each curve to keep the sled balanced. Nature seems crystallized. All you can hear is the huskies’ fast breathing and the hiss of the sled on the snow. Feels like a dream!

The romance continues with dinner at the Triglav hotel’s restaurant:

the 1906 Bled. With exceptional panoramic views of the lake, the 1906 Bled is the most famous restaurant in the area. The chef cooks fine French-style cuisine. All the products are from the restaurant’s vegetable patch or from local producers. The wine list is superb. Trying Slovenian whites is a must: you will be charmed by their subtlety.

THRIVING WITH HOT ART GALLERIES AND CREATORS, BEIRUT HAS BECOME THE MIDDLE EAST'S DESIGN CAPITAL: THIS IS CONFIRMED BY THE RECENT OPENING LAST DECEMBER OF CARWAN, AGALLERY THAT BLENDS THE REGION'S CRAFTS TRADITION WITH CONTEMPORARY CREATION.

After three years of nomadism, pop-up gallery Carwan settles permanently in Beirut at the ground floor of the Gefinor Centre: a bright, industrial and modernist space designed in the late 60s by architect Victor Gruen. The gallery’s opening show is a tribute to the work of French-Iranian designer India Mahdavi. The artist presents a limited edition of vases and tables, all of them hand-made and inspired by her trips around Beirut, Istanbul and Paris. Mahdavi’s pieces reinvent the art of 16^th century Ottoman Iznic mosaics in a resolutely contemporary spirit.

Carwan gallery was born in 2011 from the encounter between two architects, Pascale Wakim and Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, who made it their objective to build bridges between contemporary design and Middle-eastern craftsmanship. The project began as a pop-up gallery, presenting exhibitions in art and design fairs and museums from Milan to Miami, like a modern caravan (which is also what “Carwan” means in Persian!).

In just three years, the gallery builds up a cutting-edge reputation: in June 2013, it is the first Middle-eastern gallery to be represented at the very influential Design Miami fair. The gallery presents objects by up-and-coming designers like Lindsey Adelman (USA), Philippe Malouin (Canada) or Oeuffice (Italie). The pieces are produced in collaboration with Middle-eastern craftsmen. A perfect illustration of the Carwan spirit: combining the East and the West, tradition and modernity, art and craftsmanship.

Carwan Gallery
Gefinor Center - Block E
Clemenceau, Hamra
Beirut - Lebanon www.carwangallery.com

In the heart of the “Hamptons of Brazil”, the Botanique Hotel & Spa is a unique experience that takes you back to the roots of Brazil. With modern design and authentic recipes, the place is irresistible...

Two hours from Sao Paulo, in the mountains of the Serra Mantiquiera, the Botanique hotel sprang straight out of the imagination of Ricardo Semler, his wife Fernanda, Gordon Roddick the founder of the Body Shop and David Cole, the co-founder of AOL. Together, they dreamed up a place that would combine comfort and harmony with nature.

In the heart of a seven hundred acres domain of preserved nature and dense forest, 1200 meters above sea level, the architect Candida Tabet gave life to their project. Stone and steel structures,

360° windows opening up on the surrounding mountains and hills, and vertiginously tall ceilings… this is the setting for the six suites and eleven villas. Each is decorated with streamlined furniture, lightings and accessories that have been custom-designed by local craftsmen. This design is in perfect symbiosis with the preserved and virgin land. This is what Ricardo Semler calls “post-luxury”.

The concept runs across everything, from the cooking to the spa’s treatment: each of the dishes served in the restaurant is an authentically Brazilian gastronomic experience.

The chef draws from a repertoire of 450 herbs and vegetables from local farms to cook his dishes, including an excellent Pintado grilled fish with red rice, chervil and mustard leaves. And the wine cellar only serves Brazilian vintages! As for the very spacious spa, its

treatments are sensorial experiences in their own right, inspired from the rituals of Amazonian Indians, and using beauty products made from their recipes, using rainwater collected from the site.

