About
Maribeth Clemente
I landed in Telluride, Colorado over six years ago with my then boyfriend, Peter. We rented a cabin at almost 10,000 feet in nearby Ophir, indisputably one of the most spectacular mountain hamlets in the world. The winds often howl incessantly there at break-neck speed, so for the first time in my life, I learned to make a fire. I had gone from living in a posh Parisian apartment with a cleaning woman that came in regularly to polish silver and clean up after dinner parties to a rugged mountain home where I stoked our wood stove. I became a ski instructor that first winter, a happening that shocked all those who knew me well, especially myself. I completed my sixth season of teaching skiing this past winter, something I hope to do for another twenty years.
In Telluride, I’m often referred to as “the French lady” or “the travel lady,” monikers I gladly adopt. I love moving freely between my different personas, switching out ski togs and hiking clothes for chic tops and sleek black pants. (Though I have mixed my metaphors by wearing an Hermès scarf with my ski uniform.) I am grateful that my two seemingly disparate worlds have met and that I can express my many interests—particularly my great passion for travel and curiosity about finely made products—in a variety of outlets.
It has been fun chipping away at my more insufferable girly-girl ways. (I grew up with five brothers, so I was destined to be either a tomboy or a priss.) But still, I remain a real chick, molded and shaped in the most fashion-forward, beauty-oriented city of the world: Paris. I lived a total of eleven years in the City of Light, adequate time to have mastered the French language and embraced French culture, founded a shopping service, called Chic Promenade, married a Frenchman, a professional photographer of noble descent (ah oui, I was a countess that often took part in big photo shoots!) and to have written one book and to have started a few others.
I was happily single for a while but not long after I first wrote that in my bio the gods conspired and I ended up meeting Steve, a wonderful man, that I’m now inclined to include in my blogs from time to time. (Actually it was Clara, my chubby little cat that brought us together. I went looking for her one day in the lodge right across the ski run from me and sparks flew when I met Steve, the lodge’s general manager, who also happens to be a huge lover of cats.)
In all, I’ve authored four shopping and touring guides on France. Currently I’m bringing home the concept of revealing the history and tradition behind regional products. I’ve begun “The Riches of America: The Rocky Mountains.” I’m also engrossed in writing two other books, both memoirs of sorts. “A Tour of the Heart” is a story about self empowerment through sports and the wondrous ride of a love relationship. The other I’m calling “Being With Dad” and it’s a tale full of love, laughter and a fair amount of craziness, just the sort of thing you experience in large families, especially when you begin to assume the care-taking role for a parent.
Through this blog, I hope you’ll happily discover my different worlds and many exciting destinations in between. I’ll be posting stories about travel, fashion, beauty, shopping and yes, girl talk et bien sur romance, too. Much like most everyone else in T-ride, my interests reflect an eclectic mix of culture, sophistication and a dose of social consciousness, and my outlook is profoundly renewed and revived by experiencing the great outdoors in the Rocky Mountains. Oh, and I have that French thing going on, too.
“Maribeth is a first-rate tour guide.“
—Associated Press
Maribeth recently chatted with Jeb Berrier, from PlumTV Telluride, about her work,
her thoughts on the French and their many wonderful contributions to the world.
View Maribeth’s Chat on PlumTV
