It was June, and Dublin wasn’t getting any better in terms of weather. That’s when the trip to France came up.

What does the word ‘summer’ bring to mind? Warm, fuzzy sunshine, long days, lemonade and vacations. Right? Wrong. In Chicago, summer is 13 degrees Celsius, chilly winds and a freezing lakeshore. But people still go swimming, cycling and walking around in shorts. I don’t know how. I generally have to wear a tee shirt and...