Campo Do Jordao – Serra de Mantiquiera

Brazil (2h from Sao Paulo)

Réjane Lacoste thrives on networking and challenges. Between Paris where she works and Geneva where she lives with her husband and four children, she has created Martingale, her own PR company. After running press relations for her family’s eponymous couture brand, she is now presiding over Courrège’s revival, looking after cult footwear brand Free Lance, and has turned the Sofitel Arc de Triomphe hotel into one of the trendiest spots in the French capital.

Travel is a moment for both refocusing and spending special moments with my children, outside of everyday life.

With my family we have done lots of exotic trips. We went to Djerba a few times and did horse riding everyday. I didn’t know Morocco at the time, and the opportunity to go there came up. So why not discover this legendary country on horseback? That was how all five of us took off in November for a horseback trek in the Atlas.

I had decided it would be just the five of us. My sixteen year-old daughter and my three fourteen year-old sons. Rather than making new encounters, I preferred to share this adventure with them alone. They turned out to be excellent travel companions and a lot of fun. They are still talking about this holiday as their best ever.

We arrived in Ouarzazate, where we got acquainted with our guides and our horses. The horses came from Saumur’s Cadre Noir riding school, and our guide had trained there too. You don’t need to be an experienced rider to take part in the trek, but you do need to be able to ride and steer a horse. Before our departure, the guide made each of us take a test: if you fail, you are out. My kids had done riding lessons for three years, and two of them were still practicing. The other two are sporty and know how to follow the rules. All of them are very adaptable: this is a must for an adventure like this one.

We take off with a maximum ten kilos of luggage each, not an ounce more. The essentials: a pair of spare shoes and a small medicine bag just in case… No games for the kids, no tablet and no computer. Just a mobile phone in my bag: again, just in case…

Every morning we wake up at five thirty with the sunrise shining magnificent lights on the almost deserted mountains. At seven, after a breakfast of tea, milk, bread and dates, we have a quick wash and prepare our horses. Our caravan departs. Each of us is responsible for their horses. Our horses are entire, meaning they are not castrated: they are impulsive and can’t be forced to do what they don’t want to do. When you spend eight hours a day on such an animal, you create a bond with it that’s almost stronger than with the other riders. You communicate with it. You feel its heat. You have to learn to feel and understand it. All day long, your attention is focussed on this instinctive, physical exchange with the animal. The relationship each of us has with their horse is incredible. You have to follow their pace to climb up steep tracks, ride through mountain passes from a valley to the next. You must be careful not to stay too close from the others: you need to keep a distance of about three meters in between each horse.

Only our guide knows where we must go, and which path is easier than the other. We ride through breath-taking landscapes. Some discover them on the wheel of an SUV but when you are riding on mountain paths that have been travelled by caravans for centuries, you feel like you are out of time. Nothing has changed for millennia. You lose all your bearings. You feel in harmony with this intact, raw mountain. When we ride through a Berber village, children run towards us, surround us and walk alongside us. When we stop they take the horses’ reins and take them to drink. We are not perceived as tourists but as riders. The relationship with people is different: more genuine, in the noble sense of the term. These people have been here forever…

At lunchtime, in order to stop we must find a spot in the shade with running water for the horses. The horses always come first. That is how it goes, and that is how you come to learn what is truly essential. If during a tennis game it starts to rain, you just stop playing. Here whatever the weather, you have to make it to the next camp. Of course, everything is done to keep us safe. Our guide at the end of the convoy has all the tents and a mobile phone… But you cannot cheat when you’re faced with the cold and the stones. Nature puts everyone on an equal ground. We all have sore feet and bums, and we all sleep on a bed of rocks.

The meals are mostly made up of soup and dates. Sometimes we eat delicious couscous in local people’s homes. We live with the light of day. In the evening when we stop at five pm we are knackered but before taking a rest, we need to take care of our horses, scrub them and feed them. After dinner we try to push bedtime back for as long as we can. We play cards. At nine, we slip into our sleeping bags and go to sleep absolutely exhausted but happy.

As a mother, a trip like this is wonderful. You feel like you are on an equal ground. For the first time you get to share an adventure without the usual adult-children divide. And it is not either like a trip to New York, a place everyone knows more or less, if only through pictures. Here we go through the same challenges together, and it creates very strong bonds. Tomorrow I am flying to Uruguay on my own, without my husband and children. I am going to meet some friends who live out there. It will be a whole other experience, but the one I lived in the Atlas was truly unique.

