Hi Friends,
The autumn equinox isn’t until September 22 this year, which marks the “official” start of [my favorite] season but I’ve always thought of autumn beginning immediately after Labor Day in the U.S., which fell this week.
Seasons: a fancy or a feeling (maybe both)?
Growing up in the Berkshires, in Western Massachusetts, the seasons were definitive and singular. The winters were harsh and dominated the year. Spring was practically non-existent and you could see a good snow storm blow in as late as May (which happened the year I would leave for the desert in 1996) wiping out spring entirely. Summers arrived abruptly with the weather turning hot and humid - soaking everything uncomfortably but somehow gloriously.
Summer was sticky, lazy, exhausting: heavy and light at the same time with its premise being packing in all the things in a short window of time. New England “summers” were typically from late June (4th of July to be safe) to Labor Day and those days went by both endlessly and swiftly.
In my early childhood, summer was dream. My family always went to Cape Cod for a week or so, starting with staying in motor lodges with pools (a big bonus!) And eventually leveling up to a classic cape cod “cottage” on the Bay Side of the cape. I romanticize those Cape Cod days of my childhood now but I do distinctly remember several things: never being out of my bathing suit except at night; showering in the outdoor shower to get all the sand off of me (I am still obsessed with outdoor showers to this day) and waiting for low tide to go clamming, digging furiously and messily to retrieve giant clams that my mother would make into chowder. We would stop going to the Cape in my teens, as other road trips would call to my parents, and I missed it. Before moving to Arizona in 1996, I would take the same type of trip to the Cape with my young son, staying in motor lodges with pools, endlessly exploring during low tide on the Bay Side, watching the torrential waves, with their wicked undertow, from a safe distance on the Atlantic side and taking the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for the day. Good summer memories - but summer was never autumn.
Then there was autumn. The golden child of seasons in my book. As an autumn baby, and a libra, I couldn’t wait for the stunning beauty I saw in autumn - the golds, the reds, the misty, chilly mornings and the epic sunsets. Autumn brought feelings of change, the letting go of the heaviness of summer and embracing darkness (and ghosts) shadows and getting to close to an ending while still being a beginning. Autumn was apple cider donuts, layers, and the fires in the hearth, while the days got shorter and shorter, light giving way to dark. I yearned for it all.
In Massachusetts in the 70’s and 80’s, the new school year would begin the Wednesday after Labor Day (which is today in 2024). Back to school, the weather could be hot, humid or cool and rainy or somewhere in between. You might see the first hit of color turning on the green leaves of the trees or feel the early morning cold snap, seeing your breath as you waited for the bus and then shedding layers as the day would heat up but nevertheless it all screamed autumn to me.
Autumn was a new blank slate waiting to be filled with potential, a story calling to be written.
Autumn, then, and now, makes me feel most alive in my own skin.
Autumn in the Desert
I continued feeling this way about the official arrival of autumn being immediately post-Labor Day after moving to Arizona in 1996. Early September in the desert is decidedly NOT the autumn of New England but in the 90’s and 00’s September would still see us in Monsoon season, the daily rains, and in those days you could set your watch to them. At 3:00 pm you would notice that your office would darken and hear a low rumbling coming from outside while a patter would begin on the terra cotta roof tiles. The patter often turned into a deluge of water that could quickly flood the many washes of Tucson.
Following the monsoon was my favorite part and what I would associate with the onset of autumn in Arizona: the smell of rain in the desert which is one of the most special smells in the world.
The creosote bush is on the of the most iconic plants in the Sonoran Desert and is often cited as the plant that gives that wonderful smell after it rains. I wish I could jar this smell successfully and take it out whenever I want to visit desert autumn.
Pacific Northwest Autumn
When I moved to Oregon in 2006, it right around Labor Day. Oddly, I moved to Arizona a decade before right before Labor Day - fresh starts, anyone?
In Oregon in the 00’s early September was classic start of autumn to me. The crisp chilly mornings blanketed with mist, dahlias tall and proud in colors of yellow, orange and red, and the trees just beginning to get a gold hue. Autumn brings wine harvest, which was my business, and I will never forget my first autumn experiencing the messy glory of making wine. The hills of Willamette Valley would turn into riots of color and while harvest would be the culmination of a growing season it would be new beginning for the wines crafted from the grapes.
