Designing 007: 50 Years of James Bond...

When I found out that there was going to be a special exhibition in Rotterdam of artifacts from James Bond movies, I figured it would be a great couples’ outing for the AWC. The woman who plans our art activities was kind enough to handle the arrangements for the guided tour and I was in charge of making dinner reservations.

Rather than being a docent of the museum, our guide was an active member of the Dutch James Bond Fan Club. His knowledge of James Bond trivia was extensive and fascinating. For instance, in Skyfall, the latest movie, rather than destroying the Aston Martin, they made a 3D replica which could be set on fire without guilt and at a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in the exhibition itself.

Our first iPhone selfie was in front of the Aston Martin used in the 1964 movie Goldfinger. We also saw a lot of beautiful custom gowns used in movies over the years, the gold mouthpiece worn by Jaws and a variety of the crazy weapons supposedly developed by Q.

After our tour, we walked to the Hotel New York for a drink and then to Scallywags for dinner. Despite being part of a group of 20, it was nice that we somehow managed to end up with a private table with Jan and Bob.

Boy's Ski Weekend...

While Ashlynn was modelling in Amsterdam, Jimmy was enjoying the ski slopes of Innsbruck with Jim.

Jim was able to bring an extra set of snowblades (like strapping two thin snowboards to your feet) for Jimmy, who loved the maneuverability of the short skis.

The skies were blue and there was plenty of snow, which made for a great weekend.

More Cool Shots on Location...

No idea why these old tram cars are on this property, but it appears that they are actually being lived in. The occupants were away, so we took the liberty of having Ashlynn sit on the table.

Again, my photo shows more of the background...

...while Romy’s focuses on the clothes. It was a long day and Ashlynn was often cold, but she never complained. It was really a great day and I loved seeing her in action!

Some Perspective...

Since it had stopped raining, we could explore for more locations spots. The surrounding area was the former shipyards, which provided a lot of options for the grunge theme.

This photo that I took gives a bit of perspective...

...for where Ashlynn was posing in Romy’s shot.

As this photo I took also gives perspective...

for this shot of Romy’s.

Cool Shots...

I especially like these photos taken against the door of the woodworking workshop.

Just in time to change into the third outfit, it stopped raining. Poor Ashlynn was freezing in this dress as she posed just outside the woodworking workshop.

After finishing with the third outfit, we went back to the café for lunch. Then it was time to change Ashlynn’s hair. After I saw Mariska pick up a pair of scissors, I was relieved that she was merely cutting some stretchy cord for sewing Ashlynn’s hair up. She knew that bobby pins would never be strong enough to survive the intense winds, so she used a trick she’d learned at beauty school to ensure that Ashlynn’s hairstyle made it through the rest of the afternoon.

An Unusal Setting: A Woodworking Workshop

Luckily they were able to find somewhere dry to do the first part of the shoot: a woodworker’s workshop. It was cluttered and drafty, but Romy managed to get some amazing shots.

The woodworker continued to saw as Ashlynn posed in front of him; can’t imagine what he thought of this kookiness.

Romy tried every possible spot in this small building. I suggested that Ashlynn climb on top of the small shelf below the window, but Romy decided she didn’t like the angles.

Fashion Shoot in Amsterdam...

One Saturday in January, Ashlynn and I set off early for a fashion shoot in Amsterdam. From Amsterdam Centraal, we took a 15-minute journey by ferry across the Ij River. The winds were intense, but luckily the ferry ride wasn’t bad.

We’d never been in this area before and were surprised to see a Soviet submarine parked in front of the café where we were meeting the team.

Joanne, the 18-year-old stylist, was already there with her parents when we arrived. She had assembled the team of volunteers as part of one of her two final projects for fashion styling school. She’d arranged for us to use a private room for the day. She’d borrowed clothes from three Dutch designers and finished the outfits with bits from H&M. Ashlynn and I both loved the outfits she put together. 

While Mariska, the make-up and hair artist, worked on transforming Ashlynn, Joanne and the 19-year-old photographer Romy set off to scout locations in the nearby area. Since the weather had gotten even worse with heavy rain, at one point it looked like we might have to improvise and shoot in the café.

Polar Dive on New Year's Day...

Since we failed to register for the big New Year’s Dive into the North Sea at Scheveningen Beach, Veronica decided she’d do her own Polar Dive into the canal in front of our house. For a moment it looked like she was walking on water.

You might be able to see the shocked look on her face as she hit the water.

She was especially shocked how hard it was to swim in the icy water as her muscles started seizing up. Luckily Jimmy was ready to help her out and she didn’t have far to go to get under a warm shower.

New Year's Eve...

At the last minute, we decided to have a few folks around for New Year’s Eve. Jan and Bob were the first to arrive with hats and champagne in hand.

Jimmy set up his fire pit across the street where he cooked chili and made hot toddies.

Despite having us over for dinner the previous evening, apparently Carlin, Kent, Mark and Rowan weren’t tired of us yet as they joined us for a late dinner and stuck around for fireworks. The fireworks that Jimmy bought were complete duds; luckily, Bob brought a “Big Momma” assortment which was awesome. Definitely a loud and fun way to start 2015!

Amsterdam Light Festival...

On Jim’s last evening with us, he joined me and Jimmy for a walk around the Amsterdam Light Festival. The weather was mild, allowing us to enjoy the Illuminade, a walking route past 21 works of art. This first piece, flashing different colors and flags, was called 178 Bottles, 1 Message representing the 178 nationalities living in Amsterdam.

The colorful Light Bridge was an ode to Amsterdam’s bridges.

The Gatekeepers were positioned in front of the entrance of the Hermitage Museum. On the other side they were round and on this they were hollow giving them the appearance of holograms.

Not actually part of the official route, there was a school that set up trees made out of recycled materials.

Re(bi)cycle Dome was my favorite installation. It consisted of 300 rims from discarded bicycles. The light source got its energy from an old-fashioned water pump controlled by passersby.

A Bright City Patch was amazingly realistic; at first glance, it really did look like a group of workers examining a hole in the sidewalk.

Lastly, we saw House of Cards, consisting of 125 light boxes in the form of playing cards, as we approached Amsterdam Centraal Station and bid farewell to Jim.

It was great having him visit and we hope to see more of him in 2015.

Rotterdam Markthal...

Caro is really adorable. It’s not surprising that she could have a future as a model, but it was surprising to learn that she was scouted on the hockey field.

After finishing at the museum, we walked to the Markthal, an amazing indoor market that opened in October.

In addition to being home to many food stalls, some with seating areas on the 2nd floor and others with separate restaurants above, the building has 228 apartments.

It was very crowded, so we went to the only restaurant where we could find space. The menu was limited, but the setting was very cool.

The ceiling was definitely impressive! The artwork covers 36,000 square feet and has been labeled the biggest artwork in the world according to this article (which has cool photos of the construction process). I thought perhaps it was applied as giant stickers similar to what is used on buses or planes, but it was actually printed on 4,000 steel panels using 3D printers.