“Travelling is one of my favourite things in the world, but how can I best express the emotions it brings me? There are two kinds of travel. Adventure travel, when you follow your curiosity into the unknown, and comfort travel, when you go back to a familiar place, a place full of memories. That is just what I will do tomorrow when I take off for Brazil, to the Ceará coast. I am going back to the music, the food and the language I know. It is pure, regressive pleasure!”

Brazilian by birth and Parisian by love, Sandra Milliez is passionate for contemporary art. A collector and a patron, she founded together with her husband Amauray Mulliez the SAM Projects Foundation in order to help artists from emerging countries get their work known in Europe. Every year, the Foundation awards a prize for a work of art that has been created in one of those countries. In 2013, the winner was Algiers artist Bouchra Khalili for her video, “Foreign Office”. In February 2014 Polish artist Angelina Markul, the 2012 laureate, will show her Tchernobyl-inspired work at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo for a year. The Foundation also runs two artists’ residencies in Paris.

What is left of the roaring Twenties? Mademoiselle Chanel has become a fashion label. And the man from rue Saint Florentin was long forgotten, but here he is again showing the tip of his pumps. Jean Patou liberated the woman of the twenties just as much as Coco Chanel did. He invented chic sportswear – creating suits with jersey skirts plaited at the knees and hip-length tops. “A sporty silhouette is absolute chic”, Patou used to say. He dressed tennis player Susanne Lenglen for Wimbledon and the French Open. On this occasion he became friends with René Lacoste, and the links between the two couture houses lived on for decades. Patou also created full outfits for winter sports, for which he designed every element: jackets and skirts, trousers and waterproof wool jackets, gloves, hats, scarves… everything but the skis themselves. More importantly like Paul Poiret, Jeanne Lanvin and Coco Chanel, Jean Patou created perfumes to accompany every moment of a woman’s life. Two years

before the legendary Joy, Patou made Huile de Chaldée: the name refers to the ancient Mesopotamian civilization and to the fantasy of the Oriental beauty. Its notes of narcissus and orange blossom are honey-like while evoking straw and animal musk. This oil, which makes the skin go darker in the sun, has never ceased to be an inspiration – from Ambre Solaire to Guerlain’s Terracotta. Today it is back as a sublime eau de toilette, just as warm and sensual as the house’s other fragrances, brought up to date by perfume designer Thierry Fontaine under the direction of Bruno Cottard, Jean Patou’s new vice president. Everything seems geared up towards the brand’s great comeback. While we wait, we can always read Emmanuelle Polle’s great biography Jean Patou, Une Vie sur mesure (Flammarion).

With its playful design – the mattress is embedded in a curvy “bumper” frame of padded leather – and luxurious detailing like refined stitches and a leather strap circling the frame like a bracelet, Marc Newson’s “Bumper Bed” is a bed like no other.

The bed’s creator has brought his special touch to many fields, from airplanes to watches or Pentax cameras. An Australian with the physique of a surfer, Newson has created classics like the “Lockheed Lounge” seat (1986), profiled like an airplane’s cockpit, which recently sold at Sotheby’s for almost a million dollars.

For Parisian brand Domeau & Peres, Newson went back to the not so far away days when he preferred to sleep on a plain mattress. “Most people I know have at some point in their lives slept on a mattress

on the floor. I thought it would be nice to design a bed that would make people like me want to replace their faithful mattress by a beautiful bed”. In the “Bumper Bed”, you sleep close to the floor. The bed evokes a boxing ring according to the designer, or a lifeboat where you can drift off on a sea of dreams…

Floating 200 km away from the African continent in the heart of the Indian ocean, with paradise beaches and round-the-year tropical weather, Mauritius has long been a refuge for the jet-set in search of privacy. For the last five years, the pearl of the Indian ocean has been offering alternatives to the luxury hotel complexes on the coast, with boutique hotels, beds and breakfast where you can experiment the multi-cultural Mauritians way of life. Amongst the best preserved sites, Tamarin bay is great for surfing and dolphin spotting, the Île aux Cerf with its stunning beaches, and the majestic Morne Brabant overlooking the sea. The coral reef around the island offers extraordinary diving sites heaving with multi-coloured fishes. Or you might try high sea fishing for tuna or sharks: an unforgettable experience…

