ALICE CHERON MARCHI
Professional runaway
Alice lives in Florence, Italy, from where she regularly travels around the peninsula in search of good addresses and heavenly spots.
Sunshine and change of scenery in your address bar, that's the promise of Alice, a.k.a Ali Di Firenze. A French expatriate living in Florence, she shares her articles and funny videos about Italian lifestyle with enthusiasm and good humour. Alice has already published several guides and books on Italian cities. She has also recently launched "les fugues", a concept of thematic and tailor-made escapades. It's hard not to want to know what this lover of Italy carries in her bag during her many trips...
Who are you?
Hello ! I am Alice Cheron Marchi, I have been living in Italy in Florence for 9 years. I am married to a Florentine and I have 2 children, Leone 4 years old and Bianca almost 3. I created a platform on the Italian way of life 6 years ago, called Ali di Firenze. It's an online magazine about Italian travel and lifestyle(www.alidifirenze.fr), a concierge service for events and soon, an eshop. The idea is to share everything that touches me in an Italian life, whether it's small Italian moments at the bar, or great emotions in front of a sumptuous landscape. I love the values that frame this life in Italy, I have made them my own. Joy, mischief, conviviality, humanity.
I have two big projects that I'm working on at the moment. On the one hand, my web series Dolce Follia (sweet madness), which can be found on YouTube and which talks about my crazy daily life in a comical tone but with a cultural background. I talk about my beloved Italian mother-in-law, being pregnant in Italy, working here, driving a little crazy... (www.youtube.com/alidifirenze)
Then there is my baby, the Italian Fugues! The idea of the fugues was born from my own need to reconnect with myself. After several consecutive life changes (both professional and personal), I felt like going away on my own in order to have time to reflect, reactivate my body and become master of myself again.
When I told the women in my community about it after a 3-day elopement in Venice, I was showered with messages from women from all walks of life who shared their desire to reconnect with themselves, their lack of time and courage to do so. The project was born by exchanging with them! The Italian Escapes are therefore 3-day weekends in Italy for a group of ten women (travelling alone) that I accompany. I create a beautiful and creative bubble of decompression in order to find the thread of oneself again, to align oneself with one's desires, to reflect on one's values in order to make the right choices. I punctuate the weekend with extraordinary visits and workshops created specifically for the project (photographer, calligrapher, author, yoga teacher...). I want every woman to celebrate her uniqueness and regain her confidence!(https://www.alidifirenze.fr/fugues-italiennes/). I am also preparing a book on the theme of the Fugue which will be published next spring by Leduc.s.
How often do you travel?
Between the site to be maintained, the research for runaways and the family, every month there is something going on!
Business or personal travel?
Both.
On the professional side, the children have grown up so for work I go to Paris every 2 or 3 months for 48 or 72 hours. On a day-to-day basis, I try to organise as many trips to Italy as I can in one day, except for Italian runaways when I go for three days. Otherwise, as a family, we often go back to Nice with my sister and my parents, and we travel to Italy (we love Sicily, and we dream of going to the Aeolian Islands by boat). We usually go at Christmas, in the summer and of course, the sacrosanct "settimana bianca", the week of skiing in the Dolomites (my husband's passion).
My husband and I are a bit workaholic, so we're careful to make time for each other. In the last few years we've been to Oman, Mexico, Reunion Island, and we've been to Lake Como and Assisi in Italy. I love the fact that we still have adventures together and that we can also start to do some with the children, who we took all over Greece, to the Peloponnese this summer, for example.
Carry-on or checked luggage?
Always in a cabin if possible! For 72 hours, I'll combine 3 outfits with 5 clothes, I take the bare minimum in make-up, I have a rolled up pyjama and always a book. Every minute counts to make these business trips profitable, and that also includes the motorbike taxi that is waiting for me at Orly and that can fit my suitcase behind its car.
Alice's "Chez Dédé" bag from the Romaine brand and its Chardon Parisluggage tag
How do you fill it? Any tips on how to avoid being overloaded?
For very short trips, I try to simplify the content to death. If I go back to Nice for a weekend, I really have clothes that go with everything. I do think about packing accessories (like a clutch bag that doesn't take up any space) and that changes everything if we go out. I also often have a hat (Borsalino in foldable and wrinkle-free felt) that adds style to the simplest of outfits.
If I go on holiday, I make several versions of the suitcase. The first one where I go totally crazy and then I skim 1 or 2 times to get to the essentials of my style. I want to be able to feel good in everything and not travel overloaded. In the worst case, I have a machine made at the hotel.
What's in your handbag when you travel?
When travelling with my family, my husband would like us to be chic travellers with no bags and no clutter! Unfortunately, my travel handbag is a giant Jouy canvas tote bag from Dédé (a Roman brand) and it's overflowing. I have my computer, a kit of miniature products to moisturize my face as if I were a beauty blogger or a Victoria Secret Angel (even if I have to do a Lyon-Paris trip), a pouch with games for my kids (lots of stickers, a precious story box), something to snack on to avoid ordering something on the plane. I'd love to tell you that I made seeds in a Tupperware, but unfortunately my kids mostly like Savane. And it's not unusual for me to have a bag in my bag, especially a burgundy Tila March with a colourful strap that I carry everywhere and that will serve me as my everyday bag when I get there. Finally, I obviously have the most precious thing in my bag, a Smythson diary that my parents religiously give me every year at Christmas and in which I write down my ideas and interviews. My diary is my life!
In Alice's travel bag (photo © Alice Chéron)
How do you handle the security check?
With grace of course! It's a miracle that I thought to put the miniature products in a transparent pouch... I usually have to unpack everything because I forgot. Obviously the children run around and it's a stampede, which amuses the Italian security guard if you're in Milan but enrages the staff if you're in Paris!
A travel anecdote?
I have a hard time with airports. The crowds, the delays, all of this makes me very anxious. I also feel that we are totally infantilised by the staff, without any power over the situation. It makes me angry! Usually my husband is the one in the queue, I take my time at the H relay to avoid assaulting anyone. Once I'm through security, you can leave me at the duty free for 3 hours, I learn the beauty sections by heart and go sniff the Hermès perfumes that talk about Venice ("Un jardin sur la Lagune" inspired by the garden of Mr Eden - Eden, really! - on the island of Giudecca).
Your own self-portrait or a mantra that reflects you?
Never explain never complain. No explanations, no complaints. I am learning over time to stop justifying myself, to take responsibility for my choices and to take responsibility for the life I have built for myself. This is really a path I have taken since my divorce and my decision to stay in Italy. It took me a long time to find this strength and running away is part of it.
Of course, I have concerns like everyone else, but they are private. If I have something sensitive to share on social networks, it's because I think it can spark rich discussions or maybe help someone if it has helped me. I try to be as benevolent and positive as possible and hope that it is communicative. People have a fundamental need to smile, and to laugh!
Photo Alice © Alex Dan
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