How to pack for a French Atlantic escape
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
![HTSI assistant editor Louis Wise gets into the summer spirit](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F9021fa4f-4693-453f-a5fc-d95d0014fde0.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
This summer I’m heading to Biarritz, which feels radical as my French family are very pro-Mediterranean, and we generally talk about the north Atlantic as though it were some scary ice-filled bath. I have often heard that Biarritz is brilliant, however (a recent HTSI in… confirms it), and so I am braving the south-western French coast with an open mind – if also a deep, primal urge to pack thermals.
Isabel Marant Snowstone bracelet
![Isabel Marant Snowstone bracelet, £130](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F626b696c-ee55-4342-b9b0-95f4060bccd7.png?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
Since this will be a French holiday, I’ll need to be wearing something by the uber-French Isabel Marant. What’s more, her global-boho aesthetic will surely speak to the surfing culture down there. As I rattle these tiger-eye beads in a surf store, making out as though I could seriously “catch a wave”, I’ll feel like the first step of assimilation is complete. £130, isabelmarant.com
Alighieri bottle openers
![Alighieri The Elusive Dreamer Bottle Opener, £150](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F20a236ac-d46c-48bf-85cf-eb40eb654ecf.png?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
Rosh Mahtani’s mystical, rough-hewn take on jewellery has been a cult favourite for some time, so it’s great news that she is launching a homeware range this summer. Since I cannot imagine life in Biarritz without a steady stream of supermarket wines and beers on the beach, one of her beautiful new bottle openers – preferably the seahorse – should be both inspiring and handy. £150, alighieri.com
The Grey Daily Face Protect SPF 50
![The Grey Daily Face Protect SPF 50, €59 for 50ml](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F689012e3-60a5-4aeb-88d7-f0a6cae738a8.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
I refuse to hide from the sun so my compromise is to slather myself regularly with whatever comes to hand. I don’t enjoy a thick cream though – The Grey’s SPF 50 sun cream is wonderfully easy and light to apply. It may mean I get through it even quicker, but it’s all for the right cause (my face). €59 for 50ml, thegreymensskincare.com
Story mfg Geo pullover
![Story mfg Geo pullover, £265](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F805db8ff-3ba9-492c-848d-6a91108b878d.png?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
70 per cent of my summer holiday packing is spent wondering exactly which oversized jumper I will need once the sun sets. I don’t want wool, and I don’t want it tight: I want something loose and fresh and blanket-adjacent that I can lounge about in on the sand or en terrasse. This one by Story mfg is my current favoured candidate. £265, storymfg.com
![The author in Verneuil-sur-Avre in Normandy](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F28d64939-e34c-4644-961c-6f9bdbaf06b4.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
My Cinema: Writing & Interviews by Marguerite Duras
![](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F3b6320cc-bbec-448a-9975-fe0162855cc9.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
Marguerite Duras drank a lot and smoked a lot and had lots of terrible love affairs, often by the sea. I’m aware this was mostly in Trouville, on the north-western coast, but as mentioned I am tackling Biarritz as though it has the climate of Skegness, so as I read this staring out at the horizon I’m sure there’ll be an affinity. Her thoughts on the cinema sound suitably Gallic: “I make films to fill my time,” she says. “If I had the strength to do nothing, I would do nothing.” Honestly, same. £14, amazon.co.uk
Jil Sander brown wood beach racket set
![Jil Sander brown wood beach racket set, £2,405](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Facf03ec1-c7e2-455c-8890-94ed57b6201d.png?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
I have been aware of these beach tennis rackets for a long time. They may be a fraction more expensive than the ones my parents got for us as children, or even very perky models by the likes of Frescobol, but I persist in believing that they look so good, the cost per hit is totally worthwhile. £2,405, ssense.com
Ettinger Capra glasses case
![Ettinger Capra glasses case, £105](https://www-ft-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fe4090384-96f7-47e9-acfe-a3d455be7b45.png?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
Most people lose their sunglasses; I have more of an issue with the cases. I’m so bothered about not waylaying the glasses that I neglect the stuff that actually protects them. My solution is to invest in a case so lovely that I’ll be concerned I won’t lose that too. Who doesn’t want an extra thing to panic about being stolen on the beach? £105, ettinger.co.uk
Comments