The Water Trilogy: Part I

Finally, the season of outdoor swimming is approaching & I can once again broaden my field of options. With winter travels, I value & often judge a hotel by its swimming pool. My favorite indoor pool would be the Connaught in London, with its dark smooth marble, perfect for finding the zen of swimming & restoring equilibrium after a long flight. There is an inviting & rare salt water pool in a hotel we stayed at in the foothills of the Piedmont region in Italy. That one charms my heart & wins points for its gentle quality to both skin & swimsuit. I also enjoyed  the pool at our hotel in Ankara Turkey, this past week. It was refreshingly brisk enough to encourage some serious swimming. In Istanbul, I was lucky to be  there for the opening day of the outdoor pool for an inaugural swim. Big fun to be outdoors swimming under a vast blue sky next to the busy Bosphorus river, with every type of vessels carrying people & great mounds of stuff between the Black Sea & the Mediterranean; all that glorious emotional water!  

While Stateside; two of my all time favorites,would be the Montage in Laguna Beach California & the Biltmore in Coral Gables Florida. I particularly like the Montage around the Christmas holidays when the palms are wrapped in lights & look like cocktail umbrellas & the ocean is right there with the sound of crashing waves; exhilarating! The Biltmore has an enormous pool with a truly deep end; built when you could actually dive into a pool & not kill yourself! Now that pool could truly qualify as a king of pools.

I always travel with more than one swimsuit, they take so little room in your luggage for the return pleasure.  Plus often swimwear can be integrated into wardrobe beyond swim. Both of the  Cadolle swimsuits offer clever versatility to be worn paired with either skirts or leg wear. Options abound particularly if you need to be inventive with a travel wardrobe. I'm a maillot style swimmer, always have been.  But this season I'm very tempted by Fleur swim, not only the maillot with its clever knot treatment & low back, but that terrifically chic hi waisted two piece. This might be the season to venture into new swimwear terrain. They will be easy pieces to add into my swimming rotation.  Warmer days are a perfect invitation to swim; see you poolside!

-Jane