This crescent-shaped volcanic island of a dozen kilometres long and just 1.5 km wide is lost in the Tasmanian sea, East of the Australian shores. You can reach it from Sydney on one daily two-hour flight. Lord Howe is very little populated, and tourism is strictly regulated: the island’s infrastructures can accommodate 390 tourists in total, not one person more. This guarantees miraculously preserved sites, from the coral reefs bordering the coast up to the island’s forests that are home to unique ecosystems: there you will find dozens of bird and plant species that can be found nowhere else. And what’s more, the weather is always mild – the islanders call it “perpetual spring”… Not far off from paradise!

Eilan Shona in Scotland is one of the country’s 17 tidal islands, that can be reached on foot when the tide is low. As you set foot on the island, you enter a world of its own. No cars, shops or TV, just absolute tranquillity. No wonder writer J. M. Barrie found refuge here in the 1920s to write the script for the film Peter Pan. The island now belongs to the sister of millionaire Richard Bronson, who rents it out to tenants who are in search of privacy. The lucky hosts will for a weekend rule over a charming grey stone cottage with its tennis courts and billiard, the ruins of a small castle surrounded by heather and hills, and even their own sandy beach with sublime views of the Hebrides.

In Tahitian, the island is called “Mai Te Pora”, which means “created by the gods”. And indeed you might think that it was a divine hand that dropped the lush mountains of Bora Bora on the waters of the Pacific, right in the middle of a ring of coral that draws up turquoise lagoons all around the island’s coast. Bora Bora is the perfect place to unwind. The island’s speciality is hotels built on stilts where you can spend the night above the water with nothing but the ocean on the horizon. In some of them, the rooms even have glass floors so that the guests can watch the lagoon’s multi-coloured fishes!

Located off the shores of Tanzania, the archipelago of Zanzibar was long known for its production of spices. The capital Stone Town is listed as Unesco world heritage, and bears the heritage of the different cultures that took over the island over the centuries: Indians, Oman sultans, then the Portuguese and the British. As soon as you escape from the city, spice plantations uncover a symphony of fragrances- nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon and clove – and coconut planted beaches offer themselves up to the traveller.

To get immersed in unique landscapes, just head to Jeju, one of South Korea’s five provinces, an island that has been shaped by volcanic activity. The island has been recently elected one of the seven wonders of the natural world. It is easy to understand why when you fly over the island to observe its spectacular volcanic cone, covered with lush vegetation, at the centre of which a giant extinct volcano emerges: this is Mount Hallasan, the highest mountain in Korea. In the South of Jeju, black basalt cliffs contrast with white sandy beaches: the ideal place to spend a few days away from everything and taste the sea-urchin soup, one of the local delicacies that made the island’s reputation.

“Playing and winning is not enough: you need to master your style too”, René Lacoste used to say. There should be plenty of winners this winter then, as Lacoste has been selected as the official partner for clothing and equipment by the French National Olympic Committee and Paralympic Committee. The collaboration covers youth Olympics, Mediterranean games, world games and European youth Olympic festivals, as well as the 2014 Sotchi and 2015 Rio Olympics.

The crocodile brand, founded in 1933 by René Lacoste, has long been a companion to countless athletes and teams from around the world, combining comfort with ease of movement and elegance. For the committees, the brief was: “French-style chic”. Each athlete will have a ceremony outfit, a protocol outfit and two village outfits. The lifestyle line stands out with very current silhouettes in black and white and France’s national colours appearing in stylish, graphic tricolour stripes.

Sliding, jumping, skidding: the meaning of Wed’ze in Savoyard dialect. In the heart of the Savoie, in the white valley, the brand’s design teams work on shaping its new lines for track and free ride skiing. The brand new Twin Tricks has already made a sensation on the slopes. They were developed in collaboration with skier Marie Martinaud, who won the X Games Europe last March and came third at Copper Mountain, USA, last December. For powder and off-piste protection, the SkiProland S3 protects the entire face. In clothing, the trend is still with ultra-technical wear, with underwear that allow for total ease of movement while being totally coldproof and waterproof, on ski as on snowboard. Duvet jackets like the Ski Warm jacket, are light and compressible. For après-ski, the Scandinavian look is a must in Aigle’s line of patterned jumpers and tweed parkas.