Chasing Autumn
I didn’t intend to “chase autumn” when I started my travels but my adventures have definitely been enriched, especially this last year, as I transversed the globe, seemingly following Autumn.
I started chasing autumn in 2021, with my first trip to Italy, landing in Puglia for a month, which is stunningly beautiful and wonderful in October. I then moved on to enjoy Milan, resplendent in autumn and staying in Florence for late autumn and winter which are now my favorite months there.
In 2022, I went to Copenhagen, leaving on my birthday, October 16, and arriving in the land of ‘Hygge - cozy spaces everywhere, golden light reflecting off the waterways, delicious seasonal foods prepared by some of the top chefs in the world’. I highly recommend Copenhagen for autumn travel enthusiasts - you can read more about my visit here. I then moved onto to Italy, again to Milan and then Florence, visiting Venice for a week as well, enjoying all the glorious benefits of late autumn and winter: nearly no crowds (except the holidays), cool to cold weather, rich delicious foods and gorgeous colors.
I decided to leave even earlier in 2023, taking off in September for Edinburgh Scotland for just over a month of some of my favorite autumn travels. Ispent most of my autumn chasing in beautiful, charming Edinburgh but again, adventure called and I took a train trip up the west coast of Scotland, to spend time in Oban and the Isle of Lismore. Train travel is my very favorite and taking a 2-3 hour train through the lochs and hills of Scotland during October is up there at the very top of my experiences in life. You can read more about these visits here.
Following Scotland, I went onto Turin, Italy (via Milan of course!) for late October and into November. It was my first time in this area of Italy and I can’t recommend it more for autumn chasers (and/or the holidays). Torino is a wonderfully charming and delicious city, the original capitol of Italy, and quite elegant. With the stunning river Po running through the city, many parks, and the Alps visible on the outskirts, autumn colors sparkle like jewels. [you can read more about Turin here].
I spent winter in Florence and Turin but in a twist of fate, I was presented an opportunity to go to the Southern Hemisphere for the first half of 2024 and I would land in late summer and stay through, you’ve got it, AUTUMN!
Melbourne would be my home for most of the 5 months but I spent some time in Lorne, which is 2 hours outside of Melbourne and on the Great Ocean Road. Both are resplendent in autumn and you can read more about them here.
I couldn’t be in the Southern Hemisphere and not go to New Zealand so I planned an extended trip. I went in April, which was full autumn, and all I can say is WOW. I spent 3.5 weeks in New Zealand, going from Wellington, on the top of the south island, to Auckland in the north, then ending all the way at the bottom of the south island in the town of Wanaka and the Central Otago. It was full on autumn in Wanaka which meant I got lots of different weather but I was fully there for it. Stunningly beautiful sunsets over the golden hills surrounding the town; a warm sunny day on the lake, exploring the islands, that was sublime, a cozy rainy day and a full day in the sunny splendor of wine country of the Central Otago - all of it completely charming me [you can read more about New Zealand here].
After late spring and summer spent in Paris (which honestly felt quite autumnal with lots of soft rain and cool weather), I landed back in the US in the height of summer, to regroup, visit friends, and most importantly to spend good time in person with my son. I’m writing this today from [very HOT] Phoenix - still firmly stuck in the summer desert heat. However, when this lands in your inbox I will be on my way to the airport to chase autumn once again: Edinburgh calls and I’m so very excited. I have some trips in the works, of the Scottish coasts and countryside and look forward to sharing those discoveries with you here.
So, as I prepare to embark on another exploration of autumn, I feel the freshness of the blank slate ahead of me. Crisp and clean, like a school notebook ready to be filled with the learnings and possibilities of a new academic year. Who knows what it will bring?
Thanks so much for being here and for supporting Pied À Terre Life - I so appreciate you all.
Until next time.
First, these photos are stunning! Secondly, I am a fellow Libra with my birthday falling on October 13. Autumn is amazing. It seems way too short for me, though. Can't we extend autumn and get rid of winter?