Trail running, also known as Nordic walk, born in Scandinavia in the 1970s, is the latest up-and-coming outdoor activity. On a simple walk in the Fontainebleau forest, you are assured to come across groups of trekkers walking briskly with their ski sticks in their hand. Cross-country skiers invented the activity, in order to keep fit during summer. The movement of the sticks is similar to that of cross-country skiing. As with skiing, they are positioned diagonally and at the back. The movements activate both legs and arms, alternating left arm/right leg and right arm/left leg, which requires concentration. It is a more gentle activity than classic trekking, more demanding than a Sunday walk but more intense than jogging. The breathing improves, endurance grows and, an always welcome plus, the figure is sculpted, gets leaner and builds up muscle without any forced effort. www.nordicwalking.fr

Every year in February, a mouth-watering celebration takes place in the French mountains of Jura. “La percée du vin jaune” (“the pouring of the yellow wine”) is a celebration of the precious wines born from a unique combination of soils and climate. Arbois, Chateau-Chalon, L’Etoile, Côtes du Jura… So many nectars using distinctive grape varieties including one, the savagnin, which produces the mythical Vin Jaune. You will recognize it at a glance with its wonderfully gentle, bright and limpid colour. Its flavour includes notes of walnuts, dried fruit, saffron and exotic fruit. It rests in oak barrels for six years before being bottled into an exclusive 62 centilitre flask. This yellow beauty breaks records at auction sales: a bottle of the 1974 vintage went for 57,000 euros! The wine has its own cooking competition, the Concours André Jeunet, where cooks are asked to concoct a rabbit pie with heirloom vegetable and a yellow wine sauce. Yannick Alleno is taking part as he is used to accompanying his heartwarming dishes with yellow wine – Comté, Mont d’Or, meats in creamy sauce and morels… Our favourites were the Domaine Grand, Badoz and Chateau d’Arlais vintages. The celebration will take place on the 1^st and 2^nd February in Conliège and Perrigny. www.percee-du-vin-jaune.com

Looking your best in the mountain can be a challenge when the mercury drops under zero. At the Ferme de Marie in Megève, Jocelyne Sibuet has concocted a range of protective treatments from alpine plants. Her new Bol d’Air Pur Altitude protects from the cold and the sun with a formula based on edelweiss, arnica and gentian. Valmont’s Elixir des Glacier regenerates the skin, as does Carita’s Sérum des Lagons. Pure luxury: La Prairie’s Ice Crystal Cellulare serum instils the strength of plants that are designed to survive the Swiss Alps’ freezing conditions. You can discover these treatments in the most beautiful mountain spas, like that of the Ermitage hotel in Cervinia, Italy. More authentic, and ideal for polar raids: Polar’s Véritable Crème de Laponie. Made from raspberries, arctic cranberries and blackberries, this balms turns into water when applied and protects the skin from the wind and cold, comforting and soothing it. In the evening, give your sore muscles some comfort with Centella Jambes Légères. And make sure you do not leave without these pocket-sized must-haves: Clarins’ Baume Réparateur à Lèvres with rose extract, and Dior’s Huile Abricot with its pretty snow rose top coat.

At 1500 meters in Monetier, in front of the national park of Les Ecrins, on the upper part of Serre-Chevalier’s ski complex, the Valvital spa lives at the pace of skiing. Perfect for an après-ski, you can unwind your muscles in naturally warm, trace element-rich spring water. Environment-friendly, offering 360 panoramic views of the mountain, it works like a raw wood sundial. The sun turns around the baths and depending on the time of day you can pick a whirlpool bed, the musical grotto, the Roman trilogy or the Vaucluse cascade inside. You can even stop over for a one to five day “Source et essences des Alpes” package – which doesn’t mean you are exempted from skiing, on the contrary…

Les Grands Bains du Monetier

www.lesgrandsbains.fr